Boston

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Thank you so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them. Here is the next chapter that was planned to be the last one but, well, I got carried away with this whole family stuff and it's not the last one after all.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: The 28th

After the pain in his leg had woken him up, August couldn't go back to sleep. There were so many thoughts whirling in his head that he was forced out of bed way before their alarm would have gone off. As he padded to the kitchen, he frowned at just how miserable he felt.

It was Emma's birthday and while it had always reminded him of that dark day when the curse had hit the Enchanted Forest and snatched them away from their home and their family, in the last decade it had come to mean something else. While he had always made sure that Emma felt special on that day, ever since their relationship changed, he had made special efforts to express just how grateful he was for her and for everything she'd given him.

He loved her so much. So much as to be willing to forget about his duties to make the Princess believe in her destiny.

And it was a grave mistake.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by some gentle tapping coming from the kids' room and, true enough, when he poked his head out of the kitchen, he saw his children making their way to their parents' room. They were a sight to behold as they tiptoed their way to the other door in a row and August couldn't help but chuckle when Benji bumped into Franny when she and Billy stopped by their destination. Franny yelped surprised that was quickly followed by Benji's scream and Billy turned back to his siblings with clear disapproval in his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he inquired in an amused voice, leaning against the frame of the kitchen door. The kids' heads simultaneously snapped in his direction and while Billy and Franny gave him a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, Benji happily trotted to him to greet his father.

August picked the toddler up and took a couple of steps closer to the other two children.

"So?" he waited for an answer, even though he had a good idea what the kids were doing up bright and early on a school day when usually it took serious effort on the parents' part to kick them out of bed in time.

"We maked present for Mommy," Benji supplied happily.

"Yes," Billy agreed with a defeated sigh. "And we planned on surprising her," he pointed out. August smiled sympathetically at Franny and Billy. He knew, too, that there was no way that after that commission in front of the door, Emma was still asleep.

"Tell you what?" he put Benji down. "I'll go and grab mommy's coffee then we can go and surprise her together. But you have to stay really quiet for that," he said looking at the toddler. "We don't want to wake her, do we?"

All the kids nodded in unison, even the older ones forgetting about their worry about Emma being awakened.

"Good," August nodded then stepped back into the kitchen then quickly reappeared with a mug in his hand. Benji, not being one for staying in one place for too long, having run after him, rejoined his siblings on his father's side.

"Let's go," August nodded towards the door and Billy opened it carefully.

The man had to smile when they stepped into the room. Emma was lying under the covers with her back to them and for all intends and purposes she seemed asleep. The kids exchanged an excited and happy smile at finding their mom still asleep but August knew better – Emma was up all right. For the kids' benefit, he made a dramatic movement to indicate that they should stay quiet and with exaggerated movements, he began to tiptoe towards the bed with the kids following suit.

With bated breath, the kids waited for a second then grinned when, after looking at their father, waiting for his permission, August nodded and let the kids surprise attack their mother.

The next couple of minutes was a mixture of squeals, giggles, happy cries and contended laughter which finally died away as the kids settle down on their parents' bed with Billy and Franny on either side of Emma and August sitting with Benji in his lap.

"Happy birthday," sharing a short kiss above the head of their daughter, August told Emma after the kids had their share of birthday wishes.

"Well, let's see what this is," Emma said excitedly, indicating the folded paper that had been trusted into her hand earlier.

"We maked it," Benji shared happily that was followed by a couple of proud nods from Billy and Franny while August tried to correct his son's faulty grammar.

"Aww," Emma cooed upon opening that piece of paper and finding a drawing on it. "That's wonderful. Thank you," she looked at each of her children.

"Do you like my horse?" Billy asked.

"Yes," Emma answered while looking back at the picture, trying to guess which mess of lines could be the horse Billy was referring to. When she failed to identify it, she looked at August, who just shrugged with a humorous smile.

