*NOTE: This chapter skips through time a bit. The story's winding up now, and there were a lot of distractions. As a bonus, however, I have several little in between pieces written that I will be posting separately once I've finished this.

Holiday Spirit

Chapter 36

"I want to go back!" Regina was leaned back against the hospital bed crying and shaking her head, and David moved closer to her side.

"Back to where?"

"That house in Rhode Island. Our vacation. It was safe there. We were a family. It was one of the best weeks of my life."

"Honey, we're a family now, what are you talking about?"

"But it was just the three of us. You, me, Henry. We were still getting used to the idea of the two of us together, but now there's going to be a baby, and we don't know if it's going to be Isabella or not. And what do we do if it's not?"

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Regina, we both hope that this is the Isabella we know and love, but even if she's not – she is our daughter. She's still our baby – yours and mine, and I can't wait to meet her."

"I've never done this before. I'm scared."

She squeezed his hand tightly and he smiled gently at her.

"So am I, but we're together. We can do this, Regina. You can do this. I believe in you."

She leaned into him. "I love you." And then another contraction hit and she cried out in pain.

-§-§-§-

"Here she is," Jane said, handing the crying bundle to David. He moved immediately to the bedside, passing her to Regina.

"Honey, she looks like you. She's beautiful. You did it!"

"She's ours."

"Yes she is." He smiled proudly as she gazed down at the baby girl in wonder.

"She came from the two of us and she's all ours."

He stroked the baby's cheek with a feather light touch.

"She's definitely an Isabella," Regina said, looking down at her. "What do you think?"

"I think you're right. Welcome to the world, Isabella."

At least for the moment, the couple was able to forget about their fears of their future expectations and revel in the joy of their new baby. Future Isabella or not, their baby was there, she was healthy and beautiful, and just as Regina said, she was theirs.

Henry stepped into the delivery room. "Jill said I could come see you now," he said, pausing just inside the door. He'd been skeptical when his mom told him about David's idea for a vacation a few months back. Even though he'd adjusted to having David around during the spell, it was different having him there after his brothers and sisters had disappeared.

Getting away from Storybrooke, from all the reminders of The Spell, it had been good for them-reminded them that they were already a family, a family that now had a new addition.

Regina nodded quickly, crying silently. "Come meet your little sister."

Hesitation gone, Henry hurried to her side. "Wow," he breathed. "She's so tiny."

"I know. She's even smaller than you were," she told him, letting out a happy sob. "She's so new. Do you want to hold her?"

"You'll let me?"

"Of course. Come here." She instructed him on how to hold his arms and gently and carefully passed Isabella to him.

"I'm afraid I'll break her."

"You won't," Regina assured. "I was afraid of the same thing the first few days I had you," she told him, brushing his arm.

"You were?"

"Oh yes. I'd never seen such a small baby. Never held one. All my years as the Evil Queen, I wasn't sure I could hold something so fragile."

"I'm really glad you adopted me," Henry told her. "I have the best mom in the world."

Regina let out another sob. "I love you my little prince."

"I love you, too." He watched David round the bed and he transferred his sister into his arms.

David cooed lightly at the girl and Regina watched them before looking back up at Henry. "Thank you for wishing for my happiness," she told him sincerely, and Henry smiled at his family. His wish had worked out well.

Henry was still asleep upstairs while Isabella was swinging her legs from her spot in the high chair. She'd just placed the small plate of breakfast in front of her daughter and turned back to start breakfast for everyone else when she felt strong arms wrap around her from behind.

"They're kicking!" David exclaimed with excitement before flattening his hands so he could feel the movements more easily.

"They're always kicking," she said with exhaustion, resting her hands over his. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him as he rubbed his hands in soothing motions over the fabric of her t-shirt.

"But I don't get to feel it the way you do."

"I'll trade you." She opened her eyes again at the familiar conversation.

"You loved being pregnant with Isabella after we were past the fourth month." She turned in his arms and he saw the expression on her face. "What is it?"

"We've had this conversation before."

"We have? When?"

"In a dream I had during the spell."

"Exactly like this?"

"Pretty close."

"What else did we talk about?"

"Mmm. How big I was going to get with twins, how the only time they're calm is when I'm sleeping. How I just wanted some alone time with you. That about sums it up."

"You had that dream back during the spell? Before we were together?"

"Odd, hmm?" she asked, smiling. "But I'd never been pregnant and it was something I'd always wanted to experience. And then I'd started to have feelings for you. And do you know what it's taught me?"

"What?"

"That I'm not going to complain about it, because it's perfect." She pushed up on tiptoe to kiss him and he smiled. "And that we should take advantage of our alone time before I get any bigger."

His smile turned to a grin. "I like the sound of that."

"Mommy!" Isabella called, holding up her empty sippy cup with a frown. "Juice."

Regina sighed and dropped her head onto David's chest with a chuckle. "And we can start tonight." She turned toward her toddler. "You want juice?" she asked, and the girl nodded eagerly.

"What do we say?"

"Pwease?" She grinned and giggled with the word, and Regina smiled.

"Alright, juice coming right up."

