Summary: "Time is the longest distance between two places." Emma realizes exactly how much will change when the time portal reopens, only this time bringing two visitors from her future. One-shot.

Pairings: Killian/Emma, David/Snow; mention of Henry/OC, Rumplestiltskin/Belle, Whale/Ruby

Rating: K+

A/N: Same characters as my Beautifully Broken universe but can definitely be read as a one-shot. Enjoy!

"Time is the longest distance between two places."
- Tennessee Williams

Here and Now

"Well you better just hope to hell you didn't bring anything else back." Regina's eyes were filled with unshed tears and a burning hate that pierced Emma's soul.

The mayor turned swiftly and, pointedly not looking at the newly reunited family, stomped toward the front door of Granny's. However, she did not get more than a few steps when a sudden whirlwind blew her, and everyone else standing in the diner, off of their feet.

A familiar, swirling orange light appeared above them resulting in screams and many townsfolk scrambling for the door. Emma instinctively struggled toward her son but found that she could not move with the force of the wind. She felt Killian wrap an arm around her waist from behind and hook his namesake on the bar to hold both of them down behind it. David's back was to the wind, his body covering his wife's and his newborn son. Henry had crawled under the table of the booth he was previously sitting in but was peeking out with more interest than fear on his face. The rest of the diner seemed to be in similar states of self-preservation. With a thump, two small figures fell from the portal and landed on the floor.

As suddenly as it started, the portal disappeared and the diner calmed once more. The room was silent for a moment. Weapons were drawn and breaths were held as the entire diner stared at the two figures now lying face down on the cold tiled floor. They were small; clearly only children, definitely younger than Henry. With tiny groans, they began to stir.

Emma took a deep breath, detangled herself from the pirate, and took a step toward the two figures. However, she froze once more when they sat up.

As they looked around, Emma noticed that they had identical confused expressions on their similar faces. The children were clearly brother and sister; the only noticeable difference in their looks being their hair and eye color. While the girl had long blonde curls, her brother had wavy black hair that was currently sticking up in all directions. She felt an inexplicable draw to them.

"Oh, now you've done it." The older of the two, the girl, looked toward her younger brother with a flash of rage and fear that reminded Emma of an expression she has seen cross her mother's face when she was in danger.

The boy raised his hands in defense. "I didn't mean to! You dared me to touch it."

"I didn't think you actually would!" She shouted back, "Auntie Regina told us not to!"

Regina's jaw dropped open and her eyes widened as everyone's heads whipped around to stare at her. Both children quieted suddenly, as if just now noticing that they were not alone. The boy took a step closer to the mayor.

"We didn't mean to," the boy pleaded at her, "It was an accident. I won't do it again. Please don't stop teaching me magic."

If it was even possible, Regina's eyes grew even wider. "I'm sorry. I don't even know who you are."

The boy took a step back as if he had been slapped. His sister walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking confusedly at Regina.

"What do you mean? It's us," She asked hesitantly, glancing around slightly, "Liam and Elizabeth."

Emma felt Killian's intake of breath behind her and was about to question him when she noticed her son crawl out from underneath the table. He had a look of determination and disbelief on his face as if he knew something that everyone else in the diner did not. The second he stood up, both of the children looked at him, their mouths dropping open.

"Henry?" The boy, Liam, asked. "What happened? Why do you look like that?"

The girl's eyes widened as she looked around in panic. She had clearly figured something out that her brother had not. Liam was still staring at Henry as if he had never seen him before but clearly knew who he was. Elizabeth's eyes finally met Emma's and she froze.

Emma felt her breath catch. With a closer look, the girl looked exactly like she did when she was younger, except for her eyes. Where Emma's eyes were green, this girl had the brightest blue eyes. Blue eyes that Emma had only seen on one other person. She felt her panic beginning to rise as she and the girl stared at each other. Emma did not want to believe where her mind was headed; it was not possible. However, the familiar orange portal kept tugging on the back of her mind.

The boy was still trying get Henry to answer his question. Emma noticed her son looked either unable or unwilling to speak.

"Henry?" The small boy asked, his voice full of fear, "Do you not 'member me too? Is that why you're not answering? Please answer me. It's me, Liam, your brother."

Gasps echoed across the room. Emma couldn't help the exclamation of "What?" that escaped her mouth.

