A/N: This fic is dedicated to thejollyduckling –Happy Birthday Lydia! Thank you for being the cheese to my macaroni J I've had this idea for a little while now, and your birthday is the perfect excuse to finally try my hand at writing a multichapter fic about our three favourites: Emma, Killian, and Regina. I am thankful to hezzer14 for her advice and words of support, and to onceuponawhine for being my beta. The awesome banner was made by cutlasswans. I am excited to tell this story, and I hope you enjoy the first instalment!
Emma entered the kitchen and deposited the dirty dishes on the counter. She took a deep calming breath, trying to keep her nerves in check. She could smell the salty ocean air coming in through the open door of the balcony. She walked over the look out over the marina below, the boats gently bobbing in the intercoastal waters. The winds hadn't picked up yet and the breeze was gentle and warm. She'd moved in a year ago and the view still never ceased to amaze her.
She heard the door open behind her, Killian carrying some plates. He saw her standing by the door, and gave her a sympathetic look. He knew she was nervous about the evening, and he set the plates down and approached her. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her right behind her ear.
"Swan, there is no reason to be nervous. You know my brother and Elsa love you. And I'm pretty sure David won't try to sabotage us...right?" Killian asked with a smirk. He always knew how to make her smile. Emma was a bit apprehensive about David's reaction. He had been her friend since childhood, and she considered him to be almost like a brother. He couldn't help but be protective and had taken some time to warm up to Killian. She had no doubt that he liked Killian, they had recently started hanging out without her, a good sign.
"I know. I know it's going to be fine. You were right, we should have just told them when they arrived rather than wait until dessert. The anticipation is only making me more stressed about the whole thing." Emma leaned back against him. They stayed like that for a moment, Killian holding her tight.
"Ok, I guess we better go in there, they'll be wondering what's taking so long." Emma said as she pulled away from his embrace. "So we're sticking to the plan, right?"
"Aye. I do the talking." Killian winked as he grabbed the cake from the table. Emma followed him with the desert plates. Liam, Elsa, and David were deep in conversation when they arrived in the dining room.
"Is that chocolate?" Elsa asked brightly as she looked up at the cake with wide eyes.
"Yup!" Emma replied, instantly relieved that she chose it rather than the carrot cake earlier in the day.
"Oh, that looks delicious!" David exclaimed as he reached for the knife to cut the first piece.
"Hold on, mate," Killian held up his arm in a stopping motion before wrapping it around Emma's waist. "There's something we'd like to tell you guys before we start on desert."
Everyone stopped moving to give the couple their full attention. Emma saw Liam give Killian a knowing smile, while Elsa furrowed her brows. David looked slightly confused, and then stunned. He probably realized the nature of the news.
Emma didn't feel nervous in that instant. Killian was staring at her, beaming with joy. She never thought that this was possible; finding a person to share her life with. After so many years running, she had finally found a home.
Killian turned his attention to the group, holding her tight to his side. "Last night I asked this beautiful, strong, and incredible woman to marry me, and she said yes."
"YES! Congratulations little brother!" Liam shouted as he leapt out of his chair and gave Killian a warm hug. "Welcome to the family, Emma," he said as he hugged her as well.
Elsa gave out a yelp of excitement and clapped her hands before congratulating them both.
David stayed silent for a moment before rising from his chair to walk over to Emma, pulling her into a hug. "Congratulations, Emma," he said in her ear, "I am so happy that you found someone to share your life with."
Emma felt her eyes start to well up with tears. She was overjoyed that he was happy about the engagement, and she fought hard to keep it together. She quickly brushed away her tears before pulling back to thank him.
David turned to Killian, "You better treat her right, or you'll have me to answer to," he said rather seriously.
"I give you my word of honor," Killian replied solemnly. David smiled and they gave each other a backslapping hug.
"I think this calls for a celebratory beverage of some kind, no?" Liam said with a wink.
"Aye, we've got champagne in the fridge!" Killian replied with a smirk.
"We do?" Emma was incredulous, but then she noticed Liam's knowing smile, "You knew, didn't you?"
"Who do you think helped him pick the ring and calm his nerves, lass?" he chuckled.
They celebrated well into the night, drinking champagne and eating chocolate cake. Liam regaled the group with the tale of their adventures in ring shopping, and Elsa gave wedding planning advice. David continued teasing Killian with increasingly hilarious threats, to which Killian replied with comical pronouncements of his own.
Emma felt a warm glow of happiness as she sat at the table surrounded by her loved ones. It was a long way from her darkest days, and those days never seemed so far behind her than they did at that very moment. The evening wound down, and Liam and Elsa were the first to announce their departure.
"We've got to get going, we've got to relieve the babysitter. I'm sure you'll have a similar problem soon enough." Liam joked.
Emma felt her shoulders tense at the last statement. She and Killian had briefly discussed kids, and he knew this was a painful topic for her. He and David were the only people who knew about her past, about the pregnancy and the adoption. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to have kids. It was complicated.
Killian placed his arm around her waist and answered; "Next thing you know you'll be picking out retirement homes for us." Emma loved that he was skilled at the art of deflection.
