Emma looked out of the window and shuddered. The worst storm she had witnessed in years was raging over Storybrooke. If she didn't know better she would've thought that the weather was siding up with her.
"Can you call to cancel on Mother Superior?" she asked Snow, trying her hardest not too sound too eager and too pleased with that particular turnout.
Judging by her mother's look, she wasn't all that successful.
"So what are we going to do?" said Charming, opening the fridge to check what kind of provisions they had. "Don't know about you, sheriff, but I'm already dreading the emergency calls."
"Oh, no, no" Emma groaned. "Here's to hoping that everyone just stays put and waits it out."
She cast her gaze outside once more.
"I don't think my swimming skills are up for that."
"OK, let's get this started!" Henry bounced into the room with Killian right behind him.
"Get what started?" said Emma, eyeing her son with suspicion.
"There's a storm! So we gotta all stay together, light up some candles and play board games while eating junk food," replied Henry without taking a single breath, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.
Emma turned on the lights.
"Kid, power's not even out yet," suddenly her eyes lit up too. "Though if it went out there would be no way for people to call to bother the sheriff."
Her parents gave her identical looks.
"Kidding, kidding!" she rolled her eyes, going over to Killian. "Looks like your days as a furball aren't exactly coming to a close."
Better that than drowning outside while trying to get to some blue witch that might not even be able to help.
"I see that you're very upset about it," mocked Emma.
Careful, Swan. Fur comes with claws.
Emma grinned at him. Strangely enough she was in a very good mood. She had dealt with her fair share of storms, both figurative and literal, and always alone. She was getting a kind of warm tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach at being holed up with her family while the storm lasted. It was nice, not having to stare out of the window of an empty room, watching the rain fall.
She flopped on the couch, the black-and-white kitten resting on her chest and smiled at her son.
"Since we haven't reached the candles and board games level yet how about some movies and popcorn?"
Henry's whole face lit up.
"Yes! A marathon! And we gotta pick something epic. Start off Killian's education on the classics," the boy immediately landed on his knees in front of the DVD collection.
Oh, great. Let's educate the centuries old pirate.
"Hey!" said David with an offended tone. "We already watched all of Indiana Jones. I think he's way on his way with the classics."
Well, ok, that was pretty great.
"When did yo-" started Emma only to be interrupted by her son.
"That's not good enough," he said rummaging around. "OK, here we go. Lord of the Rings?"
"No!" shouted Snow and Emma in union.
Charming opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it and closed it again, mouthing to Killian 'we'll see it later'.
"OK," Henry picked his next candidate. "Harry Potter?"
"Snow knows them all by heart," said Emma with a grin, her mother blushing but not denying her obsession.
"Home Alone?" the boy suggested hopefully.
Everyone gave him the same look. Well, except for Killian whose stare was as confused as ever.
Do you people do anything with your lives besides watching other people have adventures inside your little black box? Some princes and princesses.
"I got it!" yelled Henry, jumping up and waving a DVD in the air triumphantly.
Everyone grinned in approval. Killian thought about braving the storm after all when the lad pulled five more DVDs out, stacking them on the coffee table.
Three bowls of popcorn were waiting to be devoured. Charming was sitting in the biggest armchair, Snow resting on his lap. Henry had scattered a million pillows on the floor and was lying on his belly, waving his feet in the air in excitement.
Good thing the lad doesn't have a tail.
Emma was left to rule over the couch with a blue-eyed kitten snuggled next to her.
All was set when suddenly a debate broke out.
"It's 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!" demanded Emma.
"No way!" argued David. "Everybody knows you watch it 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3."
"But you gotta go chronologically."
"But it ruins everything! All the plot twists."
"Mom, Gramps is right. You totally spoil 5, if you start with 1, 2 and 3."
Emma threw her hands in the air.
"Whatever!" she grabbed a bowl of popcorn in one hand, scratching Killian's back with the other. "I got my popcorn and my kitten, do what you like."
He wouldn't have admitted that even if his life depended on it but by now the pirate was getting a bit frightened. But he guessed he could live through that 'marathon' thing as long as Emma kept paying attention to all his sensitive spots.
Oh, yeah. Behind the ears, lass. Dammit! I'm purring again.
What?! Am I gonna have to put up with that Luke guy the whole time? That kid is annoying as hell!
"Hush!" ordered Emma the hissing kitten. "He's the hero of the story."
Of course, he is. What with the innocent face and empty head.
Oh, I like that white-and-blue one!
"R2D2 is the best!"
The golden one is annoying though. Would be a lot more useful in the form of coins.
"Bet C3PO is wreaking havoc on your pirate-y instincts."
Now that's more like it!
"Figures you'd like the infuriating sex-on-legs scoundrel."
Are you insinuating something, luv?
Emma, this lass reminds me of you. Look at her ordering everybody around.
"Yeah, Leia kicks ass. I wanted to dress like her every Halloween for years."
I'd pay a C3PO or two to see that.
Like hell! No way is the little bastard getting the girl. Look at this! It's like he is kissing his sister!
Emma couldn't suppress her giggle.
Oh, come on! You just gotta press and fire. Even I could do it. Paws and all! Come on! Time is running out!
Hell, this movie watching is stressful.
Emma petted him reassuringly.
Well, what are you waiting for? Put on the next one!
Emma looked around. Snow had gone to bed after the end of The Phantom Menace, Charming was hugging an empty bowl to his chest, fighting sleep and quickly losing the battle and Henry was probably dreaming of riding horses and sailing pirate ships, lying on a dozen pillows, covered with his favourite blanket.
She glanced down at Killian who was so tense that his tail was twitching and was as far from falling asleep as it was possible to be in 3 in the morning.
Why is he doing all this? I was rooting for that guy! This isn't helping, man, get it together! You're gonna lose her like you lost your mum, let the darkness of what has been spoil what could be. You gotta stop living in the past and realize what you have now… It's time to move on.
Emma hated that part of the movie. It was why she had wanted to watch the original trilogy later. This one didn't have a happy ending and believe it or not Emma Swan had always loved movies with happy endings. Probably because she had never believed that her own story could have one.
The blonde drew the unsettled kitten closer to her. Maybe she had been wrong all along though.
"Rumpel?" Belle rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing so late?"
"Nothing, Belle. Nothing you should worry about," he said without taking his eyes off his project. "Go to bed, I'd be right along."
Belle frowned in confusion but headed for the bedroom anyway. It was weird. He was usually spinning his straw into gold and just leaving it to pool around him but this time it looked to her like he was interwining the gold lines... to form some sort of a cube.
