Hello lovelies!
I got back into OUAT and this is the result.
More chappies to come hopefully!
XOXO,
OceansAria :)
"Oh, um, no thanks." Emma shoved the rum flask away when Killian offered it up.
Killian chuckled, eyebrow quirked in curiosity. "'No thanks'? What? Suddenly lost your taste for the spirits, lass?"
"No, of course not." Play it cool. Giving a sly smile, Emma pushed her hand under his jacket and squeezed his side closer to her middle. "I just would like to be in my right mind for the rest of the evening, if that's okay with you."
"That's more than okay with me, luv."
He took a swig, sated with her excuse and the kiss she gave his cheek. The two of them took a gander at the party going on around them. Granny's Diner was in full swing this particular Friday night in celebration of Henry's fourteenth birthday. All of the kids from Henry's class were there, as well as many of the kids from Camelot and the Realm of Untold Stories. The jukebox was jumping, the kids were high on sugar, and the chatter was loud and chipper.
"We're chaperones, remember? So don't get too hammered."
"No worries, sweetheart. I know my limits."
Emma's head was ready to explode. She'd had a lot of headaches lately; any little thing seemed to trigger them. And the smell of Granny's famous lasagna was having the opposite effect on her than it usually did. She kept her eye on the bathrooms at the back, looking for a path through the partying teenagers just in case she needed to hurl.
Play it cool, she reminded herself. Her grip on Killian's vest was tight, her fingers sweaty. The party will end soon and then you can go home and act like everything is normal.
"Mom!" Henry jumped out in front of her. Emma startled but was quick to force another smile. "This party is amazing! How did you do all this so quickly?"
"Well, she had a little help," mock-pouted Killian.
Henry turned his grateful grin on his mother's boyfriend. "Thanks, Killian. It's—it's nice to do something, I don't know, normal in this town for once."
"Normal?" Killian echoed incredulously. "You were just slow dancing with a maiden from Camelot. Before that, you were play sword-fighting with Pinocchio. I think we've left normal far behind on the shore, my boy."
"This is as normal as my life will ever be," laughed Henry.
"Anything for you, kid." Emma kissed her son's forehead and sent him on his way back to his friends, reminding him to thank Regina and his grandparents too. She watched his head as he bobbed through the crowd—he was getting taller every day—until her boyfriend's voice drew her back to the spot.
"Are you all right, Swan?"
The gentle whisper in her ear would have usually brought comfort and ease. But now it did nothing but irritate Emma. Instead of answering him flippantly as she had done for the past few weeks, she let go of his vest, stepped back, and mumbled something about getting more punch.
Just like the past few weeks, Killian didn't stop her. He let her go, allowed her to brush him off.
Emma passed by the diner's counter that was doubling as the refreshments table and dropped off her punch cup. Thinking she was in the clear, she beelined for the bathroom and shut the door behind her, not thinking or having the time to lock it before she made it to the toilet just in the knick of time.
As soon as she was done retching, Emma dragged herself to her feet, swished water in her mouth, and patted the beads of sweat off her face with a brown paper towel.
Someone knocked on the door just as she was spraying air freshener.
"Just a minute!"
"Emma?" It was Snow on the other side of the door.
Emma froze. She hastily checked the bathroom for any evidence of what had just happened before opening the door and coming face to face with her mother.
"Sorry, I just wasn't feeling good—"
Snow took one look at her daughter's face and instantly pressed the back of her hand to Emma's forehead. "You're warm," she muttered, eyebrows drawn and lips pursed. "Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should go home and rest—"
Emma was quick to shut down her mother's musings. "No, no—I'm fine, Mom. I think I just ate a few too many cake pops. All that sugar after being on such a strict diet—"
"Oh, that's right," Snow chimed in, though she still looked suspicious. "You're on that juice cleanse."
Emma went stiff all over. "Yeah. I am."
"How much longer are you doing that? I mean, honey, you don't need to lose any weight. You're beautiful just the way you are."
Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was still a little odd for a woman her age to be her mom and treat her like the little girl she wasn't.
"Thanks, Mom," she sighed. "And it's only a few more days. Then I'll be back to guzzling hot cocoa and wolfing down hamburgers. Promise."
