A/N: Okay, so in an unexpected twist, I am updating this chapter a few days earlier than my originally anticipated Friday. This is because it dawned on me yesterday that I don't have to be quite so strict with my updates. If I only want to wait five days instead of seven so be it! Anyway, this chapter brings us further on the path down this AU and will feature feels and cuteness and foreshadowing alike. I hope that you all enjoy and thank you so much for reading!
Dear Diary,
I don't think there's an adequate introduction to everything that happened today so let's just jump right into it…
…
Sundays in Emma's home as a kid always meant one thing – big, big, breakfast. She and her mom never skimped when it came to the most important meal of the day, but Sundays were in a league all their own. They had eggs, pancakes, bacon, waffles and so on and so forth. Some weekends they went out, but usually they stayed in and Mary Margaret taught Emma all she knew about the wonder that was breakfast food. Emma even remembered her mother once saying that breakfast food and cocoa were the two surest things to soothe a heartache. Looking back now, Emma wondered if it had helped at all, since clearly her mother never fully moved past David.
As the years went on though, the timetable in which all of these massive quantities of food were eaten shifted. Emma got older, and she wanted to sleep in instead of waking up with the sun like little kids often did. Each year got worse and worse and by sixteen, her mother was lucky if she woke up before noon on a weekend. So they'd renamed the tradition and became people who brunched. They threw in some lunchtime delicacies like grilled cheese and the occasional soup, and called it a day.
I'm not sure my grandmother would classify this as brunch, Emma thought to herself, unable to keep the smile from her lips as she looked at the insane amount of food currently on the island counter in her kitchen. Her Mom always went big, but with Ruby joining them today, Mary Margaret had taken 'brunch' to another level. Case in point, Emma was currently sipping on a really good mimosa, and staring at a kitchen sink so full of dirty pots and pans from this one meal, it was startling.
Emma had to wonder if perhaps her mother's excessiveness wasn't also coming from stress. With each passing day, they were getting closer to a point where King David would be touching down on Boston soil, and that was clearly effecting her mother, whether she was willing to admit it aloud or not. Emma herself felt slightly sick to her stomach every time she thought about it so she could only imagine what her mom must be going through.
Mary Margaret did have closure in one regard though and it came from a surprising place. Queen Ruth called during the week on a night when Emma was having dinner at home to apologize to Mary Margaret for the ill treatment she received from David's grandmother, and in a show of openness and complete honesty with Emma, her mother had left the call on speakerphone. It was a big gesture, and one that Emma might not have needed but did appreciate.
They spoke for a while about logistics with Emma going to the consulate and David's arrival the following week, but though Queen Ruth respected Emma's mother's decision to stay a step removed from this introduction process between Emma and David, she couldn't help slipping a word of caution in. David would be surprised, but when the shock all faded away he'd want answers and more than anything else he'd want to see Mary Margaret. Emma would forever remember her mother's heart wrenching look as she assured the Queen she was mistaken and hastily ended the call. If she ever needed proof that the love her mother felt was true, that was it.
"Okay, I don't care what anyone says. This food is way better than the stuff at the consulate. Professional chef or not, that guy does not hold a candle to you MM." Emma watched her mother smile at Ruby's name for her, but it didn't exactly reach her eyes. Mary Margaret turned towards the oven, checking on the homemade cinnamon rolls currently baking and Emma watched her let out a breath before squaring up with a bit of a mask in place.
"Well I can't believe that's true, but I would love to hear more about everything going on. Emma has been so quiet, which tells me there's something to know."
Immediately Emma thought of Killian when her mother asked, but she didn't think for a second that her mother knew about him specifically. Still, the look in her mother's shining eyes made Emma wonder if maybe, through some kind of magic, she did. Before Emma could think too long on that possibility, Ruby addressed it for her.
"Have you told her about Killian?" Emma's jaw dropped and then she slapped Ruby's arm.
"Ruby!" Her whisper carried plenty loudly through the kitchen and now her mother's eyes were lit up with excitement.
"Who is Killian, Emma?" Emma bit back a groan and shot another look at a now grinning Ruby before looking back to her mother.
"He's just somebody who works for David." Ruby scoffed at the lie.
