The Prince's Rose

Harry watched as his wife knelt down to speak with the village children who had come to see them, smiling softly at how good she was with them. She was such a natural and it warmed his heart to imagine how she would be with their child who was due to arrive within the month. He noticed that she always kept one hand on her round belly, gently rubbing the child who had a habit of moving around quite a bit in her womb in attempt to calm him. She always teased him that their child was impatient like his father and constantly on the move.

It was true though. Since they became King and Queen of France there had been a lot more work for him to do, but he always made time for her no matter what. After all they were lovers first and to both of them that was the most important thing.

Despite all that happened Rosalie still found happiness in her life. She missed her father terribly, especially lately now that her memories were beginning to return to her, but she knew that wherever he was he was finally at peace. During the first year after his death she worried a lot about her mother, but in the end she found herself a humble duke who won her heart and her hand in marriage. They married shortly after Rosalie discovered she was pregnant so it was a happy time for all of them. A time of new beginnings and peace.

The child in her stomach kicked her particularly hard and she gasped softly, placing her hand over the spot where she had been kicked.

"Are you alright Queen Rosie?" One of the children asked her.

"Yes. The little one is just a little fiesty today. I'm afraid I must go rest now, but I'll see you all soon." She promised the children who pouted, disapppointed that their story time was cut short but they understood.

Rosalie looked back at her husband who was immediately by her side to help her back to her feet, giving her his arm to hold onto in order to keep her steady on their way back to the carriage. He helped her inside and sat beside her, gently kissing her cheek as he placed his arm around her waist.

"You should really be taking it easy from now on, love." He reminded her.

"I will not just sit around on my ass and do nothing for who knows how long until this baby comes." She argued.

Harry sighed and looked at his wife who gave her an equally stubborn expression. She had been having quite a troubling pregnancy. First she was dealing with horrible nausea and dizzy spells, then came the pain from her body shifting to make more room for their child, and now she was once again suffering from dizzy spells every once in a while. The doctor told her to take it easy but of course she didn't completely listen. She still went out to visit the village children twice a week to tell them stories and did some other work related things. It worried Harry but he knew it pissed her off when he showed any concern for the well being of her and their child. It actually caused quite the fight between them just a couple weeks ago.

*Two weeks ago*

"Rose, you really need to take it easy. The doctor said you have to rest. If you keep doing this it'll cause complications." Harry said, trying to reason with his wife as he blocked her way out of the bedroom.

"I'm fine, Harry! God, I'm not some helpless little girl and you can't keep me held prisoner in my own home! I had enough of that from Isaac and I can't breathe in here! I need to be outside." She argued.

"If you want to go outside then fine, but you shouldn't just take off without telling anyone. If something happens because you aren't taking this seriously th-"

"You think I'm not taking this seriously?" She asked as she looked up at him, the pain of his words evident in her eyes. "You think that I'm just being reckless and not taking it easy with every step I take? I'm constantly thinking of the well being of our child, Harry. It's the only thing on my mind every second of the day. I have to be a thousand times more careful and I'm constantly having to deal with triggers that bring back horrible memories, but I can't fully allow myself to feel them because I have to force them away to keep myself calm for our child. I'm sick and tired of you telling me that I don't care about our baby. I'm fully aware that if anything happens to this baby it's going to be my fault and that thought is terrifying enough. I don't need my own husband accusing me of not putting our child first."

Harry watched as tears fell down her beautiful face, dripping down across the healed scar on her cheek. He felt awful and completely understood why she was upset. She was right. It was much different for her and although I worried about her overdoing things she was constantly worried every second of the day that she would do something wrong to hurt the baby. He sighed softly and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Harry said softly as he pulled her into his arms and allowed her to cry into his chest. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought you didn't care."

"Well you did... and you sounded like a dick." She sniffled.

He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead.

"I know, and I was being a dick. I'm sorry, love. Now let's go outside hmm? The roses are finally in bloom."

Rose looked up at her husband with a soft smile and lightly kissed his lips before following him out into the guarded.