"And my ship?" Benji inquired, too.

"That's quite a masterpiece, too," Emma smiled at her son. Well, the ship itself was recognizable only because it was placed over a blue mess, but otherwise it looked more like a whale with wings. "And I guess you're the one who drew this castle?" Emma stroked her daughter's hair. For a six-year-old that castle was a remarkable work. It seemed that unlike her siblings, Franny had a knack for representing things on paper.

Soon the alarm went off and as August reached for it to turn it off, Emma sighed.

"I hate to break up this party," she said, "but we've got to start the day."

With a little pouting, the family got moving and while Billy and Franny got dressed, Emma went to get Benji into some clothes, too, and August made breakfast. During breakfast, the adults took turns to prepare for work, too, then they finished their morning meal together.

Billy was talking about their upcoming trip the next day when August looked at his watch and realized that he was running late.

"All right," August spoke up, standing up and lifting Benji out of his seat. "Off we go," he said then kissed Emma on his way to the front door where he put a jacket on Benji and grabbed his before throwing a Love you, guys, behind him that was echoed by Benji, too, then they left.

Benji's daycare was on the way to the little second-hand bookstore where August was working so when he didn't have a day off, he was the one dropping off the three-year-old for the day while Emma drove Franny and Billy to school before going to the teenage shelter where she worked as a counselor.

After opening the shop, his day went slowly with his thoughts always returning to one subject: Emma.

His heart ached at the thought that what they had in this life wasn't meant to be in their real life.

He was never meant to get into the wardrobe with her, he was never meant to spend his life with her… to fall in love with her. And most certainly he was never meant to marry her.

He couldn't help wondering whether breaking the curse would mean losing her.

But he also knew that this couldn't hold him back any longer – he couldn't keep being selfish because it wasn't just him who needed her, there was a whole town in northern Maine (yes, he had managed to find them) that needed her. It was time to be true to his word and bring the Savior back to her people. He just had to find the courage to do so.

When the day finally ended and he closed up shop, he walked home, picking up a small cake on the way.

Despite his troubled mood, he had to smile when he entered the apartment and was greeted by the happy chatter of his kids. Apparently they were all too excited about their trip whose destination was Swan Island in Maine. Benji was quite fascinated by the fact that the island was called like his mom and his fascination proved to be contagious as August could make it out, Franny and Billy were in the middle of persuading their mother to make a detour in their trip and visit Boothbay, too.

"Hey," August stepped into the living room with a happy grin, suddenly his uncomfortable thoughts forgotten, "did I hear Boothbay? Cool. I'd like to see it." The kids seemed excited by the prospect but Emma didn't look impressed from her position in the armchair.

"We didn't have a month to tour around Maine," she pointed out as August placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"Come on, Emma," August chuckled looking at the map spread over the coffee table, "it's what, another thirty miles or so?"

"Yeah," Emma agreed. "That thirty miles that would make you wish we stayed at home because the kids will be so antsy by then that you won't be able to stay in one car with them."

"Point taken," August nodded.

"And it's really just a detour, too," Emma added. "Not much point in taking it when we can spend our time somewhere we can actually see something."

"But can I see the wild turkeys?" Benji asked hopefully, jumping up from his kneeling position next to the coffee table where he'd been studying a map with his siblings. "I want to see the wild turkeys."

"You will, buddy," August hoisted him up and sat down on the couch with Benji in his lap then tousled his hair laughing. "You will."

"What's that?" Billy asked, indicating the little package his father had put on the coffee table.

"Cake!" Franny exclaimed, looking at her father excitedly.

At that, Billy quickly discarded the tourist guide book he'd been studying and ran into the kitchen to grab some plates and forks.

"You shouldn't have," Emma smiled at her husband.

"Are you kidding?" August looked at her. "See the look on the kids' faces?"

"I see," Emma nodded. "Thank you anyway." As an answer August jut smiled at her while Benji squirmed out of his arms when Franny began unwrapping the cake.

