When it first started happening, Sabine paid it no mind. Pregnancy was a state of permanent discomfort, whether that was indigestion, constant nausea, an upset stomach. So when the twinge of pain rocked through her, she thought nothing of it. After all, she'd been pretty sedentary all day doing nothing more exciting than taking a walk outside for a few minutes.

But when she went to use the bathroom and found blood staining her underwear, her heart sank.

Staring down at the tiny splashes of red, she felt herself go numb, all thoughts empty except one: I did it again.

She's not sure how she got through all the motions of changing her undergarments, but somehow, she wound up on her bed, curled on her side and tucked beneath the sheets. A hot tear slipped down her cheek and hit her pillow.

How could she let this happen again?

—

When Ezra entered his and Sabine's bedroom, he initially thought it was empty. Humming to himself, he threw off his boots, ready to summon a servant to draw him a bath. Glancing over to the bed, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw a human-shaped lump.

"Dammit, Sabine, you scared the hell out of me!" he exclaimed, a hand going to his chest to steady himself. When he received no immediate response, he cringed. "Shit," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper, "are you asleep?"

Walking over, he peered at her face and was startled to find her eyes open yet completely devoid of emotion. It looked like she was a million miles away.

"Sabine?" He took a seat by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

She acknowledged his presence with a shaky sigh. "I killed it."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Killed what?"

Her hand drifted to her small bump. "Our baby."

For a moment, Ezra felt his world stop. No. No, it couldn't be happening again. Surely the Force wasn't so cruel as to make them lose another one.

"What happened? Did you see the healer?"

Sabine shook her head and gestured to her dirty garments on the floor. "I was bleeding and there was some pain in my stomach. It's just like last time."

Ezra glanced over out of reflex and frowned. He picked up the underwear and examined it closely. "Is…is this it? Did you bleed any more than this?"

"Do I need to bleed any more?" she snapped.

"I'm not trying to-look, the last time you bled a lot more. If this is it, then we should get the healer in here to see if maybe everything's okay."

"Don't do that," she said. "Don't act like everything's gonna be fine when it's not. I lost our baby!"

"Sabine, please. Let me call the healer and have her check you out. Regardless of if…that's happened again, you still need to be looked at."

Sabine made a noise of disgruntlement and rolled away from him.

Ezra sighed and got to his feet. Peeking his head out of the door, he told a passing servant to fetch the Compound healer.

It wasn't long before the older woman arrived, bag in hand.

"Countess, what is it I can help you with?"

Sabine refused to answer which left Ezra to do so. "Sabine thinks she's lost the baby. She was bleeding and had stomach pain earlier."

The healer gave a solemn nod and went over to the bed. "Countess, if you wouldn't mind, I'll need you to roll onto your back and remove the covers so I can examine you properly."

Reluctantly, Sabine did as she was asked. Propping herself up on a set of pillows, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. "I don't know why this is necessary. I know my own body and I know I've lost it."

After years of dealing with royal temperaments, the healer had the patience of a Jedi so she was well past being put off by the Countess's foul mood. "Perhaps not, my lady. How much did you bleed?"

Ezra handed over Sabine's soiled underwear. "She said this was all."

"Is that true?" the healer directed her question to Sabine, who nodded in return. "Well, that's actually quite promising. This far along, you would bleed much more than that if the pregnancy was lost. Now, how much pain did you have?"

"Not a whole lot," she admitted, her face now showing some hopeful doubt.

"Was it actual sharp pain or more like a slight cramping you'd experience during your monthly cycle?"

Sabine hesitated. "More like cramping."

The healer nodded. Okay, that's nothing too bad. Could you remove your pants so I can do a quick examination?"

Complying, Sabine shot her husband a look and said, "You, turn around."

Ezra gasped in indignation. "It's not like I haven't seen it before. How do you think you got pregnant in the first place?"

"Keep grumbling like that and you won't see it again for a very long time."

"Yes, dear," he said, whirling around in place.

There wasn't much to hear so he couldn't tell what was going on which was making him nervous. Everything the healer had told them so far had given him hope that Sabine had been wrong and he desperately wanted that to be true.

"Okay, you can look now."

Whipping around, he nearly panicked at the sight of his wife in tears. His face dropped and he glanced at the healer who had nothing but kind eyes and a smile to give him.

"The baby's just fine, Lord Wren."

Ezra had never heard such sweeter words. "They're—" he cleared his throat. "They're alright? The baby's still alive?"

The older woman nodded. "Everything's just the way it should be and your little one's progressing very nicely."

"But what about th-the bleeding, the cramping?" Sabine asked, getting choked up.

"Both perfectly normal. Plenty of women experience one or the other at some point in their pregnancy, especially this early. A tiny bit of spotting or some slight cramping is nothing to be worried about. But you can always see a healer or midwife if you're ever concerned about it. You did the right thing by having me check you over."

The healer stood and gathered her things. Ezra went over to her and shook her hand. "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how relieved we are."

"Of course, Lord Wren, you're very welcome. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to come to me." Looking over at Sabine, she said, "If you can, Countess, try not to overdue for the next couple days. It can't hurt to take it easy after a bit of a scare like this."

Ezra bid her goodbye, thanking her again, and then closed the door, resting his forehead against the cool wood and exhaling deeply.

Turning around, he made eye contact with Sabine, whose tears had started to flow.

"E-Ezra," she sobbed.

In a just few long strides, he was beside her, engulfing her shaking frame in his strong arms. He held her tight while she cried, the tears soaking through his shirt, not that he cared about that. He stroked her hair, her back; his lips brushing her temple.

It took several minutes, but eventually her cries quieted down and she regained her composure. The fists that had been wrapped tightly in his shirt slowly loosened their death grip and she took a few calming breaths.

"I really thought…"

"I know," he whispered.

"I saw the blood and I thought…all I could think was 'this is my fault. What did I do wrong?'"

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

"I was so sure I'd lost our baby, Ezra."

"But you didn't." He pulled back from their embrace and put his finger beneath her chin, forcing her meet his gaze. "They're still right there," his hand dropped to her slightly round stomach. "Still gotta cook a few more months before we can meet 'em, but they're not going anywhere."

Sabine let out a short laugh and began wiping away the tear tracks on her cheeks. "Force, it's been a long day. I need a nap."

Ezra made as if to leave. "Do you want me to go?"

Her hand shot out, gripping his wrist and tugging him back down on the bed. "Well, I never said that."

He grinned, shimmying under the covers with her, his arm draped over her side so that his hand could rest protectively over her bump.

"We'll be alright, Sabine. Everything's gonna be just fine."

"I'm holding you to that," she mumbled against her pillow.

"I expect nothing less, my love."