"Oh please. Killian Jones is practically a part of the royal family, as is his older brother Liam. Technically they work for David and Ruth, but that's just to keep them close, you can totally tell. More importantly though, Killian is really cute and totally and completely into Emma." Now Emma did groan, dropping her face into her hands on the table.
"Emma, honey, why didn't you tell me?" Her mother sounded actually hurt at having not been informed about her love life. As if Emma wasn't a grown adult at this point with secrets. Okay one secret – Killian.
"There's nothing to tell!" Ruby harrumphed from the seat beside her. "We just talked. He's… nice."
And sexy, and smart, and ridiculously considerate, Emma's mind made a mental checklist of all the things firmly in Killian's favor that she'd witnessed so far.
"You mean to tell me I ducked out early last night for you just to talk to that man? Emma! He's like majorly hot." Emma could feel her cheeks warming at Ruby's words.
"Hey there's nothing wrong with talking. How else can you tell if there's anything between you?" Emma's mother's words made Emma feel a little better, but Ruby remained unconvinced.
"Trust me, if you saw them together you'd get my frustration. There were some fireworks there. Big ole, right up in your face, fireworks." Before Emma could beg Ruby to stop airing out her instinctive responses to this relative stranger to her mother of all people, Ruby's phone began chirping. Her friend pulled it out. "That's Granny. Be right back, and don't eat all the waffles!"
Emma watched Ruby head out of the kitchen, her conversation with her grandmother fading as she put more space between them. She should be angry at Ruby, but she knew her friend too well to think that anything she said was done maliciously. She wanted to help Emma, and talking was how Ruby handled everything in her own life.
Emma sighed, knowing that now she was alone with her mother, she was likely in for a good old-fashioned powwow about feelings and choices, and the joys of being an adult. Heck, she might even get a new version of 'the talk' since they never actually had conversations about guys, and wouldn't that just be the most mortifying thing ever. But when Emma looked at her mother, she was busying herself with other things.
"It's okay, Mom, you can just ask me." Immediately her mother turned around and looked ready to ask a million things.
"So was she right? Is there something special about this boy?" Emma's internal dialogue corrected that there was nothing 'boyish' about Killian, but she nodded.
"I think so." No, that wasn't entirely honest. Emma knew that Killian was different, and that she was attracted to him in a way she'd never been to anyone else, but what she didn't know was his feelings on the subject. Yes, she'd seen his appraising glances, but he hadn't so much as gone for a kiss last night. Emma spent so many hours last night in bed thinking about why he didn't and she kept stumbling on the thought that perhaps she was feeling this thing between them more acutely than he was. Maybe it was all in her head and he was just being friendly.
"Don't be afraid." Her mother's words pulled Emma from the thought spiral.
"What?" Mary Margaret offered her a small smile and reached across the counter to pat Emma's hand.
"You are so like me, Emma, and right now your mind is probably racing a mile a minute. Am I right?" Emma nodded. "Just trust your instincts honey, and know that in the end, it's better to be brave and take the risk than to ask yourself what-if for the rest of your life."
Emma couldn't help but think her mother spoke from experience, but before she could ask or try and comfort her, Ruby returned once more.
"Alright, let's do this!" Emma laughed at her friend's enthusiasm, and heard her mother join in too.
Just like that, the tension was broken, and they all dove in to a Sunday Brunch for the record books, but her mother's message lingered with her all the while. In the end, Emma decided she would be bold and brave and fearless instead of cautious and afraid. She'd be the hero of her story, and heroes didn't wonder, they went for it.
…
Killian Jones never considered himself excessively prone to distractions. If anything, he let himself be led by his passions and labored tirelessly towards some established end game. He'd done it in school, and then abroad in his years of service. Working towards something was just a part of Killian's make up, and had been since he was a young boy. Maybe it was the early passing of his mother, or the tireless work ethic of his brother, but Killian tried to do right by others and to be valuable to the people who needed him.
It was for this reason that his current predicament startled him as much as it did. He was living in a world now filled with distractions, and the common thread of each slip of his mind to fantasy and daydream was Emma Swan. This perplexing woman was never far from his thoughts, and at every turn he found himself thinking of what her opinions would be or what she was doing or what more he could ask her next time they were together. He felt hungry for every part of her and that hadn't faded at all since meeting her yesterday. If anything it got worse, far, far worse.