"Daddy, we don't have candles," Franny pointed out.

"Oh, we do have," August answered, "but you see, this is a little cake and there are a lot of candles," ha gave a cheeky grin to Emma, who just rolled her eyes.

"Cut it, Booth," she warned him but her stern look morphed into a smile when Benji offered that they should get a bigger cake to be able to place those many candles on them. August had a hard time containing his laughter.

They finally put a single candle on the cake and Emma let Benji have her birthday wish as they together blew it out.

The rest of the day went by quickly as the family prepared for their trip and finally it was time for bed for the kids, who'd been in such high spirit that Emma and August had a really hard time putting them into bed.

When Emma returned from tucking the kids in, August was standing in the kitchen finishing up doing the dishes.

"Now I'm ready to open my present," Emma said in a seductive tone as she sneaked her arms around her husband's waist.

"I think you've already opened everything," August teased, drying his hands in a kitchen-towel.

"Oh, I definitely don't think so," Emma smiled as her hands ventured under the hem of his shirt. August laughed out and turned to take his wife into his arms.

"You don't, huh?" he kissed her, both smiling into the kiss. "Well… maybe there is something here for you," he told her, gently guiding her out of the kitchen without letting her go.

He managed to back her into their room where they began fiddling with the other's clothes. It was his shirt that first found its way to the floor, leaving him in a white tee, and Emma, too, soon found herself only in her bra on top. August was just about to lay Emma on the bed when the pain from last night shot through his leg, making him lose balance and fall on Emma.

"August?" Emma asked concerned when the man rolled off of her with a painful grimace, holding onto his aching leg. "What happened? Are you all right?"

"Just give me a second," he hissed through his pain, shutting his eyes. After a couple of seconds – that seemed more like agonizingly long minutes – August opened his eyes and looked at Emma. "I'm sorry," he croaked.

"It must have been one hell of a cramp," Emma observed, running a hand over his leg. August only nodded. "Is it better?"

Again August nodded wordlessly and Emma smiled at him, leaning down to kiss him. August returned the kiss but when Emma's hand began to wander over his leg and to more sensitive part, he gently took it, and looked at her with a sad expression.

"We have to talk," he told her in a solemn tone.

"Are you serious?" Emma looked down at him with a forced chuckle, sensing that something was seriously not right. "I'm here half naked and you want to talk? What's wrong?" she asked and when it took quite a long time for the man to answer, she got worried. "Are you sick?" her voice hitched with fear as she sat up. "August, please," she pleaded when no answer came. "Please," she repeated, cupping his cheek. "Tell me you're not ill."

Slowly, August sat up, too, and took her hand into his and kissed it before cradling it safe between his palms. "No, I'm not ill," he answered with a small, sad smile then, after Emma let out a relieved sigh, he added, "I began turning back to wood."

The first thing he noticed after that was the loss of her hand between his as she almost immediately withdrew it. Then he noticed how the lines on her face that had been formed by worry turned into a disbelieving grimace as she slowly processed what he had said.

She was shocked, he knew. They'd had many a quarrel about his belief ever since Emma turned into an opinionated teen and for a while August took whatever she threw at him and he stubbornly kept repeating his story – their story – over and over again.

That was until Emma met Neal Cassady. It happened after a really intense fight between the two of them that Emma disappeared for months. When he finally managed to find her, she was caught up in a life of petty thievery and living in a car with a man who should have known better. He was just in time to save Emma from crossing a point from where there couldn't have been any turning back. He saved her from prison and sent that Neal guy away.

Then Billy was born. From that day on the world they'd left behind so long ago began to fade into a faint memory – just a story he used to love to tell. Slowly Emma got over Neal and she realized the true dimensions of August's feelings, what's more, she found herself reciprocating them. Free from the system, they began a new life together… as a family. It was hard providing for a baby – then three, and both he and Emma did their best to build a secure life. And that life was no fairy-tale.

