A/N: Hi, how's it going? I'm so sorry. I didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated this story. We're gonna skip ahead here, I hope you don't mind.
"How was your audition?" Emma asks as she tosses the little rubber ball Wills way, he catches it, shrugs and then tosses it back. "Did you get the part?"
"I don't know, I have to wait and see if I get a callback. I hope so, I've been out of work for too long." He gives her an exasperated look and then smiles when the baby makes a soft noise from the floor and Emma takes a break from throwing the ball to sweep her little infant's curls back.
"She looks like Killian."
"Yeah."
"Unfortunate." Will smirks and Emma gapes at him, "I'm joking."
"You better be. That's my kid you're talking about." She says as she picks her up and sets her in her lap, "My Charlotte." She says softly. She looks like Killian but she also looks like Henry. Maybe her kids looked more like her than she thought.
Will sighs as he stretches on the couch and then stands with a yawn, "I'm gonna go take a nap since your kid kept us all up last night." She rolls her eyes. They're staying with Will until they find somewhere else to go and his place, though lavish, barely fits them. Emma didn't want to go back to that house, not where Neal damn near caused her to lose her baby and Killian agreed; he didn't want to go back either.
The whole world knew where they were too, which didn't make the prospect of possibly having to go back there any easier.
She bounces Charlotte in her lap as she opens her computer and gets skype ready.
"Hey, mom." Henry yawns when his face pops up on her screen and she gives him a look.
"Late night, kid?"
"Maybe."
"With a girl?"
"Ew, no." He makes a face and then he smiles at Charlotte, who is making little incoherent baby noises in Emma's lap.
"How's school?"
"Fine."
"Just fine?"
"Yeah." He says softly as he rubs the back of his neck. The child seems to forget his mother's superpower. "People seem to be more...open to being my friend."
"That's good!"
"For all the wrong reasons."
"Oh." She says softly, because of Killian. At least no ones following him anymore, since all the stuff with Neal died down, and the baby, the media has no new material to go off of. Anytime she goes out with Killian, they're careful not to be spotted; especially if it's with Charlotte. She doesn't need her girls face plastered all over tabloids. She doesn't care how much Zelena suggests a professional photo shoot.
Emma's not doing it.
"When are you visiting?" Henry asks and she straightens.
"Soon." She promises, she means it this time. Charlotte is almost two months old now, it wouldn't be too much trouble to travel long distances with her. Elsa already moved back home with Anna, Emma is next. She just has to talk to Killian about it. "How's Regina?"
"Eh." He shrugs, "She's not home right now."
"Where is she?"
"Town hall meeting or something, I didn't ask, she just told me to do my homework and then left."
"Did you?"
"Uh."
"Henry."
"I'm going to, I just wanted to talk to you first." He says with a pout and she smiles. Rocks back and forth when the baby gets a little fussy. "Hey, where's Killian?"
"Good question," Emma says, she woke up this morning and he wasn't here and he hasn't called or texted to let her know what he's doing. He's probably busy. Zelena probably sent him on some nonnegotiable assignment and he forgot to tell her. "He didn't tell me where he was going."
"Hm." Henry nods as he takes a bite of his food, "...um."
"What?"
"Is...dad...like gone, gone?" He asks softly and Emma tenses, he's never called him that before, he usually just said that guy or Neal.
"Neal's arraignment was yesterday and he isn't getting out any time soon." She says softly. She cringes, she swears the flashing from the camera's outside the courthouse permanently altered her vision. There were a lot of lovely photos of her and Killian walking hand in hand inside gracing her tv screen later that night. She's sure Henry saw it, damn near everyone she knew did.
She needs to remember to thank Zelena for getting a team together to make Emma look somewhat less zombie-like.
She and Henry talk some more and then he has to go so he can get his homework done and as Emma rises from her place on the floor, Killian walks through the door.
"Where have you been?" She asks, shifting the baby and he gives her a tiny smile as he walks over, stroking Charlotte's hair. Then he reaches in his jacket pocket and unfolds something. Her stomach flips. It's the picture of his father that came with the flowers he sent while she was in the hospital. "Uh-"
"I don't…" He holds a hand up and she steps back, mentally kicks herself for it, hating what that did to his face. It's an involuntary reaction she wishes she could control, sudden movements make her flinch. "I'm not upset, love." He says softly, hand running through his hair. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think you'd want…" She chews her lip and he raises an eyebrow, "Wait where did you go?"
"I met up with him."
"You did?!"
