A/N: I hope birth doesn't bother you! I kind of go into some detail, but that's because I'm weird (birth has fascinated me since I was a kid). It kind of made me nervous to post this, haha! Other than that, I recommend reading the fics prior to this one because then it makes more sense. If you don't feel like it, it's canon divergent from about mid-November of 3A. Snow and Charming have twin boys, and Emma and Killian had a miscarriage (lost during the first trimester).
Emma never expected to have this life. Not living in a world of fairytales – Emma was more or less used to this by now – but domestic life. She had a picturesque house on the coast courtesy of Rumplestiltskin (though Emma suspected that Belle had something to do with it), a wonderful son, her parents, siblings, and the most amazing True Love anyone could ask for.
Over the past week, Emma found herself spending time in her favorite room of their new house: the baby room. She, Henry, Mary Margaret, Belle, and a few other townspeople spent an entire weekend during her second trimester decorating the room in a gender-neutral Disney theme. Geppetto had crafted her a crib, a mobile, and a rocking chair. The rocking chair was already worn in, as Emma spent up to an hour a day relaxing in it. Spending time in this room was a reminder of why she was doing this.
She still remembered being 11 weeks along and having the both morning sickness and a sinus infection. She and Killian had curled up on the couch for several days, watching movies like Juno, Tangled, and The Princess Bride. Had 29 more weeks really flown by?
She heaved herself out of the rocking chair to get ready to leave. They were going out for a final date before the baby arrived. She changed into a yellow sundress and examined herself in the floor-length mirror.
A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, placing his hands beside hers on her stomach. "How are you feeling today, mummy?" Killian asked. He placed a kiss on her temple. She smiled at him in the mirror.
"Pretty good for being 40 weeks along," Emma said, moving her hand to rest atop his. Her belly looked gigantic, but this time around Emma didn't mind. This time other girls weren't mocking her. This time she wasn't alone. This time she wanted to be pregnant. "We're going to be meeting our son or daughter so soon." A grin lit up her face.
It took a little over three months for them to conceive. The entire time she couldn't help but wonder: did her previous miscarriage signal that she could no longer have kids? The doctors assured her that this wasn't the case, but for the first time in her life, Emma had been disheartened every time her period arrived.
That was, until the day it didn't.
She had been so elated that she jumped into Killian's arms when she got off work. A blood test at the doctor's confirmed that she was pregnant. From the day she found out on, extra measures were taken to make sure that this baby was not miscarried. She battled anxiety for the first two trimesters, terrified that her own body would kill her rainbow baby. She was unable to enjoy the pregnancy as much as she should have, but that didn't matter: she would be having a baby.
They had decided against finding out the sex before it was born. Killian had been shocked that there was a non-magical way of doing so. He had almost been tempted, but Emma's gentle pleading made him decide against it. Despite this, she had a feeling that the growing baby causing her so much discomfort was a girl. She wasn't sure if it was mother's intuition or wishful thinking, but the thought that their child was a girl was what influenced the decorating of the baby room. It was a room fit for a princess, or a prince if the case may be.
"I'm ready for you to get out of me," she spoke to her belly. The past couple of days were especially uncomfortable as the baby got into position for birth. Emma had a feeling she would be delivering within the week.
"I can't wait to meet her," Killian said, and Emma looked at him suspiciously. "Come on love, you've been suspicious all along. It just...feels like a girl. I promise that I didn't find out from the doctor."
Emma believed him. In fact, scans had been minimal – the OB/GYN made her so panicky that she had instead hired a midwife to deliver the baby. Her anxiety of giving birth in the hospital – courtesy of having Henry in the jail hospital – had made them decide to have the baby at home, as long as mother and baby were both healthy.
"Come on, let's go have fun," Emma finally said, lacing her fingers with his and leading him towards the door.
Her suspicions had proven correct when she began having contractions four days later.
"Will you go home already?" David asked Emma in exasperation. "You are having contractions, what are you doing at work?"
