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"Your mama is the strongest person I know."
Those words pull Regina from fitful sleep filled with half-formed nightmares that never quite come to fruition, but never allow her proper healing rest. She wants to drop back into unconsciousness, but she knows it's not likely to happen now. She doesn't even know what time of day or night it is, but she doesn't want to get up yet.
"She hasn't had it easy, not by any chance of fate, but you and me? We're gonna make sure she has a better life. She deserves the whole of the lands to call her own, but I know she doesn't wish for that kind of life. She was forced to grow up too quickly as the queen of a kingdom she didn't want. But now? Now is when you and I make her the queen of our lives and treat her with all the love and respect she deserves."
Regina feels tears fill her eyes at his words. She doesn't know what she did to deserve her soulmate, but she is beyond grateful to have him in her life. She wants to say something to him, wants to thank him for being such an incredible man, but words fail her. Just as she's about to say something, she feels a fluttering sensation in her belly. It sucks the breath from her lungs in surprise as she realizes what is happening, then terror seeps in when she remembers what has always happened in the past at this stage of the game.
"Regina? Love, are you all right?"
She shakes her head, hiccupping around a sob. Feeling the bed move, she tenses until Robin's arms wrap around her, pulling her into a warm embrace. The tears fall in earnest now, fear and exhaustion and hope vying for dominance. To his credit, Robin just holds her and rubs her back, murmuring soft words of comfort. When she feels that fluttering sensation again, she reaches for one of his hands, presses it to her belly.
"Regina?"
"Y-You may not feel it now, but our babe is moving." She hates how haggard she sounds. This should be a joyous occasion for the two of them.
"Are you sure?" he asks, pulling back just enough to stroke her belly with firmer intent, as if trying to feel the movements. "Where? Will you show me?"
She takes the time to replace his hand where she'd feel the sensations, unable to stop herself from smiling at his enthusiasm. Robin scoots back down again to where he'd been when she woke up, pulling up her nightdress to expose the swell of her belly. He presses gentle kisses along the area where his hand had been, his scruff tickling her sensitive skin until she's gasping for air from the giggling. He never fails to lift her mood.
"Thank you, my love."
"For what?" he asks, pausing to look up at her with eyes that sparkle with love and happiness. "I should be thanking you for this gift that is our child. You've been through so much and here you are, telling me that our babe quickens within your womb, making the dream a reality." His words remind her of one of the things that has plagued her sleep of late, and her joy plummets. He strokes her cheek, a frown marring his open expression. "Love, what's wrong?"
"I'm only a few weeks away from the longest I carried a babe before," she whispers. "What if-- What if it wasn't Leopold's seed that was the issue, Robin? What if it's been me all along? What if I lose this babe, too?"
Tears glitter in his eyes now, and she hates herself for taking away his joy at their unborn child's presence. "Regina, I swear to you by all the gods above and below, if the worst should happen, it is not your fault, just as it was never your fault for any of those other babes being taken too early. You are a good person and you are meant to be a mother. I have a good feeling about this babe. He or she was conceived on Samhain. That is potent magic, love, and I don't think the gods are as perverse as to give us our first child under those auspicious circumstances only to take him or her away capriciously."
"But--"
"No, Regina, have faith. You kept the faith that we would one day be together for two long and hellish years while still married to that abusive bastard, and now look at us. So close to our handfasting and with our first child on the way. That same faith will see us through to this babe's birth."
She stares at him, allowing the small kernel of hope and faith to grow within her heart at his words. She wants to believe him, knows in her soul that she can. "How are you so certain that this will all work out?"
Robin licks his lips and stares down at her belly for a moment, fingers tracing random patterns on her skin. When he speaks, his voice cracks, and she sees a tear slip down his cheek. "The only thing in this life that I am certain of is that I love you and our babe, that when I met you that night in the tavern, I felt like I'd found my home. Everything in my life has led up to finding you and bringing you into my heart and my life. That includes our children. And yes, love, I very much hope to fill this cottage with children. I will add on more rooms if need be, should the gods be so generous." He presses a gentle kiss to her belly before meeting her gaze again, emotion naked in his eyes. "I know that there is the possibility of losing this babe, but I put every bit of my faith into the thought of holding him or her in my arms, of watching you nurse our child for the first time after bringing him or her into the world, of watching your introduce your father to his first grandchild. I can picture each of those moments so clearly in my head, Regina, and they feel so right in my soul." He reaches for her hand and presses it to his chest. "If you have doubts, love, it's all right. I have enough certainty and faith for the two of us."
And just like that, the dam bursts, and she begins to sob at the beauty and honesty of his words. Robin pulls her into a tight embrace, and she returns it willingly. A tearful laugh escapes her as she feels that fluttering sensation again, as if the babe in her womb can sense that this is a family bonding moment and wants to be involved.
"Our babe is moving again," she says through tears. "I think he or she wants to be part of this hug."
"Our babe is already part of this hug. I love you both and always will."
"And we love you, too, Robin. Thank you for reminding me of what's important."
"Always."
Regina starts to speak, but yawns instead. A blush heats up her cheeks, and she feels her exhaustion creeping in again. Robin chuckles and presses a sweet kiss to her lips as they settle back in bed again. She starts to drift off to sleep, safe in the knowledge that she is not alone and that she is loved and wanted just as she is. Just before slumber overtakes her, Regina realizes that this time there will be no bad dreams.