The boy turned suddenly at her voice. His sister was still frozen, staring at Emma.

"Mommy!" He yelled, turning away from Henry and rushing straight into her arms. Emma reflexively wrapped her arms around the boy as he buried his face into her stomach, but she could feel herself shaking. This boy, this boy that she had never seen before, had just thrown his arms around her as if he had done it a hundred times before and called her "mommy." Looking around at the rest of the room, everyone had a look of complete shock on her face. Emma's eyes met her mother's. Snow looked close to tears, both from confusion and awe, while her father simply looked dumbstruck, as if he had been knocked over the head with something heavy. Henry, now over his apparent shock, looked as if he were trying not to laugh at her expression.

"Mommy?" The kid asked again, looking up at her, "Why don't anyone 'member me?"

Emma did not answer. She was too busy staring into his eyes, his green eyes, his green eyes that were the exact same shade and shape as hers.

At her silence, the boy took a step backwards, a look of pure fear on his face. His eyes filled with tears that slowly spilled over when he realized she did not recognize him either. He shook his head in confusion.

Emma felt Killian move behind her and step forward where he could be seen. Both children's gazes snapped to the pirate's.

"Daddy?" The boy asked hesitantly.

Emma grabbed the counter next to her thinking she might pass out. She was vaguely aware of more gasps and eyes flickering between her and Killian. Her mother was steadily crying now and Emma was sure she heard her father mutter, "Oh hell no." She looked over at Killian. He had a look of complete awe on his face, unshed tears noticeable in his eyes as he looked over the boy as if memorizing him.

Killian knelt down in front of the boy and cupped his face with his good hand. "Liam." The kid threw his arms around the pirate's neck and held on tight. His sobbing echoed across the diner. At the sound, his sister took a step closer to the pair.

The girl's eyes flickered back to Emma's. "We're in the past, aren't we?" she asked her.

She did not answer but, by her nod, the girl took the silence as confirmation. Emma felt her legs finally give out and she landed hard on her knees, next to Killian and the boy, in front of the girl. She reached up and touched her daughter's face. She couldn't believe it, she had a daughter, or, at least, she will have a daughter. And another son. With Killian. Emma did not know how she felt about that. She knew he loved her, but she had only just admitted to herself, and him, that she felt something in return. If anyone had told her yesterday that she would have two children with Killian in the future, she would have laughed in their face, but now she realized that this was a future she wanted. Killian was good to her, and the reason she pulled away from him so much is because she knew she could fall in love with him. Now it seems that she will. And they'll have two beautiful children together.

Emma felt her eyes well up with tears. Killian reached over and brushed them from her face. He looked at her with so much love that Emma did not even know what to say. Her pirate pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so that she joined the hug with him and their future son. She opened her arm to her daughter who immediately threw her arms around her parents and brother.

Looking over the girl's head, Emma noticed Henry's longing look. Extending a hand, Emma smiled and her son quickly rushed over to join the family hug. Too soon, Regina's sarcastic voice interrupted the moment.

"As much as I hate to interrupt this tearful reunion, how can you be sure this isn't some trick?"

Emma pulled away and looked up at her son's other mother. With a glance back at her future family, she stood up and looked around at all the questioning gazes.

"Look at them," she muttered, her eyes softening as they met Killian's still awed expression, "They look exactly like us. And they know us, all of us. They're not lying either; they believe we're their parents. And we all saw the orange portal that they came through. It looks exactly like Zelena's did. As much as I want to deny that it's possible, I believe them."

"The names give proof to their lineage as well," Killian added. Emma looked at him curiously. He stood up, pulling the children off of the floor with him, the boy refusing to let go of his father's arm. He continued as everyone looked at him.

"Liam, as I'm sure many of you know, was the name of my older brother." Emma nodded in confirmation. "And Elizabeth was my mother's name."

Emma smiled softly as tears of happiness returned to his eyes. He took a step forward and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked her pirate.

"For giving me a chance. For giving me two beautiful children and naming them after people I have loved and lost. For giving me a family."

Emma grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes, ignoring the fact that she could feel her parent's and all her closest friends staring at her in disbelief.

"Touching," Regina said sarcastically, once again interrupting the moment, "But we need to send them back to their time before something gets messed up."

Knowing she was right, Emma reluctantly tore her gaze from the man she now knew she was falling in love with and knelt in front of their daughter. "You said Liam touched something that brought you here to this time. What was it?"