"Only for a little bit." He says with a shrug, "Only for Liam."
"...which...which Liam?" She asks softly because there's two now. Brennan wasn't very creative with names, apparently.
"The one who still walks this earth, darling." He smirks and then he leans forward and presses his lips to her forehead. "He's...a nice kid."
"You met him?"
"Yes."
"Oh." She shouldn't be offended that he didn't take her with him, but she can't help but feel her stomach twist a little. "Good."
"I wasn't planning on it, had every intention just to tell my father to leave us alone."
"Did you?"
"I still loathe the man, but you were right. He's changed."
"Can you say that again?"
"I still loathe the man?"
"No the part about me being right." She smirks and he rolls his pretty blue eyes as he takes the baby away from her.
"You were right."
"I love when that happens." She smiles, flopping down next to him on the couch. If he rolls his eyes at her any harder they're going to roll out of his head and across Wills floor. "So, it was...good? He's better?"
"It was...decent."
"Decent like Sunday dinners, decent? Or I still never want to see you again, decent?" She asks, and then she straightens, "Did you tell him about Liam?" She asks, "The...other one…"
"Yes."
"How'd he take it?"
"How do you think?"
"Oh." She says softly as she leans back, fidgeting.
"Not sure we'll have a Sunday dinner type relationship, love."
"I understand."
"Is that something you want?" He asks softly and she shrugs. Lord knows she's never really had any of that. It'd be nice, though she's not sure how she feels about introducing Henry to an ex-alcoholic with a sketchy past.
Not that she didn't have a sketchy past either, she's thankful the tabloids had enough decency to not dig that far back. It's only a matter of time before they do, she knows that.
"I don't know." She says with a small shrug, leaning over to put the pacifier back in Charlotte's mouth.
"Where's Will?"
"Sleeping." She smirks, "Someone kept him up."
"Good girl." Killian smiles as he looks down at the baby.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"We should...like, move."
"Okay?" He raises an eyebrow and she chews at her lip. "Wherever you want, I already told you that."
"Maine?" She suggests and he nods, "Really? Didn't picture you being into the small town life."
"As long as I'm not being chased, I'll be fine." He smirks.
"Yeah, I can't make any promises…"
"Emma, your son is there, your friends are there, your life is there. Why would I deny you that?" He has a point, she'd most likely move even if he told her no. She'd find a way, she'd move with Charlotte, she'd use whatever penny she had left to get back to Henry. She's tired of running, she wants to go home. "Though I hope you know, Zelena will likely move too."
"Why?"
"She follows me everywhere. She likes to be close by in case of some silly rumor or half-assed scandal. She's like a dog."
"Hm." Emma hums and then she nods, "That might be awkward."
"Why?"
"Regina. Zelena. Last time they saw each other things didn't go...well." Emma says softly, though she still doesn't know much about it, Regina never said much, but judging by her tone of voice when she spoke about it, she'd say their last interaction wasn't pleasant. Killian nods but he doesn't say anything else on the matter.
She decides not to tell Henry that she's making the move to him, but she marks the date in the calendar. They were able to find a nice house using the help of the internet and Killian bought it the second she said she liked it. It's a beautiful pale blue Victorian style, and it rests right next to the ocean.
"Dude, someone bought that beautiful blue house down the street from me and I'm gonna fight them." Ruby huffs through the speaker and Emma chews her lip.
"Ruby."
"I have been looking at it for sooo long, Emma."
"Ruby."
"Honestly-"
"Killian bought it." She says softly and she has to pull the phone away from her ear at the loud shriek that comes from her friend.
"Are you coming back!?"
"Yes, but you can't tell anyone."
"WhenWhenWhen-"
"It'll be after Neals sentencing."
"Ew, they still have to sentence him?"
"Yeah."
"Is there going to be a trial?" Ruby asks and honestly, Emma has no idea. She can't see why there would be. There's plenty of evidence to convict him.
"Even people like Neal deserve their days in court, Rubes."
"Are you going to testify?"
"If I'm subpoenaed." She doesn't want it to come to that, she doesn't want to get on a stand and look at Neal and have to tell everyone what he did to her, and had done to her, to have to retell the story of the first time he ever put a hand on her. The first and only time he ever laid a hand on Henry.
She suspects if it comes to it, Zelena would have to testify too, since he did put a bullet in her. Maybe even Killian and Will. She hates that. They shouldn't have to do any of that.
