Author's Note: Hi everyone! So sorry its taken me so long to update! Life is so busy! Anyway, here is chapter 12. There's a bit of a twist in this chapter. I hope its not too confusing and that you will enjoy it. Please review if you have a moment and I will try to have chapter 13 up sooner. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks everyone!-Lin

...

Chapter 12:

Rose

Elizabeth's P.O.V

(Dream)

"I need to push." I said to the midwife as I felt another contraction starting.

"Follow your instincts, Gisela. Push when you feel it's right." The town midwife told me. I did as I was told. It went on like that for about a half hour until my son was born. The midwife cleaned him off before she handed my son, Jonathan, to me.

I smiled down at the new little life. I couldn't believe, I was actually holding my son.

(End of Dream)

I woke up with a sharp pain. It felt different from the other contractions but once the pain was gone I tried to go back to sleep. After about a minute I felt another pressure wave hit me. I caught my breath once it was through and tried once again to go to sleep. I repeated that pattern for about 15 minutes when the nurse came.

"Mrs. Gold, I'm going to check you real quick and see if you've dilated at all." She informed me before putting on a plastic glove. Once she finished checking me she told me she was going to give Dr. Whale a quick call.

"I think you're having a baby tonight." She said before turning to leave the room.

"Miss…could you call my husband?" I pleaded with her. I didn't want to have this baby alone.

"Of course." She answered before leaving the room.

I waited about five minutes when Dr. Whale came in. He checked me as well.

"Well, Mrs. Gold, you are starting to dilate and it looks like you are starting to bleed. I'm going to order a quick in room ultrasound to see how much more the placenta has detached and then we'll make a decision from there." Dr. Whale told me.

"Ok." I answered. As Dr. Whale was about to leave I felt an excruciating pain. I let out a scream. Dr. Whale turned back to me. He walked up to me before calling for the nurse. Lights started to flash before my eyes.

"Mrs. Gold…" I heard Dr. Whale say, "…..the placenta…detached…emergency….." His words were cutting out. I was engulfed in the pain before I succumbed to the darkness.

….

Mr. Gold's P.O.V

Once I had made it to the hospital I quickly made my way to Gisela's…Elizabeth's room. I was surprised and became nervous when I realized she wasn't there.

"Oh, Mr. Gold, you just missed it. They took Mrs. Gold back to the OR. She completely blacked out, the placenta completely detached and they needed to do an emergency C-Section." A nurse informed me when she realized I was there.

"Are my wife and child alright?" I questioned.

"I don't know. I haven't heard yet. Why don't you go wait out in the waiting room and I'll see if I can sneak you back to see your son's birth?" she suggested. I nodded and went to the waiting room. I was nervous. I hadn't completely missed my son's birth the first time around. I didn't want to miss it this time.

"They both better be alright and in good health." I threatened no one in particular. I wanted to know what was happening. I wanted to know if Elizabeth was alright and if my child would live. My hand gently brushed the cloth I always kept in my pocket. I was tempted to take out the cloth so I could see my son's hand prints but didn't dare in public.

'Be strong my son.' I thought, wishing I could use magic to protect my family. I waited for fifteen minutes before Dr. Whale emerged from the door way. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Mr. Gold," he greeted me.

"How are my wife and son?" I asked. "Are they alright?"

"Mrs. Gold will be alright. She's still unconscious but she'll be fine. Your child has been taken to the NICU. It seems we made a mistake though."

"What do you mean?" I inquired. I felt myself growing angry. If Dr. Whale and staff here did something that harmed my son, they would know true pain.

"The ultrasound tech. She was wrong when she did the 20 week ultrasound. You don't have a son. You have a daughter." Dr. Whale answered.

I was stunned. I was sure we were having a son. When Gisela was able to meet me while I was imprisoned that one time, she told me we had a son. Where did this baby girl come from?

"You're sure it's a girl?" I asked, flabbergasted. There had to be a mistake. If this child was a girl that meant something had happened to my son while the curse had taken place.

"I'm fairly positive. Perhaps you'd like to see her?" Dr. Whale offered. I was still in shock but nodded. I followed Dr. Whale down the hospital hallway until we came into wing of the hospital I hadn't been in before. I was asked to wear a mask and gloves before entering the NICU.

"There she is." Dr. Whale said, nodding in towards a plastic confinement where an infant rested inside. I walked over to see the fragile child, with tubes and other devices covering her face and various other places. I looked her over closely. She was the spinning image of my wife with traces of me. The sight before me tugged at my heart a bit. I knew she was mine. I had a daughter.

"How does she look? Will she survive?" I asked Dr. Whale.

"So far she looks as good if not better than we had hoped. Her lungs are underdeveloped as we knew they would be. The machine she's hooked up to is what is helping her breath. She a little fighter though. Of course it's too early to know for sure but I think with our technology and constant care, she has a fairly good chance of surviving." He answered. I nodded and looked back at my little girl. I was going to do everything in my power to make sure she would be alright. I was going to protect her at all cost.

...

Elizabeth's P.O.V

I felt something soft touching my hand as I my eyes flickered opened. Things were blurry at first but it wasn't long when I realized my husband was gently stroking my hand.

"Elizabeth?" I heard him say. My eyes lifted up to meet his.

"My love." I answered. "What happened?"

