We Can Love Again

Catching Up

They were up at the break of dawn, going through the regular routine of eating breakfast and getting Henry and Roland ready for school. Regina begged Robin to stay in bed for a while longer, but he protested that he had been away from their kids far too long for that. He watched her intently (trying to be subtle about it) as she tended to a pan of eggs and sausage. His two kids were telling him about how school was going; apparently Henry was learning how to work with fractions and Roland was learning how to write letters and words.

It was still amazing to him how much his family had changed so much over the span of four months. Henry had gotten taller by a few inches, so had his four year old. And of course there was Regina, who now had a small baby bump under her clothes. It fit her well surprisingly, made her seem more motherly.

"Eat fast, the bus comes soon," she told them, presenting their excited boys with a hot breakfast and some orange juice.

Robin watched them with slight amusement as they both scarfed down the eggs and sausage. He wasn't sure if he liked the idea of Henry being away for an entire eight hours, Roland only four, completely out of reach until they returned home.

They both grabbed their backpacks and gave both their parents a hug before racing out the front door. In a matter of seconds, Robin and Regina were absolutely alone in the house.

"Is this how it is every morning?" He asked, just then beginning to pick at his breakfast.

Regina smiled. "Pretty much, except for the weekend."

"So, does this mean we get the next four hours to ourselves?"

"Yeah, guess it does."

After they finished their breakfast, both of them silently agreed they would enjoy nothing better than to spend a while longer in bed. Robin was quickly falling in love with her extremely comfortable bed; he claimed it was the best sleep he had ever had. Regina tried to suppress a smile as she settled herself in his arms. If that wasn't paradise, she didn't know what was.

The dim morning light was slowly drifting into the room, giving a soft illumination to the darkness. She felt an immediate peace as she concentrated on the steady beat of his heart. Drowsiness was already tugging at her senses, but Regina knew she had to tell him about what had happened since he and her were separated.

"Snow lost her baby about a month ago," she said, shuddering inside as she remembered the horror that she experienced that day, "she... She got pregnant about the same time I did, but hers didn't make it past three months."

Robin tightened his grip on her as he let the words sink in. "I never knew she was even pregnant," he told her, "is she doing okay though?"

Regina signed. "I don't know, she's been pretty quiet since it happened. I've hardly seen her or Charming the past few weeks."

He imagined how awkward it probably was between the both of them now.

"Tell me something happier, I can't stand to be sad on a day like this."

She thought for a moment. "Well, Roland's done great in his first month of preschool. It's such a relief to have time to myself in the day, even if it's only for a little while."

His hands found the base of her stomach, where they rested delicately.

"And how have you been holding up?"

He could feel a light pulse there, which could only be from his child.

"It's been... Hard, but I've managed this far, haven't I?" She sent him a small smile and lay her head back down on his chest. "You missed the first four months, though you didn't miss much. Just puking. Lots and lots of puking."