Henry slouched into the kitchen, hair mussed and looking put out. "I hate Mondays," he said firmly, frowning into space. Now that he'd entered his teen years, Henry had grown very attached to sleep and his bed, but Regina was thrilled that he'd remained his generally happy self otherwise.

"Emma's bringing Olivia by after school," David told him, and his frown immediately turned into a smile.

"Are they having dinner with us again?"

Regina nodded as she handed the juice to Isabella. "They're coming early. Snow's coming over with you after school, so you'll have to wait for her class to let out."

"Awesome!" He yawned and went over to the high chair. "Morning, Izzy," he greeted, kissing her cheek and causing her to break out into giggles all over again.

"I don't get a good morning kiss?" Regina asked in mock offense.

He laughed and made his way over to her. "Sorry, Mom. Morning." He gave her a peck on the cheek before bending to place two quick kisses to her stomach. "For Ellie and Oliver, too," he said, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and settling himself on a stool.

"Well now I'm just feeling left out," David pouted.

"You already had your good morning kiss," Regina reminded him with a wink, to which Henry replied,

"Gross."

"We're family, it's in the rules to gross you out and embarrass you," David informed him. "Regina, babe, go get ready for work. I can handle breakfast. I'll have pancakes ready for you before you go."

She smiled gratefully. "I am supposed to be in early today. You've earned another kiss."

He kissed her just long enough for Henry to make a noise of complaint.

Regina leaned back, a hand over her stomach as she sighed. Storybrooke certainly came with its own set of problems. A few teenagers – none of Henry's friends, that was certain – had managed to get their hands on a magic bean and stupidly opened a portal. Two of them had fallen through, and Regina had been stuck with bringing them back. She'd spent all morning with the remaining teens and Emma, prying out the location of the portal they'd opened, and then another few hours calming down hysterical parents as a retrieval party was put together, and the teens made it safely back in time to be assigned community service and detention for skipping school before dinner time.

There was a knock on the door and Regina took a breath before calling for the person to enter. Who knew what it could be?

She was surprised when it was Ruby to timidly poke her head around the door. "Hey. Sorry to bug you. I can come back if…"

"No, it's alright, come on in." Regina adjusted her weight a bit, trying to get comfortable in her increasingly smaller chair. She refused to admit it wasn't actually the chair shrinking.

Ruby seemed to gain a bit of confidence as she walked across the office, but then came to a halt at an awkward distance from the desk, looking unsure once more.

"You're already here, Ms. Lucas – you may as well sit down and tell me whatever it is you have to say.

"Victor proposed," she blurted, still standing, and Regina arched an eyebrow.

"And you've chosen to share this news with me because…"

"Because it's scary. And wonderful, and something that probably never would have happened if it weren't for you."

"I'm flattered, but I don't really see what I have to do with your engagement."

"You and David," Ruby clarified. "All of this is happening because of the two of you."

"Oh…" Regina shook her head, this strange gratitude from Ruby throwing her off. "It really didn't have anything to do with us. You should be thanking Henry."

"No. Well, I mean, yes, him too, but when it all ended, all of that seemed so far away and impossible, but the two of you made that leap of faith, and you proved to everyone that we could have that."

"Oh. Well." Regina didn't really know what to say to that.

"I know that you and I haven't always seen eye to eye…" Regina gave her a look. "Okay, well, never really, but to be fair, you were trying to kill my best friend."

"Yes, and now I'm married to her ex-husband," Regina pointed out.

"True. But Snow's forgiven you. She loves you, you know. But that's not what I came for really. I just wanted to tell you about the engagement and ask...if I could babysit Isabella for you when you need it?" she rushed out.

Regina's face scrunched in confusion. "What?"

"So I know Granny has watched her since she was a baby, and I already get to see her a lot because of it, but I was hoping to maybe spend more time with her. I super love that little girl, and I figure with the twins coming, you could use a little extra help maybe?"

"You know that would require you to see me more often, don't you?"

"Yeah, but...you're not so bad. You're actually a little bit awesome."

"Oh?" Regina felt her eyebrows may have disappeared into her hairline at this point she was so surprised.

"You know, I told you back when everything was different that Isabella was like a mini-you. I've come to appreciate you for certain qualities. Plus, mad respect for not losing any badass during pregnancy. You're still scary as hell."

Regina actually smiled at that. "Thank you."

Ruby chuckled. "Sure. So, uhh...is that okay then, do you think?"

"I think we can work something out."

"Awesome! Thank you!" She stood quickly, making her way to the door. "By the way," she added. "You pregnant is absolutely adorable."

She was out the door like a shot, not leaving Regina any time to respond, and she glared at the empty doorway.

"Whoa!" David held his hands up as he stepped inside and caught her expression. "I'm innocent."

"Not entirely."

"What was that?" he asked, glancing behind him. "Ruby seemed in a hurry to leave, but she was smiling."

"She called me adorable."

David chuckled before sobering at her look. "I call you adorable."

"Yes, but that's different. We're married, these are your children I'm carrying, and when you say it, it doesn't make me seem pathetic."

