Belle stood high on the bluff. The wind threaded its fingers through her hair and made her long skirts whisper around her ankles. Goosebumps stood out on her skin but she paid them no mind. She was waiting. He was due back tonight, and Belle would be damned if she missed him.
Captain James Hook had been gone for five months. Five lonely months where Belle had slept alone in their double bed and missed his warm body beside hers. Five months since he'd left, and four months since she had discovered the gift he'd unknowingly left her. As her hand clasped beneath the slight bulge in her belly, Belle already felt the butterflies rising. They hadn't exactly expected this little gift. What would he think? Would he believe that this was his doing? Belle knew it beyond a doubt, but perhaps he wouldn't be so certain.
As she stood wondering, a ship appeared on the horizon. It was at first a speck, but it quickly grew. Belle grinned and spun on her heel, racing down the well-worn dirt path through the jungle. She had walked up the path every day since he'd left, even though she'd known better than to hope. Today though, Belle did much more than hope.
Reaching the bay, Belle saw the main ship already anchored and a dinghy being rowed to land. Belle ran out into the water, mindless of the splashing that flung water up on her thin gown. When James saw her running out to him, he jumped out of his boat and ran toward her. His red cloak quickly grew heavy with the water and he shed it without a thought. The only thing he wanted to do was hold his Belle close in his arms and never let her go.
At last, Belle reached him. The sun was setting behind them as James hugged her to him and ruthlessly crushed his lips to hers. His tongue plundered her mouth, exploring and tasting everything that had been denied him the past five months. His hands trailed over her body, feeling her soft skin through the thin dress that covered her form. Only when he arrived at a strange rounded tautness in her belly did he pause. Belle froze in his arms.
"Belle…" James said slowly. She slowly stepped about a foot away, her hands going to clasp beneath her belly. Looking at her, James doubted she even realize she was emphasizing the swell and the way her thin dress was practically see-through in the spray of the water. As James stared at her belly, Belle quickly babbled,
"I'm sorry! I didn't know until after you were gone and I know this wasn't expected and I'm sorry! I didn't mean to have a baby and—" James silenced her with his lips meeting hers again. He pulled back with the biggest grin on his face. One hand automatically went around Belle's shoulders and the other to her belly. James imagined he could feel their baby in there, nestled safely in her womb. He kissed Belle again,
"I don't blame you at all, love. This…this is more than I could have ever, ever asked from you. Thank you." He kissed her forehead and pulled back, sweeping Belle's legs out from under her and carrying her bridal style back to the island. "We're having a baby!" He shouted to no one in particular as he twirled her around. Belle laughed and hugged him tightly as they spun. In that time, she knew that no matter the circumstances or the problems that may arise, Captain James Hook would always love her and nothing could have made her happier.