After a night spent in restlessness with regrets about not kissing her when he'd had the chance last night in the garden, Killian rose with the sun and set out to be productive, but that motivation never stayed strong. In fact it had only decreased as the hours ticked by because Emma was back at the consulate, meeting with her Grandmother for what Queen Ruth fondly referred to as 'Princess Lessons.'
And somehow, through a happenstance he couldn't wrap his head around still, Killian was being subjected to working in the same room as them. When he'd gotten up to leave and give them a bit of privacy, Queen Ruth was adamant that he should stay, and his resolve to do so strengthened when Emma offered him a small smile and a self-deprecating joke about her needing royal tutoring. Her green eyes glittered with amusement even though he could see her resistance to the lessons over all, but Emma was someone who wanted to make others happy, and Queen Ruth was more than thrilled at the prospect of sharing these things with her granddaughter.
Basically the afternoon centered around giving Emma a basic introduction to social parameters and expectations, and though Emma started wary and unsure, she took to each and every task like a fish to water. With grace and with a smile all the way, Emma overcame everything from table settings to high society small talk. In fact, she'd done so well, Killian could hardly think of anything more Emma would have to learn, and then Queen Ruth shocked both him and Emma.
"Wait, there's going to be dancing?" Emma asked, as Killian watched the color drain from her face. She looked les than impressed with the prospect, while he was on fire, already sensing the thought process of the Queen. He'd been asked to stay for a purpose it seemed, other than just stealing glances of Emma like a lovesick fool for a few hours.
"Oh yes, my dear. It'll be a mere waltz, but you should know it. Regardless of status, everyone should know the waltz. I promise, you'll love it." Emma's arms came to wrap around herself in a gesture that portrayed her lingering concern.
"Don't you usually need a partner?" Emma asked, and Killian felt his heart sputter in his chest. What would she think when she knew her grandmother's plan? Would she embrace a chance to dance with him as he did with her, or would she find it an imposition, unwelcome and undesirable? He thought after last night that they'd made progress, but he couldn't be sure.
"Yes you do, and there is no one better to teach you than Killian." Emma's eyes widened at the words and her glance turned to him immediately. He'd felt her eyes on him a few times this afternoon, but it was the first time they'd made prolonged contact. It felt right to him in a way nothing else ever had.
"Grandma, Killian has better things to do than teach me and my two left feet how to dance. Really, I don't want to bother you." Killian rose from his seat by the window and approached her.
"It's no bother, love. I could use the practice." Queen Ruth beamed at the two of them, and now Killian had to wonder what that look was about. Was she smiling because Emma was learning to dance? Or was the old woman smiling because of the two of them together?
"Well of course he could. He's been gone so long, you're really doing him a favor." The Queen took Emma's hand and placed it in Killian's and then turned to the stereo in the room and queued the song she wanted. "Go on then."
"I'm so sorry, really," Emma whispered to him and Killian couldn't help but smile, wanting to ease the lines of worry that marred her beautiful face.
"You've nothing to apologize for, Emma. It's my pleasure to teach you." She smiled and with that, Killian stepped closer to her, placed his hand on her waist, and showed her exactly where she should be placement wise. He considered teaching her the steps themselves, but then he decided a different path might work better for Emma, one less based on thinking and more predicated on feeling.
"You're only saying that because we haven't started moving. Trust me, when I'm stomping all over your feet you wont feel so amiable." Killian pulled Emma closer to him, surprising her a bit, but he could feel the attraction between them, barely restrained as it was.
"There's only one rule to dancing, love." Her eyes searched his for an answer.
"And that one rule is…?" Killian grinned and bent his head down to whisper, delighting in the way she sucked in a breath at his nearness.
"Pick a partner who knows what he's doing."
With that, Queen Ruth played the music and Killian moved through the steps. As with everything else, Emma took to it very quickly, faltering only a little at the beginning. With each step, her confidence rose and it only added to his fascination with her. Killian had to work hard to keep focused on the dance himself because her growing smile and easy, charming conversation took his breath away. That, and her flawless figure pressed against him as they glided across the floor, made him want to stop and kiss her senseless.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I know that you said you wanted no disturbances but something has come up that needs your attention." Both Emma and Killian turned to see Charlotte who'd appeared in the doorway and though Queen Ruth looked a bit put out she nodded. Killian was just about to drop Emma's hand even though it was the last thing in the world he wanted to do, but the Queen shook her head and waved in their direction.