"A watch." She replied quietly.

"A watch?" Rumplestiltskin spoke up suddenly for the first time.

The girl nodded with a glance at her brother. He pulled a small gold wristwatch out of his pocket and handed it to his mother. Barely looking at it, Emma brought it over to the Dark One.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked him.

"That I do, dearie," He replied as he took it from her, "I am currently working on this at the moment. When I heard of Zelena's plan, I decided to try making an alternative way to go back in time in case something needed to be corrected. As it is, I never finished. However, it looks like I will successfully complete this sometime in the near future."

"So you know how it works?" Emma asked desperately, "You can get them home."

"I can."

Emma noticed her children exchange an excited look. She knows exactly how they feel; looking into your parents' eyes and seeing no recognition is one of the worst feelings she has ever experienced. Despite her relief at learning it's possible to return them, Emma is sad to know they will go. She never expected to want a future like that, a future with Killian and more children; however, now that she knows it exists, she wants it more than anything. Emma already knew she loved these children with everything she has, and she can't wait until she meets them in real time.

"Will you help us?" Emma asked Rumple, knowing that just because he can help, doesn't mean he will.

He nodded, "I think it's best to not change the timeline anymore. I suppose I'll just give you the family discount; no deal involved. I just need to run to my shop and quickly brew a forgetting potion for all of us to take as soon as they leave."

At that, the Dark One left the diner without waiting for a response, dragging his new wife with him.

Turning back toward her family, her eyes softened. She had the overwhelming need to learn as much about her future, about her children, as she could before forgetting about them. Henry walked back over to the booth and sat across from his grandparents with a look that clearly meant that his family should follow. Elizabeth quickly slid in next to her brother and Emma sat next to her. Killian pulled up a chair and picked up Liam, placing the boy on his lap. Emma couldn't help the flutter in her chest at how naturally and lovingly Killian adapted to being a father.

"Oh Emma," Snow muttered, her eyes shining as she looked back and forth between her future grandchildren, "They're beautiful."

"I know," She smiled at her mother, noting that her father too was fighting tears. Emma was vaguely aware that the diner was quiet, everyone listening to the family's conversation. Ruby and Granny stood right next to her parents' side of the booth and she could feel Regina's presence directly behind her.

David looked at Killian with a scrutinizing gaze, "I'm not going to threaten you in front of my grandchildren, not to mention my newborn son, but if you hurt her –,"

"David," Snow interrupted, "Look at how happy they are. I don't think the overprotective father act is necessary right now."

"Besides," Killian nodded, "If I hurt Emma, I'd be more afraid of her than you, mate."

There were several chuckles at that statement as Emma nodded in agreement.

"Wait!" exclaimed Elizabeth suddenly, her eyes on the baby in Snow's arms, "Is that Uncle Neal?"

The family laughed at the incredulous look on her and Liam's faces.

"Yes it is," Chuckled Snow, "How old is he in your time?" Emma knew that was her mother's round about way of asking how far into the future they came from. She couldn't blame her; she too was curious.

"He's ten." Answered Liam, still staring curiously at the baby.

Her parent's faces were in awe, obviously trying to picture the baby in their arms as a ten year old kid. However, Emma's thoughts were racing. They're only from ten years in the future. She thought Elizabeth looked only slightly younger than ten.

"Wait a second," Emma asked her daughter, "How old are you?"

"Eight." She responded proudly, "And Liam's four."

Emma's eyes snapped to Killian's. His jaw dropped, clearly coming to the same solution as she: if their daughter is only two years younger than her baby brother, then that means she will get pregnant within the next year and some months. That thought terrified her. Killian looked thrilled. She glanced back at her parents who had obviously figured out the same thing. Her mother looked shocked but happy, while her father was clearly conflicted as to whether he was happy or wanted to punch Killian in the face. Emma rolled her eyes at Ruby's knowing smile and raised eyebrow. Henry was smirking at the sudden tension, but was clearly excited to be getting a baby sibling sooner than he expected.

Seemingly oblivious to the adult's dilemma, Liam asked suddenly, "Wait a second, where's Addie?"

The sudden question snapped the adults out of their respective thoughts. Emma had the feeling that this was very important and the answer would be very shocking.