He smiled lightly at her. "All of these things are true, but I don't' think Ruby would have meant it that way, either."

"How do you know?"

"Because she ran away after she said it."

Regina leaned back again with a thoughtful expression and a hum. "She did call me scary."

"See." David rounded the desk and bent to give her a kiss. "You've managed to be both intimidating and adorable. Not something many people can pull off."

"That's true." She hooked a finger into one of his belt loops. "I think I'm going to skip out early today, would you be able to pick up Henry?"

He leaned against her desk. "Sure. Everything okay?"

"Yeah." She grimaced slightly. "Just can't quite get comfortable today." She shifted again in her chair, one hand on her back and the other on her stomach.

"Are they moving around a lot again?"

She nodded. "But they've also just grown. It's a lot of pressure on my back.

"I'm sorry, babe. I'll give you a back rub when I get home."

"That sounds heavenly."

"Want me to pick anything up for dinner?"

"Tempting. I'll let you know later if I have any specific cravings."

"Sounds good." He pushed off the desk again and kissed her. Placing one hand on the back of her chair and the other on her stomach. "Tell them to be nice to you." He rubbed the spot where he could feel them kicking and kissed her again. "I love you."

"Love you, too. I'll see you tonight."

"I'm so excited that this is all really happening!

"You're not the one in labor."

"So I'll shut up right now, and we can be excited together after."

"I'm excited, I'm also just in an incredible amount of pain. It may be a miracle, but I can't exactly appreciate that aspect of it right now." He was incredibly impressed with how well she was already dealing with the pain. She'd been amazing through Isabella's birth, surprising everyone (except David, of course) in the delivery room with how positive and non-angry she'd been, but it was summer, and hot, and carrying twins hadn't been easy on her small frame.

"Almost there, Regina," Jill spoke up.

The pregnancy had been much more difficult this time around, though they'd both felt a little more at ease, so Regina was grateful that once labor started, it was quick. She was so tired.

Ellie came first, and Regina had time for a cheerful laugh that of course their outgoing precocious little Ellie would make an appearance before their shy, adorable Oliver.

When it was over, Regina collapsed back against the pillow in exhaustion.

"You did it, Regina," David said proudly, leaning down and kissing her forehead. "They're here, and they're perfect."

Isabella was a carbon copy of her mother. Exactly the younger version of the girl they'd grown to love so much, and now with Ellie and Oliver home with them, Regina was feeling more at ease than she had in a long, long time.

With the twins finally asleep for the night, David went downstairs to find Regina napping back against the couch. He took the spot next to her, and when she stirred, she smiled lazily over at him. "Hey."

"Hey." He opened his arms up to her, and with no hesitation, she scooted over enough to lean into them. She relaxed against his chest as he brought his arms around her and rubbed soothing patterns over her back and shoulders. "You are an amazing woman."

"I know."

He chuckled as he felt her do the same. "You've given me three beautiful children, and let me become a father figure to Henry. There's no way for me to express how grateful I am to you."

"Mmm, you're doing a pretty good job right now."

"Twins. Our twins are here."

She put a hand to her stomach. "I've loved being pregnant, but I can honestly say I'm relieved to know that the next child we have will be a single occupant."

He gave her back an extra rub. "I know that was rough on you. I'm sorry, my love. And you have some time to recuperate."

"Not much," she reminded him. "The twins couldn't have been far past two when Benjamin was born." She turned in his arms and sighed as she rested her back against his chest.

He looped his arms around her front and she laid her arms over the top of his, taking his hands in hers and placing them over her stomach. "I can't wait."

He stroked his thumbs over her hands and kissed into her hair. "How did we get this lucky?" he asked her in wonder.

"Henry made a beautiful, wonderful mess."

"Thank god I was given the chance to fall in love with you. I can't imagine my life without these children, without you...I'm the luckiest man in the world."

She squirmed a bit in his arms at the statement. "Too cheesy," she complained.

He chuckled. "Can't help it if it's true."

She hummed. "Just promise to try and dial it back a bit if possible."

He let out a hearty laugh. "This only makes me love you more."

She twined their fingers together. "I love you so much, I hope you know that. You've given me a second chance, another love of my life. What you said earlier about not being able to express how grateful you are...it can't even compare to what I owe you. Before you, I had a full life with Henry. Henry was my happiness. Now you've made that so much more. Having more children with you . . . I didn't know one life could stand so much joy." She smiled as she felt him kiss the nape of her neck before relaxing again and cradling her closely. "Thank you for showing me it could."

They'd discovered shortly after arriving back from vacation that the supposedly irreversible potion she'd taken decades before was just as any other curse had been - curable by true love's kiss, something she'd shared many times over with David since they'd returned from their glimpse of the future, and it explained how her pregnancy had been possible.

Regina had been thrilled to experience pregnancy, and David revelled in witnessing it. Going through everything with her, helping her, reading up about it, going to the appointments. She'd been in awe over the feel of the life growing inside her, and he'd been enamored by the wonder she expressed. She couldn't have asked for a better partner in life.

Letting out a contented yawn, she closed her eyes, holding his arms a little tighter around her.