"You two keep dancing. We're making good progress here." The Queen left and Killian looked back to Emma.
"Seems we've been ordered to remain as we are, love." Emma grinned.
"I can think of worse things to be forced into." He laughed, finding her wit and humor as sharp as ever.
"Praise like that is liable to give a man a big head." Emma shook her head in reply, sending some of the tendrils of her blonde hair cascading over her shoulder.
"Somehow with you I doubt it. You don't seem the type." Killian was intrigued at her claim, and now he wanted nothing more than to know what kind of man this angel though him to be.
"You're so convinced you know me already, love?" She tilted her head and the look in her eyes made him feel like she could see right down into his soul.
"I think I have your character pretty well sketched, yeah." Killian's heart thumped in his chest almost painfully.
"And what is the diagnosis?" Emma laughed at his dire phrasing.
"All signs point to you being good, and kind, and honest. Despite your joke you don't have a big ego, and everyone I've talked to has nothing but nice things to say on your behalf."
"So what you're saying is that you've been asking around about me." Emma rolled her eyes but he could see the smile that curved her lips upwards. "It would only be fair, love, seeing as I've been trying to find out more about you since our meeting too." Emma looked surprised at that.
"You have? Why?"
"You fault me for being interested in you as a person beyond the King's daughter?" Killian asked, not expecting the blush that crossed her cheeks.
"No, I'm flattered. I just meant that there isn't much to know. I'm pretty boring."
"That's where you're wrong love. If time in your company has taught me anything it's that you are quite the opposite. Not many people could do what you're doing right now and not be fundamentally changed." Killian had come to learn that Emma shied away from compliments, but this one she stood up to and accepted readily.
"I'm always going to be Emma. Whatever happens I won't give that up." Killian smiled again.
"That right there is what I'm talking about. You've spent the day learning to play a part and while you excel at everything you've stayed yourself. You are genuine and beautiful and in all ways must be found intriguing." Emma ducked her head at the last bit of praise for a moment but when she looked back up, her smile had returned.
"I think my new found skill, at least in dancing, has less to do with me and more to do with my partner."
"Rest assured that I will dance every song with you if you so wish it, love. I'd hate to see you hurting on my account." Emma smirked playfully.
"Is that your roundabout way of asking me to save you a dance at the banquet?" Killian stopped dancing, moving closer, his mouth inches from hers.
"Aye, love, it is." Emma nodded.
"You can have every dance, Killian." The pride surging in his chest couldn't be denied and with another second he'd have descended on those lush lips for a kiss but he heard a throat clearing from the door.
"Not to interrupt, but we have a situation." Killian turned back to Liam who looked on edge. "The King has arrived."
Bloody hell!
…
One second Emma was absolutely certain she was in for the best kiss of her whole entire life, and the next her world was completely upside down. Her father was here?! King David was on American soil now?! Crap!
"No it's Sunday. He's not supposed to be here until Tuesday!" Emma could hear the desperation in her voice, and felt Killian's hand tighten on hers. It helped a little bit but her eyes kept on Liam who simply nodded.
"His team neglected to give me a proper heads up. We only found out when he touched down at the air field ten minutes ago."
"When will he be here?" Killian asked the words Emma couldn't seem to form.
"He's just pulling up now."
This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She was supposed to have time to freak out or faint or something before meeting her dad. That's what Emma had been counting on, a solid twenty-four hours of nervous energy and then a meeting, not this sudden bomb dropped on her life. Maybe it was for the best because it meant less time to worry, but it didn't feel that way in this moment. Suddenly it felt like an elephant was sitting on Emma's chest. Breathing was laborious work and her stomach felt like she'd just gone on ten roller coasters in a row.
What do I do? Emma thought to herself, unsure of whether she should stay or she should leave.
"The Queen would like for you to come see them," Liam said but Killian barked back at his brother, a clear protectiveness for Emma in his voice.
"She needs a minute. Maybe even a day. Queen Ruth can give her that." Liam stood there a moment staring at Killian but nodded.
"This is really happening now?" Emma asked, her question directed to Killian who nodded.
"It would appear that way." She swallowed back the lump in her throat and then trusted her gut.