Snow frowned. "Okay, honey," she conceded. She still watched her daughter walk back into the fray of the party before heading into the bathroom herself.
Emma returned to Killian, who was discussing something with David. At the soonest pause, she interrupted to tell both her father and her boyfriend that she was going to check on Henry and then head home early.
David was the first to jump straight to worry. "Why? Are you feeling okay?" His blue eyes searched his daughter's uneasily. "Maybe you should get off this juice cleanse early."
Emma scoffed gently. I swear they don't just share a heart. It's like they're attached at the brain. "I'm fine, Dad. Planning this party tired me out. I'm gonna go home, see what's on Netflix, and hit the hay." She turned to go.
Killian caught her sleeve with his hook and went to follow her. "I'll go with you—"
"No."
Startled, David and Killian stared, mouths a little bit agape.
Emma shook herself and mended: "I mean, it's okay. Stay here. Enjoy the party. Don't let me ruin your fun."
"I'm sure we can have just as much fun or more back at home," jested Killian in a soft purr.
David glared at him; the pirate shied away from the prince's glower.
Emma's smile was almost real this time.
"Don't worry about me, guys." She leaned forward and kissed Killian in a quick goodbye. His lips were unforgiving and did not respond to hers. She acted like she hadn't noticed by giving another soft smile.
Swinging open the diner door, Emma called, "See you at home."
Emma's strange behavior had begun many weeks before when she checked the My Monthly Cycle app on her phone and realized that she was late by two months. This had happened before—with the traveling between realms and time, her cycle had gotten messed up previously. But in the times before when she had gotten off track, she wasn't having sex with anyone.
They had always been safe, the two of them. Birth control. Rubbers. They never rushed in unprotected. But something had happened—something had messed up—and now she was terrified of that outcome.
The first time this had happened to her over thirteen years ago, she was alone, imprisoned, and barely an adult. This time—if it were to be believed—she was in her early thirties, in a good relationship with a good man, and surrounded by family.
Still.
It was pretty damn terrifying.
Her first thought was to wait. Wait and see. Play it cool. Maybe her period would start in a few days. Maybe this was nothing to be worried about.
So she waited.
Another week passed.
No period.
She stopped drinking just to be careful. The smell of cooking meat suddenly made her queasy. All the evidence was popping up but she ignored it.
Two weeks passed and she caved in and bought a pregnancy test.
After it popped up positive she tossed in the dumpster behind Granny's and prayed that no one would discover it and ask around. In the mornings, when she was sick, she would get up and go downstairs to the guest bathroom before Killian was awake. By the time he was on the scene, all evidence of her morning sickness was flushed away and hidden by an expertly lit candle.
She hid it very well. She didn't ask for help. She made up the juice cleanse so she could have good excuses to eating and drinking. Everyone around her thought it was strange, since Emma wasn't one to worry about what she ate.
Emma went to the first and second doctor's appointments all by herself, having made sure to book them with her former OBGYN in Boston. On those days when she disappeared, she made excuses to her family and friends that involved trips of leisure or business. They were slow to believe her both times—but in the end they accepted those reasons.
She was almost through the first trimester. After her second doctor's appointment, she had decided to tell everyone once she hit the three month mark just to be sure that everything went okay up to that point. She didn't want to get everyone excited just to let them down if she had a miscarriage.
But every day it got harder. Every morning when she woke up next to her pirate she felt sick from more than just the pregnancy. She wanted to tell him; she had promised to be honest and had intended to keep that promise till her last heartbeat. But she couldn't tell him, not yet. If she told him, being the good man he was, Killian would propose. She didn't want a shotgun wedding. If she told her parents, they would start planning a wedding or a baby shower or both right away. If she told anybody, she couldn't continue to live the life, the future, she had just settled into.
Everything would change.
Everything already had.
She couldn't sleep.
Again.
When she laid awake on these nights, she recalled how many sleepless nights passed in prison when she was pregnant with Henry. How her belly grew and his feet kicked out a rhythm inside her womb and she no longer felt alone in the world for those few precious months.