*Present*

"I know my limits, Harry. Going to the village twice a week isn't overdoing it... but I promise I'll rest when we get home. This little one has been moving around quite a bit lately and I'm exhausted." Rose said as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Harry smiled softly and nodded, kissing her head. When they arrived he helped her up to their bedroom and helped her get ready for bed. Since she had such a hard time bending over he often helped her with her shoes or anything else she needed. She finally laid down and rubbed her swollen belly, laughing softly as she felt their child kick her hand again.

"Is the baby kicking?" Harry asked with a smile as he laid down next to her and placed his hand on her belly.

She positioned his hand to the right spot then smiled softly as she watched his face light up. He always loved when the baby kicked and he could feel his or her tiny foot under his palm. It made him so much more excited to meet their child and hold the little human in his arms.

Rose giggled softly as Harry leaned forwards to kiss her belly and talk to their little one like he often did. He was always down there telling their child that he loved them and stories about how we grew up together and fell in love. It was adorable. She gently played with his hair and he eventually dozed off with his head resting on her belly. She followed shortly after but it didn't last very long until she felt a sharp pain in her stomach followed by wetness between her legs. Harry woke up to her whimpers of pain and furrowed his brows when he saw that the bed was wet.

"Harry, get the doctor. I think it's time." Rose breathed out.

"Shit. Okay. I'll get him. Just stay calm okay? Stay calm. Breathe." Harry said in a rush, seeming more panicked than she was.

"I'm fine! Just go!"

"Right. I'll be back."

Rose watched as her husband ran out of the room in search of anyone who could fetch the doctor so he could return to his wife's side. When he returned she was sweating and trying to breathe through another contraction. The midwife arrived first since she was in the castle and she got some cold damp cloths to place on her forehead and helped prepare the room.

Harry remained by her side the whole time, holding her hand and giving her kisses to remind her of how good she was doing. When the time finally came to push her screams of pain killed him, but he also knew this time it was a good kind of pain.

After what seemed like hours the new little Prince was born. He looked more like Rose, but when his eyes finally opened the new parents saw flecks of green in the dark blue color that all babies were born with.

"He's beautiful." Rose sniffled, feeling exhausted after hours of labor.

"Yeah. He is." Harry said, looking down at their son with watery eyes.

He was absolutely perfect.

Two Years Later

"Charles, slow down, honey." Rose called as she walked beside Harry while their little two year old ran ahead up to the front doors of the castle.

"He's not listening as usual. So much like his mother." Harry teased, only to get hit in the chest.

He laughed and put his hand over the spot as if it hurt him, but of course it didn't. He knew his son was just excited to see his grandparents and aunt in London. They hadn't seen Harry's family in almost a year so it was nice to take the trip over to visit his family and celebrate his sister's first child. She had welcomed a baby girl a couple months ago so of course Rose demanded they go visit so she could see her niece.

Harry's family greeted them in the entrance of the castle and he smiled when Rose made a beeline for the bundle in Gemma's arms before speaking to anyone else. They had been talking about having another child soon and he was sure that after this she would want to get right on that. Not that he minded one bit. Making the baby was the fun part after all.

After an afternoon spent catching up with family they all went to bed, little Charles snuggled up in the bed between his parents of course. He quite enjoyed being in the middle of them but he was definitely more of a mummys boy than anything. Rose loved his clinginess and welcomed his cuddles each time he came over to her. She smiled softly as he snuggled into her chest and kissed his head gently.

"I want another one." She said to her husband who chuckled and smiled.

"As you wish, my love. But first you need to get our son to stop sleeping in our bed so we can have some privacy." He reminded her.

"But he's just so sweet when he comes in all sleepy and wanting cuddles from his mum." She pouted.

"I know. All I'm saying is that we move him back to his room after he falls asleep so we can have our alone time. I would never ask you to stop letting our son come to us when he needs us."

Rose smiled softly and nodded, happy that he saw it that way as well. They had all gone through so much lately and Charles was the light of their lives. He was the happy ending to a year of torment.

Harry watched as his wife knelt down to show their son his cousin and couldn't help but think about how lucky he was. Their lives had been rough up until this point and they basically got nothing but thorns...

but this...

His little family...

They were his rose.

Beautiful and perfect.

Notes