"Okay." Silently Liam turned around headed out the door. With Killian's hand in hers, Emma followed Liam back across the consulate to the room that held her grandmother and her father, but when they got close, Emma held back unsure all over again about what to do.
"Killian?" She looked at him, trying to find answers for what to do.
"Take your time, love. I'm here." He whispered and she nodded, hearing her grandmother's voice waft through the open doorway to them.
"David, there's something I need to tell you." Her grandmother sounded more serious than Emma had ever heard her before.
"If it's about the banquet, Mother, it can wait. I promised you I'd come, but allow me just a moment before you bombard me with tidbits about press coverage and the toast requirements, please." Emma's lips twitched at that. It made her feel a little better that her Dad seemed unimpressed with the pomp and flash too.
"It's not about that. I needed to tell you something in person. Maybe you should sit down." Emma heard a scuffle of shoes that didn't sound like sitting down at all.
"Are you alright? Are you sick?"
"No it's nothing like that. I met someone recently, a young girl... Well I guess there's no easy way to say this. She's your daughter." A beat of silence passed before King David spoke.
"That's not possible." There was a sadness in his tone as he said it.
"She's twenty one years old,"
"Mother, I don't know what you want me to say it can't-,"
"Her mother is Mary Margaret Blanchard."
"What?!" The increase in tone wasn't from anger, Emma didn't think, but pure shock, and if she wasn't mistaken, maybe a little hope too.
"But she's gone. How did you -," Again her grandmother interrupted.
"Emma found me, David. We did a test, but I knew, right from the start. I knew she was yours." Emma knew that was true. She thought back to meeting her grandmother for the first time and the woman's immediate acceptance.
"Where is she?!" Emma took a step back away from the door as her Grandmother and father kept talking.
"Are you alright, Emma?" This came from Killian who still held her hand and only now did Emma realize that she was holding his like a vice. She loosened her death grip and shook her head.
"I don't know." He looked stricken, as if he wanted to help, but didn't know how.
"We can do whatever you want Emma. If you want to run, we can go, but if you want to meet him, you can do that too. It's up to you." Emma felt grateful at the choice because everything felt so incredibly out of her control right now, but then she remembered her mother's words about being brave. Yes they'd been given in a different context but they still worked here. She had to be brave, and running was the opposite of that.
"Come with me?" Emma asked and Killian nodded. They dropped hands and his moved to the small of her back, leading her into the room.
King David was facing the other way, looking out the window, his hands on either side of the wooden frame. The suit he wore strained with the pose, and Emma felt like she could feel the emotion rolling off of him even from all the way across the room. This was probably hard for him to wrap his head around, and Emma knew that, but hell, she was freaking out too.
Emma looked from her father to her grandmother who waved her over to her. Emma walked with careful steps, and turned to see that Killian had stayed behind. She felt his loss, but nothing was going to fully make this better. It was going to be awkward no matter what
"David?" Her father looked up to her grandmother but then he saw Emma beside her and he immediately turned around, facing her head on.
It was one thing to see her father in pictures as the handsome prince dressed in royal garb, or to think of him as a kind of imagining, but in person he felt bigger, not his size per se, but his presence. She could see pieces of herself in him now, things she'd missed pouring over pictures, and her throat constricted at the thought that half of her was part of him. Emma was swallowed up by it, and as his blue eyes took in everything about her, she could see the tears in his eyes. It sparked a pang of emotion in her chest too, and soon she was battling back tears of her own.
"Hi." That was all she could get passed her lips and then she stuck out her hand, not sure what else she should do. It took her father one second to bypass the hand and hug her wrapping her up in his arms with such force she couldn't comprehend it.
Emma felt his hand cradling the back of her head, and it reminded her of pictures you saw of parents holding babies. Maybe she should casually remind him that she was twenty-one and not a newborn, but she couldn't seem to do it. It wasn't bad at all, just foreign. It felt good though, and clearly he was happy to meet her.
"Good lord, David, you won't have a daughter at all if you keep squeezing the poor girl like that." Immediately he pulled back, concern all over his features and Emma offered a small smile.
"It's okay. I'm tougher than I look." He barked out a bit of a laugh at that, and it didn't sound normal, but it also didn't sound angry, which was still a relief.
"I have a daughter." He said the words with such reverence, that Emma felt a tear spill down that she wiped away quickly.
