Tallahassee Christmas

Summary: Neal didn't leave Emma. They managed to get the money and change their identities. Now it's their first Christmas together in Tallahassee. (Christmas Swanfire Fic Exchange 2013 gift for Ada)

The fire crackled in the tiny fireplace as Neal walked around the sofa to where Emma sat with two hot chocolates. They had finally made it to Tallahassee. It was literally a dream come true.

Tallahassee wasn't quite what they were expecting when they had originally made their plans. They were expecting beaches, for one, but that didn't make the dream any less good.

When August had told Neal the plan, Neal insisted on staying with Emma. He told him he would find a way to break the curse, and he had about ten years before it had to happen. So, he went and fenced the watches for twenty thousand dollars.

Neal and Emma then spent several thousand on getting their identities changed, so no one would know where to look for them. As far as their neighbors knew, they were Neal and Emma Pollack. They found a cheap little rental house downtown of Tallahassee. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was more than they had previously with just their car. It had two small bedrooms. The kitchen had old, dated appliances, and barely enough counter space to spare. The living room had wooden paneled walls, and linoleum floors that were peeling up in a couple of the corners. Overall, the house sat at a bit of a tilt, but it was home.

Immediately upon moving in, they set about to make it their own. They made a deal with the landlord that if they fixed it up enough, he would subtract about $50 from their rent each month.

They quickly decided to try to live off of what they made from their jobs and save the majority of the money they had left from the watches. Neal found a job working in construction. Tallahassee's suburbs were quickly growing which meant there were plenty of new houses needing to be built. He joined one of the crews working on them, and considering he'd been having to work with his hands his entire life, he was quite good at it. Emma took a job at the local diner. The hours were long, but the pay was worth it. When she wasn't doing that, she babysat for their landlord and his wife.

After about a month or so, they found out Emma was pregnant. They weren't quite sure how they'd make it at first, but Neal, ever the eternal optimist, assured her they would be able to as long as they were together.

Before they knew it, Christmas came around. This was their first Christmas together, and Emma was about 5 months pregnant.

In celebration of their first Christmas together, as a family, Emma went all out. She had picked up Christmas decorations during the previous times she had combed through yard sales. They went hand in hand through the tree lot to find the perfect Christmas tree. Emma was very particular in what she wanted in her tree, and she wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect. Neal had an indulgent smile as he watched her skip around as much as she could with her small baby belly.

With a sigh, Emma cuddled into Neal's embrace, her back to his front, as she watched the flames dance in their small fireplace.

"You know," Emma started, as she looked up at Neal, "this is probably my best Christmas I've ever had."

Neal looked down on her, his eyes softened and a small smile crept across his face, "Really?"

"Yeah," she sighed. She snuggled her head backwards into the crook of his neck. She wiggled her body a little, snuggling in deeper into his embrace, as he tightened his hold on her. "What about you? What were Christmases like when you were little?"

Neal snorted lightly as he smirked, "We never really celebrated Christmas to tell you the truth."

Startled, Emma looked back at him, "Wait, really? How come?"

"Well, we celebrated a winter holiday, yes, but we didn't really have a 'Christmas'. We lived in a small farming community that just celebrated the winter solstice."

Neal's voice kind of trailed off a bit as he thought back to hundreds of years before. His eyes were distant, and a sad smile graced his face. Emma stayed silent as he reminisced, watching the emotions play across his face. It was rare that he opened up any about his past. She was the same way too, mind. She didn't feel the need to break open old wounds, but if there was ever a person that was less likely to talk about their past than her, it was Neal.

"We didn't have much money, so we made do with what we had," he started. "We wouldn't have a full tree in the house, but we would gather a bunch of leafy branches and bundle them in the corner. We'd string yarn around it much like you would with tinsel, and decorate it with homemade decorations that we made together. It was one of the few times my papa was able to indulge in buying sweets for me. He would place them in the tree, and every night during the season, I'd be able to eat a piece after supper."

"The night of the Solstice the whole village would come together. There would be a huge bonfire in the middle of a field, and there would be music and dancing and food." Neal sighed, "It was a celebration of rebirth, so there was this unspoken rule that not a single unkind thing was to be said. It was the one night of the year that everyone was nice to everyone."

Emma turned her to look at him. She caught his distant gaze and gave him a loving smile.

"It sounds amazing."

Neal returned her smile and grabbed her hot chocolate and put them both on the coffee table in front of them. Turning back to her, her wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands on her growing belly.

Nose in her hair, he breathed in deeply, and then pressed light kisses along the crook of her neck. "This is better," he said softly.

Emma closed her eyes and leaned her head back onto his should, letting the feel of him rush all over.

"Neal?"

"Hmm?"

"Merry Christmas."

Neal smiled, "Merry Christmas, Emma."