"Who's Addie?" David asked, glancing between the children.

"Ellie's mommy," responded Liam, "Henry's wife."

There it was. Emma felt her jaw drop and she looked quickly at her oldest son. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were slowly turning red. Henry had a daughter. Her son had a kid. She had a granddaughter. Within the next decade, her son would be giving her a grandchild. Emma's head was spinning. She heard Regina's sharp intake of breath and her muttered, "What?" from behind her.

"What?" Henry managed to stutter, echoing his adoptive mother. At twelve years old, she knew her son was clearly starting to get interested in girls at this point, but marriage and kids was obviously far from his mind.

"Don't you remember, Liam?" Elizabeth spoke up, "Henry told us he met Addie when he was sixteen and he's definitely not sixteen yet."

"Oh yeah," The boy responded, clearly more interested in stealing a French fry off of his grandfather's forgotten dinner plate than the details of his brother's love life.

"I have a wife," Henry muttered in disbelief, seemingly to himself, "I have a wife and a daughter."

"Yep." Liam said, mouth filled with fries, "Addie's really cool. And Ellie's my best friend that's a girl. Pete's my real best friend but Ellie is pretty cool too, for a girl. Ellie's only three but Pete's four like me."

"Whoa, okay, slow down kid," Emma exclaimed, chuckling slightly at her son's antics, her head trying to process the barrage of information while also ignoring what sounded like Regina hyperventilating behind her, "First, who's Pete?"

"My best friend," the kid responded as though that were the most obvious thing in the world.

"He's Auntie Ruby and Uncle Victor's son." Elizabeth answered, realizing what her mother wanted to know.

Emma's eyes snapped up to Ruby's shocked expression. Granny's face was priceless. She couldn't believe that her friend had a son with Whale.

"Oh, Red," Snow gushed, thrilled at this new piece of information, "Congratulations." Red shook her head, still in shock.

Ignoring the exchange, Emma continued, "Next, how old did you say Ellie was?"

"Three," Liam said firmly, "She's only a year younger than me and Pete so that's why we let her be our friend too."

Emma did the calculation in her head before rounding on her son. He looked confused at her expression. She wasn't angry; she didn't have any place to judge, she was just surprised.

"So Henry would be twenty-one in your time?" She asked, noticing her daughter's nod, "Which means he was eighteen when his daughter was born."

Henry's jaw dropped open and the redness in his cheeks returned. David and Snow exchanged a look before staring at their grandson's clearly uncomfortable expression.

"Henry!" exclaimed Regina, moving around to lean on the table, "You get a girl pregnant at eighteen. I can't even –," she shook her head in exasperation and disbelief before sighing, "Well, like father like son, I suppose."

"Regina!" Snow exclaimed, "That's not fair. We don't know the whole story."

"Yeah," Liam added, looking up at the fuming woman, "Auntie 'Gina, why are you being mean?"

The young boy's question seemed to drain Regina of all of her anger. Her eyes softened as she took in his innocent expression.

"Why do you call me auntie?" The woman asked.

"Because you're family." Elizabeth answered for her brother, the woman's eyes met the girl's, "Daddy told us the stories about how you were mad at my mom for bringing back Roland's mom from the past but everything gets better and you and my mom become best friends. That's why you are our auntie and that's why mom trusts you to teach us magic."

Emma's eyes met Regina's. Best friends? She doesn't see how that will ever happen but as long as things work out, for Henry's sake, she doesn't care. Wait, magic? Before she could ask how her children know magic, Regina speaks up.

"Everything works out?" She asked the young girl, a tone of slight desperation in her voice.

Elizabeth nodded, "Yeah, true love always finds a way. You and Uncle Robin were meant to be together. You couldn't have had Dani if you weren't. Marian was angry for a little while but then she found her true love too." Emma noticed the girl was clearly wise beyond her years, just like her older brother always has been.

"Dani?" Regina asked, breathlessly.

"She's your daughter," Elizabeth answered, "She's five."

Regina looked close to tears as she glanced at Robin for the first time since Marian had revealed herself. He was clearly listening. His eyes were filled with emotion as he walked away from his now furious wife and wrapped his arms around his true love.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Killian said hesitantly after a moment, "But I have a question: Why are you learning magic?"

"To control it," Responded his daughter, "Products of true love always have magic and we need to learn to use it just like mom did."

