A/N: If you haven't already, please go back to the beginning of this series so that the details make sense! Canon divergence after they returned from Neverland.

The ringing of the phone startled Emma from her sleep. She groaned, propping herself up on her elbows and picking it up off of her bedside table. She squinted, trying to make out whom it was calling her at 5:37 in the morning.

David Nolan

Emma could only think of one reason why David would call her at this hour. She quickly pressed talk. "David?" She asked, more alert.

"Mary Margaret's in labor," he said in a rush, confirming her suspicions. "We're at the hospital now. Think you can meet us here?"

"Of course," Emma said, already sliding out of bed. She turned on her beside lamp so that she could root around for clothes in her dresser. "I'll be there soon! Everything's going to be fine," she tried comforting her father, who seemed slightly panicky. She couldn't blame him, the last time his wife was in labor the Evil Queen was sending a curse to destroy their happiness.

She hung up, tossing her phone into her purse. Mary Margaret was 39 weeks pregnant with twins. Emma was honestly surprised this didn't happen sooner. Her brain, still fogged with sleep, didn't even pause to think that she was about to meet her brothers.

A grumble from the bed let her know that she had woken Killian. She hurried over, gently shaking his arm. "Hey, Mary Margaret's in labor. I'm heading up to the hospital. You can go back to bed, but meet me there after you've woken back up, okay?"

He sat up on one elbow and rubbed his eyes with his hand. His voice was rough with sleep when he asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

She tossed her pajama shirt into the laundry hamper, quickly putting on a bra and tugging on a shirt. She walked back over to his side of the bed, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Positive. Get some rest. I'll call you if anything comes up."

"Love you," he grunted, rolling back over. She smiled and turned off her lamp.

"Love you too," she replied, grabbing her purse and hurrying out the door.

She was a sister.

After four intense hours of labor, Mary Margaret successfully gave birth to two healthy boys. One weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces and the other was 7 pounds even. When Emma first found out that Mary Margaret was pregnant, she had been weirded-out at the thought of being almost 30 years older than her siblings, but it hadn't taken long to realize that her parents deserved this. They'd been wronged with her. Giving her up had been the hardest thing they'd ever done, but they had had enough faith that they would see her again. They had known that she would save them minutes after she was born. She knew that if there had been any other way, they would have done it.

"Here," David said, holding his son out for Emma to hold. Emma hesitated, suddenly overwhelmed.

"David, I..."

"Emma, just hold your brother," he said exasperatedly, but his smile was gentle and eyes soft. "I have to go make a couple of calls."

She settled into a chair and Charming gingerly handed Emma her brother before quietly slipping out the door. The infant was bundled in a blue stripe blanket and had a pout on his pink face. "Hi, baby brother," she whispered, gently rocking him back and forth. So this is what it feels like to hold a baby that you care about, she thought, and she fought back tears. She had never held Henry, and she would never hold the baby that miscarried. Her throat was tight but she managed to croak, "It's nice to meet you." A combination of sisterly and maternal instincts warred within her.

"Emma, what's wrong?" Mary Margaret asked. She was on the bed, holding the other baby, looking at Emma with concern. She had just labored and had twins, yet she was fussing over her adult daughter. This made Emma begin to cry in earnest.

Before she could even think to stop it, it came flying out of her mouth. "I miscarried a few months ago." She pressed her lips together, refusing to look at her mother and instead focusing on the tiny pink nose of her brother.

"You were pregnant?" Mary Margaret asked quietly, shocked.

Emma's head jerked in confirmation. She cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, but it happened before I even could take the test. I was becoming suspicious when they told me that I had lost a fetus."

"With Killian, I assume?" Mary Margaret asked. Emma nodded. "How did you two feel about it?"

"We weren't ready for anything like a baby," Emma said, and she could feel her throat tightening again. "But it didn't change the fact that I had been pregnant, and that my infection killed it. It was hard, but we knew that it wasn't the right time. We also realized that we would like to be the parents of our own kid someday."

Mary Margaret gasped.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Speak of the devil. Killian walked in, dressed in jeans and a navy blue cardigan - he was absolutely normal looking, and Emma felt an overwhelming surge of affection towards the reformed pirate. It hadn't been easy for him to move past revenge, to shed his leather coat for domestic (as domestic as they could be, at least) life.

After some convincing by both Emma and Mary Margaret, Killian settled into a chair and Emma transferred her brother into his arms. Together they figured out how to position Killian's arms to safely support the newborn. "He's handsome, isn't he?" Emma asked with a smile.

Emma looked back at Mary Margaret and found her to have tears on her face. "Are you okay?" Emma asked, going to her side. Mary Margaret nodded, meeting Emma's eyes, and Emma realized that she was crying. They looked like a little family. Emma, slightly flustered by this realization, simply smiled and returned to Killian, who handed Emma her brother once more.

She noticed a difference in Killian's behavior, too. His whole being seemed softer around the edges, especially the way his gaze lingered on her and the tiny baby in her arms. When David walked into the room and she handed the baby back to him, Emma felt slightly disappointed at the loss of the small weight. They'd only lost the baby a few months prior, was she really ready for a baby so soon after they'd agreed that they weren't ready for one yet?

Mary Margaret and David sat together on the bed, cooing to their little ones and exchanging loving glances. Emma turned and met Killian's gaze, and an understanding passed between them. They were there. They were ready. Life would always get in the way, be it a new curse, a new villain, perhaps even the return of old villains, but that shouldn't stop them from finally starting their family. Life would always be riddled with struggles, but they could still have happiness. Her, Killian, Henry, and a new baby...

Emma couldn't help but like the sound of that.

A/N: Next up, Emma and Killian have a go at parenthood. (In other words...plenty of fluff! I also may go into too many details, but I digress.)