This baby's not made much of a debut yet other than the morning sickness. Lying there in the dark, Emma slid her palm over her abdomen, and gasped when she felt the tiniest bump beginning.
"Hey there, kid," she whispers to the bump. "You've got to let me sleep, okay?"
"Swan?"
Startled, Emma sat straight up in the bed and reached for the lamp on the bedside table. Killian's eyes went wide as he tiptoed into the bedroom, boots under one arm and a his only hand risen in surrender.
"It's me, luv. You can put the alarm clock down."
Emma glanced at the object she'd grabbed in a hurry to fling at the so-it-seemed intruder. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I didn't hear you come in." She set the alarm clock down, feeling embarrassed and a little stupid. Play it cool, dammit.
Killian set down his boots and set about undressing for bed. The last thing to come off was the hook. They chatted about Henry's party as he got into bed with her and pulled her close, kissing her neck and her cheeks slowly, luxuriously, and she shut off the lamp as they sunk beneath the duvet together.
In the middle of everything, he stopped kissing her just long enough to ask:
"What was all that about tonight, luv?"
"All what?" She ran her fingers over his necklace, playing with the charms.
"You leaving early. You were very flushed—and you're still rather warm now. Are you running a fever?" His hands left her waist to press against her cheeks and her neck, checking for overheated skin.
Emma faked a giggle to try and laugh off his concern. She kissed him again, molding the top half of her body to his. The heady sea air and musk smell of him made her fall so easily, so quickly.
"You're what's got me running a fever, pirate."
Killian chuckled however his eyes, flashing in the moonlight, were stony and distressed. His thumb rubbed back and forth against her jaw. "Emma," he murmured, all business.
Oh crap. He never calls me Emma unless—
"What's wrong? You've been acting strange of late."
Emma rolled over onto her back and broke his touch. It was like coming up for air after a close-call drowning.
"I told you. I'm fine. It's probably just the juice cleanse making me cranky."
He reached for her in attempt to bring her back to him, but she not-so-gently batted off his advances and rolled completely to face the wall.
"Perhaps you should give up this juice cleanse and begin eating real food again, Swan," he suggested almost playfully. "You're not yourself these days, my love."
Emma said nothing more on the subject. Forcing herself to breathe deeply and evenly, she made it appear that she had fallen asleep. Killian attempted to speak to her again, whispering Swan? but only received the cold shoulder.
"Fine," he muttered into the dark. "You'll come around eventually, lass. You'll allow access into the stubborn head of yours."
Only after he had dropped off into his own dreams did Emma roll over and face him again. She played with the chain around his neck and kissed his bare shoulder.
"Give me one more week, Killian," she sighed. "One more week."
Emma's next doctor's appointment was four days after Henry's birthday. On that day, she made the excuse that she was going to meet an old friend outside of town and wouldn't be back until late that night.
Who's this old friend? Snow had asked as they sent her off. We'd like to meet any of your friends from your past, Emma.
She's just someone I knew from the foster care system. She wanted to meet—just the two of us. But, y'know, maybe someday.
The appointment was quick and easy; Emma passed every test with flying colors. She and the baby were both perfectly healthy. So far, so good.
"You're bringing the daddy next time, right?" asked Dr. Hannigan as she lead Emma back to the lobby.
Emma shrugged. "I think so."
"And this is your first child?"
"Well, my second. His first."
"Oh. Gotcha." Dr. Hannigan smiled. The young doctor was shorter than Emma, with a cute stacked bob and green eyes. "Then he'll definitely be excited. Our next visit you'll be able to tell whether you've got a little boy or a little girl on the way."
Emma's eyebrows shot up. "Wow. Really? That soon?"
"Oh, yeah. Advances in technology have made it so that we'll be able to really tell without any mishaps."
"Mishaps?"
"There's been the occasional mix up," laughed Dr. Hannigan. She handed over Emma's file to the secretary. "It was good to see you, Emma. Have a great couple weeks and I'll see you—and the daddy to be—next time!"
On the drive back to Storybrooke, Emma stopped at a McDonald's drive thru and devoured a Big Mac and large fry. Barely thirty minutes later, she stopped to hurl it all up. Okay, I get it. You're not loving red meat, kid. I guess that means I won't either for the next few months. By the time the yellow bug was rolling down Main Street and had come to a complete and final stop in front of Granny's, Emma was clutching the sonogram and seriously considering turning around and speeding back to Boston.