"Yeah." Her father smiled at her basic reply.
"I have about a million questions, but my brain can't seem to find them right now." Emma was about to reply that she was in the same boat, but the Queen interrupted.
"That would be the shock, dear. Let's have some tea, it'll help." Emma bit back a smile at that. Of course her grandmother wanted tea. "You too Killian, come in here."
Emma's eyes immediately returned to Killian to see him standing there, scratching behind his ear and looking a little overwhelmed himself. She suddenly worried that whatever was happening between them would change because her father was back. The thought clawed at her painfully, but then he offered her a hopeful smile and took the seat beside her and Emma felt like it might all work out in the end.
Emma couldn't be exactly sure how long they sat there at tea. All she knew was that the conversation was mostly dominated by her grandmother who passed all present parties information about each other. She talked about Emma's schooling, and David's hobbies, and barely took a second to breathe, never mind drink her tea. Then, just as suddenly, she stopped and stood, proclaiming that Emma and David were ready for a moment alone. In under a minute, she had pulled Killian behind her and out the door, and now Emma and David were forced to sit there and try and fill the space.
It went well, at least as well as meeting your father or your daughter after a life of not knowing each other could. Emma could see that her worries were unfounded. David was not only kind, but clearly very invested in being a part of her life. She aired her worries about the title, and he told her not to give it a second thought. He had no expectations from her other than for her to live the life she wanted. Whatever made her happy would make him happy too. Emma thought to herself that David was already getting a hang of the whole being a dad thing. His acceptance felt like the kind of thing people wanted from their fathers.
"I wish I'd known about you Emma. I wish your mother had told me." His confession came at the end of their time together, when Emma had announced she should be heading back home. Emma knew it was coming, the mention of her mother after his response to just hearing her name before was a given, but it still put her on edge.
"She was doing what she thought was right." David nodded, having been told about his grandmother's interference, but Emma noticed the thoughtful look in his eyes.
"She always did. I hope you're very like her Emma. She has far more admirable qualities than I do." Emma pretended to size him up before replying.
"You seem fine so far." He laughed again, this one Emma could tell was a real laugh and not just the manifestation of excess emotion.
"Good to know." Her father led her back out to the main entryway where her grandmother and Killian now waited. A car had been pulled around for her as always was the case when she left here, and Emma highly suspected that she had some sort of protection tailing her even if no one had said as such aloud. She didn't mind though, it meant her safety mattered to them.
"You'll come back tomorrow?" Her father asked, sounding desperate for her agreement as he hugged her again.
"Yes, after my classes, I'll come for a while." Emma looked at her grandmother who smiled happily.
"Killian, be a doll and walk Emma to the car, would you?" Her father was about to argue that idea, but Queen Ruth held his arm tightly and pulled him away.
Emma wondered why her grandmother had insisted on Killian escorting her, and then she thought back on all the times Queen Ruth seemed to throw Emma and Killian together in the past two days. The woman was up to something, but if it kept giving Emma moments alone with Killian, she couldn't say she was opposed to it. Without hesitation, she reached for his hand and he took it as they walked out to the car together.
"Will I see you tomorrow then too?" Emma asked before getting inside.
"Aye, love. I wouldn't dare be anywhere else." Emma felt the intensity of his promise and her whole body heated up at the words. The feeling only escalated when he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. She felt speechless for a moment, but then she had a sudden urge to turn the tables.
"It's not the kiss I wanted, but it will have to do for today I guess." With that Emma got into the car and closed the door, looking through the tinted window at Killian's face which went from shocked to downright joyous. Oh yeah, she hadn't been wrong at first. Killian was just as interested as she was, and being brave had just worked out pretty damn well.
Post-Note: So there we have it. Emma has finally met her father, and now we start a new chapter of the journey. From here, Emma clearly has some big decisions to make, like how can she make room for her father in her life without hurting her mother, and whether or not she wants to take the jump into being a princess. Then there's Killian to consider, and though I'm sure I could make it super dramatic and have them both feeling torn apart and like they can never happen, my long-time readers know me better than that. Expect fluff and hopefulness, even through the hard transitions. This is an OUAT AU after all, so we gotta have that hope and the happily ever after. Anyway, I hope you all liked it and happy Wednesday to you all!