"Liam, leave them alone, they just got engaged!" Elsa said with a roll of her eyes.
David congratulated them both sincerely, and made plans to see Emma the next day at lunch. Once everyone was gone, Emma and Killian collapsed on the couch in the living room.
Killian rubbed his cheek with his hand, "That was so close to perfection, I'm so sorry my brother nearly ruined it with the kids comment, love."
Emma leaned against his body, her head nestled on his shoulder. "It's fine, I'm sure there will be lots of comments like that. I need to get used to it." Killian kissed the top of her head gently, stroking her hair with his fingers while his prosthetic arm pulled her closer to him.
"Aye. Like I've said, Swan, I would love to have children with you if that is what you want. But you are more than enough family for me."
Emma turned her body to the side to kiss him softly, her hand cupping his cheek. She could hear the wind blowing harder outside, the windows rattling from the force of the gusts. The scruff of his beard tickled her cheeks as she kissed him more urgently, when suddenly they were startled by the doorbell.
"Do you think someone forgot something?" Emma asked, looking at Killian quizzically as she stood up
"Maybe David thought of another threat and felt compelled to come back to tell me in person!" Killian shouted as Emma walked to the front of the apartment.
Emma opened the door, and looked down to see a young boy staring up at her, his brown hair tossed around by the wind.
"Uh, can I help you?" Emma asked, confused by the presence of a 10 year old at her doorstep late at night.
"Are you Emma Swan?" the boy asked in a cute, slightly squeaky voice.
"Yeah, who are you?"
"My name is Henry. I'm your son."
Regina re-read the same sentence of her book for the third time, her eyelids heavy with sleep.
"Robin? You awake?" She said as she turned to her new husband.
"Mmmmm, barely." Robin replied sleepily.
"Sorry. I'm just going to go check up on the kids." Regina got out of bed and put on her slippers. She had gotten into the habit of checking up on them every night ever since Robin and Roland moved in after the wedding.
Roland had been having trouble sleeping in his new room, taking longer than usual to fall asleep. Henry had been staying up late reading. He had been acting rather sullen, but that seemed like a natural reaction to the new reality. The family merger had gone pretty well, but it was a big change and it would take time to adjust.
Regina peeked her head into Roland's room. He was sprawled in a ridiculous position, his feet sticking out from under the covers and an arm bent over his head. Regina entered the room quietly and pressed a kiss to his forehead.
She walked down the hallway to Henry's room, passing a newly-framed wedding photo of the four of them smiling. She opened Henry's door, and sighed when she saw that he was completely buried under his comforter. That's how he used to sleep when he was little. She approached him and pulled back the covers to kiss him when she gasped in shock. All she found were some pillows and stuffed animals in his place.
She wanted to scream out HENRY, but didn't want to wake Roland. She ran back to her room as quickly as she could, bursting in, "Robin! Wake up! Henry's gone." She was shaking like a leaf.
"Huh? What do you mean, gone?" he sat up, sleepy but alarmed.
"I mean he's not in his bed. He put pillow under his covers to make it look like he was still there. I think he may have run away" A single tear rolled down her cheek as this realization crashed into her.
Robin got out of bed and placed his arms around her, "Hey, don't panic just yet. Maybe he's just downstairs working on one of his projects."
"Operations," Regina corrected. "You're right, let's go look downstairs." She allowed herself to hope that she would find him hard at work, drawings and maps spread out on the dining room table.
Once they got downstairs, everything seemed to be in order, and there was no sign of Henry anywhere. Regina ran from room to room, frantic.
"Henry?! Henry? HENRY! Henry Daniel Mills you'd better come out here right now!" Regina was desperate, tearing through every corner of every room, Robin following her closely. She looked into the front closet; his coat and book bag were gone. Regina sank to the floor against the front door, hugged her knees to her chest and began softly crying. Robin sat down next to her, his arms wrapped around her and his forehead leaning on hers.
"He's gone," she whispered as she hugged him.
"We'll find him, Regina. He can't have gone far," Robin held her tight and stroked her hair. "Perhaps we should call the police," he suggested.
Regina took in a deep breath as she massaged her temples. "Give me a minute, let me think." They sat in silence for a moment, Regina managing to compose herself as she ran through possible scenarios in her head. Maybe he had snuck out to go to a friends house? Or to the library? Finally, an idea came to her and she stood up and marched off with purpose.
"Regina, what's going on?" Robin asked as he followed her to her office.
"I think I have an idea where he might have gone." Regina said, pulling open her filing cabinet. Her office was in pristine order, and her files were neatly labelled and alphabetized. She shuffled through some files until she found the one she was looking for and pulled it out. It was empty.
"I knew it," Regina said as she started to feel like she had regained control over the situation. "I think he went to find his biological mother."
Regina went to her computer and jiggled the mouse to take it out of sleep mode. She opened up her browser history and scrolled down. She smiled as she saw the evidence of her son's research, and gasped when she zeroed in on the most recent entry: an address in her own town of Storydale, Florida.