He didn't even really realize that he had stopped thinking about that part of his life. He'd got a task when he came into this world: take care of Emma and make her believe. He took care of Emma but slowly he himself stopped believing.

He had a life in this new world and with that life, came new responsibilities: he had a family he had to look after.

Seeing the look in his wife's eyes, everything came back to him: the endless quarrels, the harsh words and cold looks, the feeling of failure.

"You can't be serious," her voice was suddenly cold.

"Emma, please…" August started, trying to reach out for her hand but she pulled it back. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry but we can't keep ignoring the truth."

"What truth?" she snapped as she reached for her discarded top to put it back on.

"You know what I'm talking about," August tried to maintain a calm voice.

"You are insane." Emma didn't even try. She was furious.

"Maybe…" August reached for his tee, too, then stood up to be at the same level as Emma. He gave her look that tried to convince her, "but it doesn't change the fact that everything I told you is real. They need you, Emma – you're their only hope… our only hope," he finished and watched as tears began to flow down Emma's cheek.

She shook her head sadly. "You need help", she said slowly and there was so much loss in her voice that August found it hard to keep it together.

"Yes. I need your help. Emma, for God's sakes, I'm turning back to wood."

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Just stop it." She backed away raising her arms in front of her defensively as if keeping August away from her would keep all the insanity away, too.

"Emma…"

"No, I don't want to hear it. Oh, my God," she turned away, running a hand through her hair in frustration. She couldn't even make sense of her feelings right now. She was pissed, scared and utterly confused. She thought they'd put all this craziness behind them years ago.

August could see how Emma was struggling and almost automatically, he stepped to her and tentatively put his hands on her shoulders, waiting for her to pull away again. When she didn't, he gently squeezed her shoulders and pressed his cheek into her disheveled locks.

"Once you asked me to stop talking about fairy-tales and magic," he began in a whisper and could feel Emma tense under his hands. "And I did, Emma. I've never brought it up again. And though I couldn't forget about it, I was just too willing to ignore it. We are who we are, Emma, and nobody can change that. Especially not me… no matter how hard I want it because it causes you so much pain. I just can't. And we can't ignore it, either because, believe me, it will cause you pain, too." Here his hold tightened on her in fear of what the future might hold for her if he failed to make her believe again. "I love you," he said and pressed a kiss into her hair. "And I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"Than why did you bring up all this crazy crap again?" she croaked, turning in his arms.

"Because," August began running his thumps over her red and tear-stained cheeks, "I have no other choice. If you are not ready to accept all those things I've told you, consider this –" here August stopped for a heartbeat, finding it really hard to face the truth, "I'm dying. I've failed to make you believe in magic… and in who you are. And now I have to pay the price for that. And I'm so afraid, Emma… I'm so afraid because if I'm not here anymo…"

He couldn't finish his thought because Emma fell into his arms sobbing.

He held her while she wept, hoping that he'd got to her and, after getting over the emotional turmoil she'd been experiencing, she'd be ready to give him a chance to help her find her true path.

After a while, Emma's sobs subsided and August became aware of her fumbling fingers as she tried to undo his belt all the while raising on her tiptoes to claim his lips.

"What are you doing?" he asked, when he managed to pull away from her insistent mouth, in a voice that was a strange mix of arousal and genuine confusion. She'd just called him a nutcase a few minutes before and he was sure that she'd been ready to kick him out.

"I'm doing what I expected you to do on my birthday."

"Emma," he made a half-hearted attempt to stop her. "We should talk about it…"

"I don't want any more talking," she hushed him. "I was preparing for a night of lovemaking so shut up and get to it."

And for the moment August proved to be too weak to protest – and he was aware of that. So instead of trying to do something he was constantly failing at, he did what he knew how to do – he showed Emma just how much he loved her.

TBC

Thanks for reading!