Emma nervously smoothed the front of her dress. She tried to shake herself, telling herself that it was just a kid's 11th birthday party and there was nothing to feel upset about. But today had always been a particularly hard day for her; she picked up her baby blanket and held it to her chest, lost in thought.
"Emma?" Elsa knocked on their door and opened it slowly. "Killian and Liam are here."
"I'll be right down," Emma said, hastily shoving her blanket under her pillow.
"Is something wrong?" Elsa asked.
"No I'm fine, this is just the first time I'm meeting someone's extended family," Emma excused, hoping Elsa wouldn't pry further.
"Well, you have nothing to worry about. You can be a bit prickly at times but overall you're a wonderful person."
"Wait, you think I'm prickly?" Emma's eyebrows shot up. Elsa just giggled and lightly pushed her towards the stairs.
"Well, don't you two look dapper?" She beamed when she saw the two of them.
"Thanks Emma," Liam grinned at her, he was looking more and more like Killian with every day.
"Hello love," Killian kissed her cheek in greeting. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," Emma sighed.
"You alright love?" He asked, his callused hand caressing her shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she smiled tightly. Killian didn't look like he quite believed her and opened his mouth as if to ask again.
"Come on Dad, let's go!" Liam interrupted.
"All right lad don't worry, we'll get there in time for cake," Killian ruffled Liam's hair. Liam huffed and ducked out from under Killian's hand.
"Daaaaaaad," he huffed, combing his fingers through his hair to get it to lie flat again. Killian and Emma chuckled as they walked out of the convent, Liam leading the way to the bus stop where David, Mary Margaret, and baby Leo were waiting.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Nolan," Emma smiled as she approached them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Nolan is a bit formal don't you think, Emma?" Mr. Nolan said as she bounced Leo gently.
"You could call us David and Mary Margaret if you'd like," Mary Margaret smiled. Emma noticed that her usually kind and genuine smile seemed a little more forced than usual.
"Okay, David and Mary Margaret it is then," Emma said hoping to put the woman at ease. The bus rumbled up, ready to take them to the swanky neighborhood the birthday boy and his mother lived.
"Is Mary Margaret all right?" Emma whispered to Killian as they took their seats a few rows behind the Nolan family.
"She will be; her and Regina didn't exactly get along for a long while. I thought it was just stepsisters being stepsisters but Mary Margaret sat me down and told me the whole story one night. Let's just say it really wasn't pretty for a while," Killian explained.
"Wow, I didn't think anyone could hate Mary Margaret. She's one of the kindest people I've ever met," Emma looked over at Mary Margaret, taking in the set of her jaw and the determination in her brow.
"Don't let the bright and sunny school teacher side fool you, she's got some grit to her," Killian said.
"So how did they get to the point where they're going to each other's children's birthdays?" Emma asked.
"Regina got her son, I think motherhood did Regina good. She reached out to Mary Margaret and apologized for everything that happened when they were young. They've been working it out for years now."
"Damn," Emma swallowed.
"Don't worry love, it's been a long time since there's been any serious family drama. We're all just here to celebrate our children," Killian wrapped a reassuring arm around her.
The bus pulled up to the stop they needed, all of them getting off the bus. Emma looked around at the pristine white houses that lined the street and the plush shrubbery that seemed to hug the outside of the houses. Liam bounded up the stairs and knocked on the door, the adults trailing behind them. A dark haired woman answered the door; she wore an impeccably tailored suit and not a hair stood out of place. Emma subconsciously smoothed her hands over the front of her dress, smoothing out any wrinkles that may have formed on the ride over.
"Hi Aunt Regina!" Liam grinned at her.
"Hello Liam!" The woman smiled, her unapproachable demeanor cracking slightly. "Henry is playing cricket down in the park with his friends if you would like to join."
"All right!" Liam started to take off down the road but turned back to wave and shout out a thank you in their general direction.
"I swear Killian, if he didn't look like the spitting image of you, all it would take is the lack of manners to know he was your son," Regina said to Killian.