Emma was sitting at her desk transcribing notes from an old file onto the computer. She made the decision two weeks prior to move the station into the modern world by switching from paper to digital (she wondered if that counted as a form of nesting). She gave a slight grimace when another small contraction started up. "The pain is perfectly tolerable, and besides, active labor won't happen for a little while yet. I have some time to kill so I might as well keep busy."
She could see David messing with his cellphone out of the corner of her eye. "You're texting Killian, aren't you?" She said offhandedly. She met his eyes and they showed no remorse. He shrugged, which she took to mean yes. She rolled her eyes and then grimaced as a contraction started that was slightly more painful. It could be possible that this birth would be a little faster paced than Henry, since it was her second. Henry's had lasted 29 hours.
She glanced back down at the file, biting the inside of her cheek. Perhaps it was time to call it a day. She stood from her desk with some effort and grabbed her purse. "Fine, David, you win. I'm going home. Where's Killian?"
He smiled, this time a little sheepish. "On his way to take you home, I suspect."
Everything was happening a lot faster than when she had Henry. Contractions were hard and fast, but the breaks in between allowed her to get some much-needed rest. Killian was at her side the entire time, doing whatever she asked of him. Sometimes she wanted him to massage her back, other times she didn't want to be touched at all. This was much harder than when she had Henry – she had used an epidural then, which she refused to do now. She would not have this baby in a hospital, not unless it was a matter of life or death. She could do this - her body was made for it.
She stood with Killian, staying as close to him as her bump would allow, gripping his shoulders with her hands and resting her forehead on his chest. They slowly swayed back and forth in an almost-dance to help her relax. During her next contraction, she rocked her hips in a circular motion and gripped Killian's hand tightly. The dim lighting of their home helped her focus on breathing and relaxing.
Mary Margaret and Emma's midwife prepared a birthing tub as soon as she was far along enough in labor for it not to slow it down. Emma had read that they made labor much more manageable, and they were completely safe to use since Emma and the baby were in perfect health. During a break between contractions, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of having Killian's baby in the tub. It would be fitting for the daughter of a pirate to emerge into the world by water.
As the hour wore on, labor became increasingly intense. Getting into the tub was the most relieved she'd felt since the start of active labor. She could no longer talk when she had contractions, instead resorting to low moans. Her grimace turned into a smile after a contraction eased up. She met Killian's eyes and said tiredly, "Ready to run away yet?"
He chuckled, shaking his head and smoothing the hair back from her sweaty forehead. "Never." He handed her a glass of water to drink and some food to eat (she needed that energy boost) before the next contraction arrived. "I'm ready for this to be over. I want to see my baby," Emma grumbled, handing Killian back the glass of water. "Uh-oh," she said, and a new contraction began. This one was much more intense, and the midwife confirmed that she was now in transitional labor.
"This is the hardest part," Mary Margaret said. "You can do this. Come on, sweetheart! You're going to meet your baby soon!"
This part of labor was relentless. She felt as though she couldn't catch her breath between contractions. She followed her body's instincts to push rather than pushing on command like in the hospital, and while it was much more empowering, she felt as though she were stuck. She could feel the baby ready to emerge, but it felt like nothing was happening. She was frustrated, and this made her start to cry into Killian's shoulder.
He pressed a cold rag onto Emma's forehead, trying to cool her off. "Hey love, you're almost there...just a little bit longer, yeah? You are so strong, I don't know how you're doing it!" Killian encouraged. Emma wanted to smack him because he was stating the obvious, but she also wanted to kiss him for him being so understanding.
Several contractions later, the baby's head was visible. This caused a fiery, burning pain, more intense than the contractions, and she vaguely heard herself scream, "I can't do it!" It made her want to stop, to stop this now. She knew that it was almost over and that the burning sensation meant she was seconds away from meeting her baby. Encouraging words were spoken to her, followed by a miraculous sentence spoken by her midwife: "Okay Emma, be ready to take your baby!" Her body gave a final push and then there was sweet, wonderful relief. Her eyes snapped open and she reached down, taking her pale, wrinkly baby into her arms. It was 2:23am on May the 10th, and their daughter was finally here.