I have to tell him. He's the father, for crying out loud! He deserves to know.
Granny's was lit up inside and out, casting warmth on Emma as she hesitantly walked up the way and treaded at the door. She could see the dwarves lined up at the counter inside, her parents in a booth with Neal in the corner, and Henry at a two-top enjoying hot cocoa with Regina.
Her heart stopped and restarted when she saw Killian at the jukebox, dropping in a coin to change the music.
Emma opened the door. She caught her mother's eye first and gave Snow the first genuine smile in weeks. She waved to her dad and her little brother. She squeezed Henry's shoulder as she passed.
"Killian?"
Her pirate turned around and gave her his most charming grin. "Welcome back, Swan," he punctuated with a quick peck to her lips. "Care for a drink?" He held out his half-drank ale, but she fended off the offer with a kind fingertip.
"Actually, I need to talk to you."
Killian leaned against the jukebox and took a deep sip of beer, gesturing for her to go ahead.
"Can we . . . can you just . . . come with me?"
Curious, Killian stood up straight and did as Emma asked without question or protest. The two of them stepped into the small back hallway that lead to the bathrooms and gave them the tiniest bit of privacy.
"All right, Swan. Out with it."
Emma smiled, teasing him now. She took the mug of beer from his hand and set it aside before starting the speech she'd practiced over and over on the ride home.
"I know I've been acting weird the past couple of weeks. I had a good reason for it. Something's . . . well, something's happened."
" . . . Swan? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said for what felt like the millionth time but this time she meant it and she found that this fueled her fire, and so she spoke with renewed strength. "What happened is a good thing. The juice cleanse was a farce. I faked that to keep you guys from prying too much."
"Swan." Killian took her by the arms and gave her a gentle squeeze, his expression irritated but still curious. "Out with it, lass."
She smiled. It, again, was genuine. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the sonogram. The photo was face down as she held it out to Killian. He went to pinch it from between her fingers, but she stopped him for just a moment.
"I want you to know something first," she said in a low voice. "The reason I kept this from you . . . was to protect not just you, but everyone else. If something had gone wrong before now, it would have left you all heartbroken and I couldn't have taken that."
Then she let him take the sonogram from her. She let him turn it over, and then she sat back and watched every millisecond of his reaction.
First, his eyebrows raised.
Second, he frowned. It wasn't a bad frown—but a confused one.
Third, his face went blank. His eyes glassed over with mist and he glanced up at his girlfriend, breaking into the most brilliant, blissful, heart-rendering grin.
"Is this—"
Emma nodded over-eagerly. "Yes."
"Are you—" Killian pointed to her seemingly flat belly.
"Yes."
They both breathed a laugh and then they were clutching each other and nearly crying with relief and happiness and when they broke apart Killian couldn't stop staring at the tiny sonogram and Emma couldn't stop staring at him.
"This is—"
"I know."
"Swan, I'm so—"
"Me too."
He kissed her then. Passionate and hard, pressing her against the wall until neither of them could breathe.
"Maybe we should stop—this could harm the child—"
Emma shook her head and snuck another kiss. "We still have to tell everyone else though. My parents, Henry . . ."
"Aye. That we do." He stepped back and the two of them glanced out into the dining area. "They're all out there now. We should go on and tell them the good news."
"You don't want to wait? Keep this between us for a few days?"
Killian brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes bright. He resembled joy in human form.
"No. No more secrets. They're your family, Swan. They deserve to know."
"They're our family," she said softly.
Killian's smile couldn't haven't gotten wider, but it did.
"Aye, lass. We should tell our family the good news."
Hand in hand, the pirate and the savior stepped out into the diner and picked up the first thing their eyes landed on—a glass and a fork. The metallic tapping grabbed everyone's attention immediately.
With all eyes on them, Emma glanced to Killian for support. He smiled again and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
Go ahead, Swan, he mouthed.
She nodded and cleared her throat.
"Everyone, we, um, we have an announcement to make."