It was a normal day, just like any other. With Christmas over, Bernard had more time to work on getting the house fixed up and ready for the kids he planned to have with his precious wife.
    A lot of work had already been completed but Bernard still needed to work on the roof. He was on the roof, fixing it when his wife came to visit him with news. News he never got to hear.
                             * * * * *
    Rose had been feeling sick for the past couple of weeks. The only one who had noticed so far was Carol since they spent so much time together.
    One day, Rose and Carol were spending time together, chatting when Rose started feeling really bad. Immediately, she made a beeline for the bathroom to vomit up everything she had eaten that day. Carol was behind her minutes later, stroking her back gently.
     "Are you, ok?" Rose looked up. Her stepmother shook her head. "Forget I asked. Go home and rest."
     "No." Rose said. "You need me."
     "I'll be fine, Rose, but you're clearly sick. Go home or find Dr. Histmus."
     Rose nodded. Walking out into the cool air, she felt herself feel a little better. She didn't want to go home yet as she knew Bernard was busy and she didn't want to bother him with such a small insignificant thing. Making up her mind, Rose made her way to the center of the village and began looking for Dr. Histmus' office.
    Finally finding it, she knocked on the door. "Come in." Dr. Histmus said. Rose opened the door and stepped inside. "Ah! Good morning, Rose!"
    "'Morning, Dr. Histmus."
    "What can I do for you?"
    "Well...I need a checkup. I haven't been feeling well lately."
    Dr. Histmus pulled out some materials from his desk. "Alright. You rest back in that chair for me." Rose did so. Dr. Histmus began taking her blood pressure. "Now, explain your symptoms to me."
     "Alright. Well...I've been throwing up an awful lot." Rose began, slowly. She listened off each of her symptoms but stopped, realizing a split second before Dr. Histmus said anything. "Am I...?"
     "Let's do a test to find out." He said, reading her mind.
                           * * * * *
     So that's how they got to that point.
     Rose rushed home, a sense of excitement talking over her as she got closer and closer to her destination. She made it to the house to find Bernard on the roof, fixing some of the shingles.
     "Bernard!" She shouted. "I've got something to tell you!"
     Bernard was so busy fixing the roof, he couldn't even hear her. Rose, realizing this, decided to take matters into her own hands. She began walking up the ladder toward her husband. When she was almost all the way up, Bernard finally turned to see her.
     "Snowflake, what are you doing?"
     "I have to tell you something important!"
     A sudden breeze blew in their direction and Rose missed a step. She went flying through the air. Bernard saw and immediately made a grab for her. Both of them fell off the roof and landed hard on the icy ground.
    Rose yelped in pain and tried to shake her husband awake to no avail. She kept shouting his name, tears streaming down her face. Yet, he did not awaken.
    Rose immediately began calling for help. Several elves came running out of their homes to see her distress. They ran to help her.
    No one noticed Jack Frost hiding in the shadows, a big self-satisfied smirk on his face. "Now, with Bernard out of the way, you will be mine, gorgeous." With that, he disappeared.
                             * * * * *
     Santa came jogging up to the hospital to find his daughter sitting in a chair, tears running down her face as Carol patted her on the back. Quickly, he made his way over to her and opened his arms for a hug. Rose leapt into her father's arms.
     "What happened?" He asked Rose.
     She explained how she had gone home to give him some important news, how she had fallen off the ladder, and how he had saved her, taking the fall himself. Dr. Histmus didn't even know if Bernard would survive as he took a nasty fall. Luckily for Rose, since Bernard took most of the impact she was ok other than a sprained wrist from when she landed on it.
     Santa comforted her as best as he could. They all sat in their chairs, waiting to see what would happen.
     Finally, after a long time, Dr. Histmus came out to give his statement. "He's not dead." He had said. "Unfortunately, because he was so close to dying, his body has shut down. He's in a coma and I don't know when he will wake up if ever."
     Rose ran to Bernard's side. Sure enough, he looked to be in a deep sleep. She held his hand, crying. "Oh, B. This is all my fault!"
     The rest of the family stayed with Rose for awhile, each of them hoping beyond hope that Bernard would be ok. Finally, it grew late.
     "Princess, come stay with us for the night."
     "He's right, Rose. You shouldn't be alone." Carol encouraged.
     "I caused this. I was so happy and excited to tell him...." She trailed off.
     "Tell him what?"
     Rose looked up at her dad and stepmom through the tears in her eyes and whispered, "I'm pregnant."
                             * * * * *
     News of what had happened spread quickly. By the following day, everyone knew of Bernard's current situation as well as Rose's pregnancy.
     With Bernard out of commission, it fell on Curtis to become the new Head Elf. Rose, meanwhile, had even more of an issue. She visited Bernard everyday, keeping him updated on what was happening. And everyday, she would apologize for putting him in this position and tell him she loved him.
     Months went by in this way and she began to lose hope. She had no idea that things were about to get even more complicated.