"The placenta detached. They had to take you in for an emergency C-Section." My husband informed me. I paused for a moment as memories of going into labor flooded back to me.

I looked tried to move a bit when I felt the soreness of an incision, telling me I did indeed have a C-Section.

"How is the baby? Is he alright?" I quickly questioned. I desperately needed to know if my son was alright.

"It seems things aren't as we originally expected. Our child…." He started to say when I cut him off.

"What do you mean? Did something happen to him?"

"No. We don't have a son…we have a daughter." He informed me. I was stunned. He was joking…right? The ultrasound said we were having a son. There was no way I had been carrying a baby girl.

"Stop kidding around and please tell me our son is alright." I begged my husband. He gave me a soft smile.

"Dr. Whale assured me that our daughter is perfectly alright." He answered. Now I was really confused, I thought for another moment when I realized he wasn't kidding. We really did have a baby girl instead of a boy.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"In the NICU; they have her on oxygen and a few other machines to help keep her alive. She is a strong little person, Elizabeth. You will love her, when you meet her." He stated.

"You're wrong. I already do love her. When do you think they'll let me see her?"

"I'll go talk to them." He said before standing up from the bed.

"I love you." I called to him. He turned to me and smiled.

"And I love you." He replied. Within a few minutes my husband returned with Dr. Whale.

"Mrs. Gold, you gave us a bit of a scare. How are you feeling?" Dr. Whale asked.

"I'm a little sore but alright. When can I see my daughter?" I questioned.

"Your vitals look good and your heart rate is steady. I don't see any potential problems. I'll have a nurse take you to the NICU." Dr. Whale answered before excusing himself from the room. I was nervous and excited. I was going to be meeting my daughter in a few minutes. I didn't want to wait.

"You know we never did discuss girl names." I mentioned to my husband.

"No, I don't believe we did." He admitted.

"What do you think we should name her?"

"I want you to see her first. We can choose her name once you meet her." My husband informed me.

"Ok." I agreed. A few more minutes passed when a nurse came in with a wheelchair.

…

"There she is." The nurse said as she wheeled me up to see my little girl. I couldn't take my eyes off of the small figure before me. She was tiny, way too tiny.

"She's beautiful." I breathlessly stated.

"When will she be strong enough to come home?" I asked the nurse.

"Probably not for a while, we need to watch her closely while she's growing and developing. She has the best start she can possibly have given the circumstances." The nurse answered.

I continued to stare at my daughter. I ached to hold her to me and take care of her. I was her mother and I wanted to act like it.

"For all the ultrasounds we had, I'm surprised we didn't catch onto her being a girl sooner." I stated.

"Technology isn't perfect." my husband said. I smiled and nodded.

"Since you're both here, could we get her name for our records?" the nurse asked. I looked up to my husband. He glanced down at me.

"What do you think my love?" he asked. I looked back down at the fragile figure before me.

"Rose….Rose Marie Gold." I answered. It was the first name that came to mind. I turned back to my husband.

"Is that alright?" I asked him.

"It's beautiful." He agreed. He turned to our daughter.

"Hello Rose, I'm your papa." I heard him say. I smiled. He was going to be a great dad to our little girl. He was going to make sure she was a daddy's girl. I could see that by the gleam in his eyes.

….

"I don't want to leave her here. I want to stay until she can come home with us." I told my husband as I got ready to leave the hospital. I was being discharged today but, like other women who had been in my situation, I was leaving without my baby.

"Believe, I understand, dear but you know she can't come home yet. I promise we will both visit her often and when we're not here we can get the nursery ready for her." My husband replied. He was right. This beautiful little girl was going to come home to a lot of blue if we kept what we had done when we thought we were having a son.

"I still don't want to leave. I'm her mother. I feel like I'm abandoning her." I commented as I sat down on the bed. If I had my way I'd be living in the NICU with my daughter. However, between my husband and the nurses, there was no way I could get away with that.

"I understand. However, this is what's best for her…and you. You can't stay here you'll go crazy. Dr. Whale said you need to rest and allow your body time to heal. The nurses will call if anything happens to Rose. I promise. I will bring you here as often as you like. Just take care of yourself." He stated, sitting next to me. I leaned into him as his arm wrapped around me. I was so grateful to have a man that loved me and our child as much as he did.

"Promise you'll bring me here whenever I want?" I asked.

"Of course."

"What if visiting hours are over?"

"I'm Mr. Gold, dear, they don't apply to me…or you." He answered. I nodded and gave him a kiss. I didn't want to go home but I couldn't prolong staying here. Dr. Whale made it very clear I needed to go home and rest.

…

Mr. Gold's P.O.V

I hated the idea of leaving my daughter in the hospital but was glad that Elizabeth could come home. The house was big and empty without her. I was down in the kitchen making some dinner while Elizabeth was up in the bedroom, hopefully resting.

"I'm going to hire a cook." I stated to myself. As I waited for the food to finish cooking I pulled out the cloth with my son's handprints on it.

'If Rose is here, then where is my son?' I thought, looking at the cloth. I had to find my son. He was here in the world somewhere and I had no idea where. Was he alone? Was he being taken care of?

For once I was grateful Elizabeth didn't have her memory back yet. She was worried enough about Rose, I didn't want her to have to worry about Jonathan. I was going to find my son. He would be home with his mother, his sister and I, no matter what it took.