She's seven the first time someone asks her what she wants for Christmas. By then, she was old enough to know that Santa Claus was a luxury only people with families got to believe in, and she most definitely knew that she wasn't a part of that category. Still, when her social worker takes her to a mall around the corner and makes her stand in line and sit on a creepy man's lap, she tells him that what she wants for Christmas, more than anything in the world, is a family. She knows there's nothing he can do about that, but she smiles all the same when he hands her a candy cane and walks away hoping that someday, her Christmas wish might come true.
Ten years later, she's with Neal and she thinks that she's found her Christmas miracle. For the first time in a long time, she's with someone who actually cares about her at Christmas. They don't have much, but Neal manages to procure a fake Christmas tree that's missing a couple of branches and is small enough to fit in her bug. Still, she finds joy in decorating their tree - and, wow, she never thought she'd be able to see that – with anything she could find and together, they place a dream catcher on the top of their tree. They don't exchange gifts, and Emma doesn't mind, because for the first time she isn't alone on Christmas. She wishes then, under their broken tree, more than anything in the world that they'll still be like this next Christmas.
She doesn't get her Christmas wish (and when has she ever?). She's sitting alone in her cell with crappy Christmas music playing over the speakers. She lets out a small laugh when she realizes that, really, this Christmas isn't that different from the last one. There's at least a full fake tree this time, instead of a broken one, and she's not alone. She moves her hand along the bump that's begun to swell on her stomach and she wishes, more than anything in the world, that her child won't ever have to be alone on Christmas. Ever.
She's 25 and living in Boston, waiting outside a bar for some sleezebag who walked out on his family to exit so she could pin him down. When she was younger, she didn't think that this was how her Christmases would end up. She knew it was foolish to believe, but every year there was a part of her that hoped that she would get her Christmas miracle, but it never came. Instead, Emma found people. Her job as a bail bondsperson brought in decent cash, enough to keep her afloat. It's ironic, she thinks with a laugh, her job is literally finding people, and yet she can't find someone to make her Christmas wish true. Before she can spiral downward any further, her guy exists the bar and she climbs out of her bug. He throws some good punches, but Emma knows what she's doing and she has him where he belongs in no time. Later on that night when she gets home, she opens her fridge hoping that there was something that looked appetizing – there never was – and settles for a bag of frozen peas for the bruise forming on her face. As she lies down on the couch with her hot cocoa and cinnamon (with a peppermint candy cane, it is Christmas after all) she begins to fall asleep and wishes, more than anything in the world, that one day, someday, she wouldn't be alone on Christmas.
Emma blinks her eyes open, drowsily shifting around her bed until she hits another body and a groan slips out of her mouth. The body next to her shifts and she feels an arm slipping around her waist, pulling her closer to the source of warmth she was searching for.
"Morning, love" she hears the man next to her whisper, his voice groggy from sleep. She burrows her face deeper into his chest, willing them both back to sleep.
"Mmm…five more minutes." She groans, wrapping her arms tighter around him as she drifts back into dreamland.
"As you wish, my love." She's out before they can continue with their morning banter, but it doesn't last long. Less than an hour later (the sun is barely up!) their daughter jumps on their bed, effectively jerking them both out of sleep.
"Mommy! Daddy! Wake up!" Both Killian and Emma keep their eyes closed in an attempt to pretend to be asleep, but the smiles that spread on both of their faces say otherwise. "Daddy," the little girl drags out the word as she tries to pull her father over, but to no avail. She sighs, "Mommy, it's Chwistmas!" Emma rolls over with a smile on her face at her daughter's pronunciation, her eyes still slightly closed, pulling her daughter in between her and her husband.
"Is it Christmas? Are you sure it's not Thanksgiving? Or Valentines Day? Is it my birthday?" Emma asks teasingly, pulling the blanket over the three of them.
"Mommy, no!" Their daughter pouts, refusing to lie down with her parents. "It's Christmas, get up!" Killian lets out a little groan, lifting his arm up to wrap around his two girls, pulling them closer towards him.