"Nice to see you too, Regina," Killian smirked at her as he walked in.
"And who is this?" Regina's gaze fell onto Emma. She had to force herself to keep her hands still and not to fidget under the other woman's cool stare.
"Hi, I'm Emma Swan, I've been seeing Killian for the past few months," Emma held out her hand for Regina to shake. Regina looked down at her hand and Emma almost felt embarrassed by her unpolished fingers and callused hands.
"You didn't think to call me and tell me that she was coming?" Regina glared at Killian.
"Well, Your Highness, not all of us have our own phones to use at our pleasure," Killian met her gaze.
"Yeah and I don't appreciate you talking about me like I'm not even here," Emma bristled. A beat of uncomfortable silence passed between Killian, Emma, and Regina before Mary Margaret cleared her throat.
"Well, I know someone who would love to meet his auntie," she said holding up Leo. Regina's face softened as she held Leo in her arms. She cooed at the baby as he wiggled in her arms, reaching his tiny hands towards her hair.
"Come on love," Killian whispered in her ear and gently tugged her towards the kitchen.
"Wow," was all Emma could say once they were alone in Regina's massive kitchen.
"That's Regina for you, but don't worry now that she has a baby in her arms she'll mellow out a little," Killian rummaged through Regina's liquor collection, choosing a fine rum and poured them both a glass. "I've also found a bit of liquid courage doesn't hurt."
"Thank you," Emma accepted the glass and took a sip.
"You handled yourself brilliantly out there," Killian quirked a suggestive eyebrow at her before planting a kiss on her lips. Emma let out a surprised moan before returning it in full.
"Come on," Emma whispered once they broke apart. "Something tells me Regina wouldn't be too amused to find us kissing in her kitchen."
"You're probably right, but just imagine how funny her face would be," he grinned at her. Emma giggled but still pulled him towards the living room where Regina, Mary Margaret, and David were sitting.
"So Miss Swan, David tells me you're a midwife," Regina said as Emma sat down on Regina's pristine white couch.
"Yeah, I've been stationed at Nonnatus for about three years now," Emma answered.
"You talk as if it were a military base," Regina observed.
"Well, when you think about it, I've probably seen as much blood, sweat, and tears as any man in the Queen's army," Emma said nonchalantly. Regina looked taken aback before letting out an uncharacteristic snort of laughter.
"That's a good one Nurse Swan," Regina chuckled, still bouncing Leo on her knee.
"Do you remember your midwife? Perhaps I know her," Emma asked. She saw that everyone else stiffened slightly and Killian put a hand on her knee.
"My son is actually adopted, Lord knows who his midwife was or his mother for that matter," she shrugged but Emma noticed the way her grip tightened on Leo's body.
"I'm so sorry to pry."
"It's okay," Regina shook her head and smiled. The front door banged open and the sound of two stomping feet were heard as they ran down the hall. "That'll be him actually, excuse me." Regina handed the baby back to Mary Margaret and walked towards the hall.
"Henry what did I tell you about running around the house and in these muddy trainers. Both of you go upstairs and clean up and then you can have some food," Emma could hear Regina say sternly to the two boys.
"You're handling this like a pro Emma," David raised his glass in her direction.
"Not many can stand up to Regina the way you did," Mary Margaret looked at Emma with an almost proud smile.
"I've seen worse, believe it or not," Emma took another sip of her drink as Regina and the boys returned to the living room.
"Well I'd like to introduce my son, Henry Mills," Regina said proudly putting a hand on his shoulders. Emma looked up and promptly spat out her drink, the glass slipping out of her grasp. She didn't hear Mary Margaret's gasp, didn't hear Regina's cry about her couch and carpet, didn't hear Killian asking her if she was all right. She saw his brown hair and dark eyes that had haunted her all these years, the spitting image of his father. She knew that the boy standing in front of her with familiar brown eyes full of concern and fear was, without a single doubt in her mind, her son.