Emma froze. Products of true love? She heard her parents' simultaneous intakes of breath.

She felt Killian's hand grip her shoulder, his eyes shining. He was her true love. This was proof. Emma never thought she would find true love like her parents had. When she first heard she would end up with Killian, she did not even think about it, but learning that she had found her true love made her heart soar.

"There's lots of kids learning magic," Liam responded, oblivious to his parents' moment, "We all go to Auntie 'Gina's vault once a week in her learning room. It's like another school but only funner. There's me and Beth and Dani and Neal and Ellie and Juliette and –,"

"I think they get the point, Liam," interrupted his sister.

"Wait," Henry spoke up, excitement in his eyes, "Ellie? As in my future daughter? She's a product of true love too?"

"Yep," Elizabeth smiled at her brother, "Addie's your true love. Grandma always says how lucky you are 'cause you found it so young."

Emma watched her son as he stared at his sister in awe. She felt tears in her eyes and when she met her mother's gaze, saw the same in hers. Her son found his true love just like she did, just like her parents did. He's happy and that's all that matters. Emma knew she had a million more questions about this Addie, about Ellie, especially about Elizabeth and Liam, but before she could pick one to ask, the door to Granny's opened with a bang.

Rumplestiltskin and Belle had returned. Rumple walked over to Emma as Belle began passing around vials of forgetting potion to everyone in the diner.

"Are they ready?" He asked businesslike.

Emma stood up to let her daughter out of the booth. Liam hopped down off of Killian's lap and stood next to his sister. Exchanging a quick look, Emma and Killian both knelt in front of their children.

"We'll see you again real soon," she chuckled tearfully.

"Aye, that we will," Killian added, with a quick glance at her, "We love you," – Emma watched her true love tearfully say goodbye to their future children – "Always, no matter the world or time. We may not have known you existed until you arrived, but we loved you instantly, with every fiber of our beings."

Emma felt the tears run down her face as he pulled in the children and held them tight. With a kiss to each of their heads, he released them with a glance at her. Speechless, Emma wrapped her children in her arms, trying to express all of her feelings, all of her love, into that hug.

She stepped back as Rumple walked forward. He handed the watch back to Elizabeth with a quick explanation that he adjusted it so that it would return them from the exact moment they came from. All she needed to do was press the button. Taking a step away from the crowd, Elizabeth wrapped one hand around her brother's and placed her finger over the button with the other.

"See you guys soon," She smiled at her younger parents.

Liam waved, "Bye mommy, bye daddy, I love you."

With a flash, the orange vortex reformed on the ceiling of the diner. Everyone ducked for cover as it swallowed the two children, returning them to their present. Just as before, it disappeared as suddenly as it arrived.

Emma looked at Killian who was still standing next to her. He had tears on his face, and she knew she did as well.

"I can't wait to meet them again," The pirate whispered with a small smile.

"Me too."

"I suggest everyone drink your forgetting potions right now." Rumple announced before downing his in one gulp. Hesitantly, the crowd began following his lead.

As Emma looked at her true love, she couldn't help but wonder in awe over how much will apparently change in such a short time. She does not know what will happen between now and the time those two children came from, but she did know she would get through it with her family. She's not the same Emma Swan who arrived in Storybrooke for the first time almost two years ago and she's not even the same Emma Swan who returned a few weeks ago. Now, she's Emma Swan, daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, mother of Henry, future mother of Elizabeth and Liam, big sister of Neal, future grandmother of Ellie, and, of course, true love of Killian Jones. The old Emma would have run in fear by now; this Emma, was ready for her future.

She looked at Killian once again and could tell his thought process was similar to hers. He leaned down and pressed his lips softly to hers.

"I just want you to know," He said, staring lovingly into her eyes, "That I do love you. I know you will go back to not being ready to hear it as soon as you drink that potion, and that's alright. I'm happy to be living in the here and now with you. I just want you to hear it now, before we forget. I love you, Emma Swan. And I love our future children."

"I love you too." She surprised herself by saying it, but knew it to be true. "You're right, I probably won't be able to say it again for a while as soon as I drink this, so I want you to hear it now. I love you, Killian Jones, no matter how much I'll deny it."

He smiled and raised his vial.

"To our future." He cheered.

"To our future." She replied as she threw back the potion and forgot everything that happened in the past hour.

THE END