The noise of commotion all around her faded entirely in Emma's ears when she looked at her baby; everything was silent until there was a choke, a gurgle, and then a wail.
"My baby, my baby, oh my baby!" Emma sobbed in relief and joy. The midwife quickly began wiping the infant off around Emma's grip. Emma gave her baby a quick onceover and cried, "It's a girl!" She had all ten fingers and all ten toes and she was positively the most beautiful thing Emma had ever seen. "Hello my love," she said in a soft, shaky voice, grinning from ear to ear. She pulled her daughter closer to her and pressed a kiss on the wet, sparse hair on her head. The wails quieted.
She tilted her head back against Killian's shoulder and smiled. "I did it," she said with an elated grin. He leaned forward and placed a sloppy, upside-down kiss on her lips.
"You did so good, love." He reached forward and smoothed his hand over the top of the infant's head. In all his years he had never seen something so beautiful. He pressed a kiss to the side of Emma's head and murmured, "Gods, she's beautiful Em. Look, she's got your hair."
She gazed back down at her little girl – they really needed to think of a name sometime soon – and could not even begin to measure the amount of love radiating through her. That wonderful postpartum hormone cocktail of love was flowing through her veins, making her feel like she was in a state of motherhood euphoria. She noticed that the umbilical cord had stopped pumping blood, and so it was cut by Killian. Emma handed Killian their daughter for examination so that she could deliver the placenta. She heard them say, "She's 7 pounds, 5 ounces. 21.1 inches long." And most importantly, she was completely healthy.
The midwife's aid and Mary Margaret helped her to the bed. As soon as she was settled, Killian gently passed the now-crying baby back to her. Now that the birth was over, Emma's next worry was whether her baby would nurse. Was her body making enough milk? Would she refuse to take milk from her? Her worries were quickly answered when the tiny mouth latched on for her first meal, guided by the midwife. "Wow, what a champ!" Mary Margaret said, grinning. "If only my boys had been so easy!"
Killian came around to the other side of the bed and sat beside her. She met his eyes and smiled sincerely at him. They had made this perfect little human. Their perfect little girl who had been growing inside of her for over 40 weeks was finally ready to take on the world.
When she was finished nursing, Emma gently handed the babe to Killian and rested her cheek on his shoulder while they gazed at her. She had looked pale and slightly purple when she was born, but now she was a bright, healthy pink. How was it possible for her to love someone so much?
Her midwife finally spoke, "Emma, why don't we have a look at you? Then the two of you can take an herbal tea bath." Emma nodded, eager to have her first bath with her baby, and she was assisted by her mother and the midwife to stand.
When she finally returned to the bed 30 minutes later, she felt utterly spent. Her legs were quivering, her whole body ached, and her eyes fought to stay open. Killian, who had taken the baby from her as she got out of the bath, returned the baby to her, and she allowed her to nurse again. She sleepily returned a kiss that Killian placed on her lips.
The midwife decided that they were good for a little while and told them that they could reach her at any time should any issues arise. They would stop by again around 9am to check on everyone and provide help. Mary Margaret remained a little while longer, staying until her daughter was dozing and granddaughter napping for the first time. She tiptoed to Killian's side of the bed and whispered, "I'm going to go. Don't hesitate to call David and me if you two need help or have a question. I spoke to Regina and she said that she would stop by with Henry at about 10. David will be stopping by first thing in the morning as well, but I'll try to keep him from getting here too early." She smiled at him. "You did really good today, Killian. You make quite the team."
He turned back to his two loves, smiling gently. "We do, don't we?" he whispered back. Finally Mary Margaret left, leaving the three of them in their bed. Emma still held onto their baby, pressing the infant to her chest. Soon after she stirred, eyeing him sleepily. Together they shifted their daughter to the co-sleeper, where Emma fell asleep, surrounded by two of her main loves.
A/N: I'll give you a hint about the name of their daughter: she's named after a member of the official Disney princess lineup. She is not in OUaT. Any guesses?
This series is not finished - I'm not sure what the next step in their story will be, but I know some major details for the future! Keep an eye out for when I add to it. :)