"If it's Christmas, where is your brother?" He teases her, and tries pulls her close as she worms her way out of the embrace and jumps off their bed.
"I'll get him!" She shouts excitedly, running across the hall to try and wake Henry up, leaving a giggling Emma and Killian in her wake.
"Merry Christmas, love." Killian says, rolling over to pull his wife into a kiss.
"Merry Christmas, babe." Emma responds, slightly out of breath as they break from the kiss, breathing him in. Less than a minute later, their two children are running into their room and jumping on the bed.
"Daddy, I got Henry! Can we open presents now?" Killian pretends to look over at his wife, teasingly mocking their daughter.
"I don't know, love, do you think that they can open presents? Do you think we should wait for everyone else to come over?"
"But, Dad, they aren't coming until tonight!" Henry gasps out, and Emma can't keep in her laughter. No matter how old her son gets, he always has the same excitement for life that drew her to him when she opened her apartment door in Boston all those years ago.
"I don't know Killian," Emma says after he laughter has subsided, "maybe we should open them now?" And with a wink towards her kids, they're both rushing down the stairs in their matching Christmas pajamas that Emma had insisted on and she reaches down to the bed to pull her pirate downstairs with her. Five minutes later, the two of them are sitting on the couch with their peppermint hot cocoa with cinnamon (extra whipped cream, thank you very much) watching their kids tear into their Christmas presents.
Three hours after that, they've managed to actually feed their children who are now in the living room putting together and playing with a toy kitchen that their daughter had received. Emma's leaning against the wall as she carefully watches over her children, a thoughtful smile spreading across her face when she feels her husband wrap his arms around her stomach and place a kiss on her shoulder. She hums contentedly, moving her hand up to scratch the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Alright, love?" He asks, gently twisting her in his arms so that they're face to face. She nods, burying her face in his chest and wrapper her arms tight around him. He frowns slightly. Usually his Swan is a bit more outwardly excited, especially in the recent weeks. It was unlike her to be this quiet. After a quick glance to see that both of their little loves were occupied, her pulled her into the kitchen away from view. "Swan, what's the matter?" She pulled her face from his chest, but didn't make any attempt to separate their bodies. She looks into his eyes then, taking a moment to form her thoughts into words and letting him read her.
"I got it," she finally lets out, her eyes bright and slightly glazed over with tears. He looks at her questioningly, his hand caressing the small of her back as her hands come up to rest on his shoulders. "My Christmas wish. I got it." She's almost giddy now, as if she can't believe that her wish is finally coming true. He still looks confused, so she wraps her arms around his neck and begins to explain. "When I was seven, my social worker took me to see a man dressed up as Santa at the mall, and when he asked me what I wanted, I said a family." His hand tensed on her back and he swallowed harshly. He hated that she had to ask for something that should have been given to her from the moment she was brought into this world. He kissed her on her forehead then, letting it linger as she continued the story of her Christmas wish.
"Every year since then on Christmas, I'd wish for a family – my Christmas wish would be to not be alone on Christmas, and it came true. Killian, I got my Christmas wish." And she's crying now, the tears rolling down her cheeks, mingling with her happy smile and she giggles, and Gods, he would do anything to keep that smile on her face. "I got you, and our kids, and our family, and I got it. It came true." Her voice is filled with wonder and awe and then he's smiling then, too, and he kisses her, feeling wetness on both their cheeks. Their kiss is full of love and promise, their lips tasting of chocolate and peppermint as they pull themselves closer together. They break apart, both their chests heaving and their foreheads coming together.
"Aye, love, you did." He says, smiling and she kisses him again and they both turn to look into the living room when they hear a happy shriek from their daughter who has a bow placed on her messy bedhead, courtesy of Henry. He places a kiss on her shoulder and pulls her close as they watch over their family. "Merry Christmas, darling."
Merry Christmas! Hope you all enjoyed this quick one-shot, thanks for reading, and happy holidays.