"How's Mary Margaret?" Emma asks softly after a few beats of silence, it's been so long since she's talked to her bubbly teacher friend. She almost misses her constant chatter about true love. She misses David too, she really misses his cooking.
"Oh you know, she's taking these hormone shots to help her get pregnant so she's more irritable than usual."
"Still no baby?"
"Nope." Ruby says softly, "I saw them looking at adoption stuff the other day, or fostering. I think if the fertility stuff doesn't work, then that's the route they're going to go." That makes Emma happy. Knowing her upbringing, she wishes more people like Mary Margaret and David thought about fostering. Things would have been so different for Emma if she had been adopted by someone like them.
"That sounds like a perfect plan." She says with a sigh, "I can't wait to move. It's nice living with Will because he helps with Charlotte when Killian is away but I really want to see Henry."
"You guys are moving?" Will asks from behind her, and she jumps as she sucks in a breath, "Oh, sorry. It's just me."
"Killian didn't tell you?" Emma asks and then she hangs up the phone, turning in her chair. Will shrugs his shoulders as he opens the fridge.
"No."
"Oh."
"If you're moving, I'm moving too."
"I-"
"Killian and I are a package deal." He smiles.
"I got Charlotte to slee-"
"Why didn't you tell me you two are moving?" Will asks as he does a 360 on his heels, eyes going straight to Killian.
"Uh-"
"Do I mean that little to you?" It's playful, though some of it might be serious. "I housed you, I clothed you, I fed you."
"Will it's really not that serious."
"Feels pretty damn serious to me, Jones." He huffs, "So where are we moving to?"
"Where Emma is from."
"Ooooh, small-town life here we come." Will smiles and Emma rolls her eyes, "Good luck getting rid of me." He says as he presses a kiss to Killian's cheek and now it's his turn to roll his pretty blue eyes. Then Will is gone, grabbing a bag and heading out the door.
"Where's he-"
"He got an interview with Dateline."
"They're gonna ask about me, aren't they?"
"They always do," Killian says with a sigh. She doesn't have to worry, Will never gives them what they want, which is why he hardly ever gets interviews. "I actually need to talk to you." He says softly and then he's sitting across the kitchen table from her.
"About?" She asks, tilting water bottle to her lips and he sighs again. "We're still moving, right?" She asks softly, her stomach already turning, her heart already sinking.
"Yes." He says quickly, "Nothing has changed on that front, love."
"Okay…"
"There's this talk show-"
"No."
"You didn't even let me-"
"I don't need you to finish, I already know. No."
"Emma."
"No." She says it again, firmer this time.
"I'll be backstage the whole time."
"N. O. No."
"Zelena thinks it would be good-"
"I don't give a damn what Zelena thinks. I'm not doing it." She snaps and then she's standing and he's following. She doesn't want to sit in front of a bunch of cameras and have to tell the world all about her, her life, her childhood, Neal. She knows that's what they'll ask and she isn't doing it.
"Swan."
"Stop, no." She snaps again, turning on her heels. "You do the camera things, you put your life out there, you answer questions with a smile. That's your world, not mine. The answer is always going to be no." He grabs her arm and spins her back around, which earns him a loud shriek she didn't know she could make and he let's go. "Don't. Do. That."
"I'm sorry, Emma." He says softly, "I just...I get it. I won't make you do it, I would never force you too and I hate that you're constantly being asked."
"Then stop asking me."
"There's a premiere in six months."
"Huh."
"You said once the baby was born that you would think about going to one with me." He says softly and she steps back. She doesn't remember saying that, but she can't see why she wouldn't. She swallows.
"And the questions?"
"Mostly what are you wearing, routine, small."
"No...no Neal questions."
"No."
"No needless prodding? No tragic backstory?"
"If they get too personal, we have the luxury of just walking away."
"I don't want to wear some frilly ball gown."
"Wouldn't dream of putting you in one, love." He smirks and then his lips tilt up in a different way, "Taking you out of one is another story entirely."
"Stop that."
"Why?" He asks and then he's backing her into a wall and she really should remember how to breathe, but she doesn't. Next thing she knows she's caged in with nowhere to go. Not that she'd go anywhere at this point. She wonders what this is sometimes, what they are. They never had that discussion, they live together, they have a baby together, they went on one disastrous date. She jumps when she feels his lips fall over hers, softly and tentatively, testing the waters but then she returns it and he goes all in.
The next few seconds are spent with her hand in his hair and his arms folding completely around her but then he pulls back before it can go any further.
"Why did you do that?" She whispers, her breathing picked up, her stomach doing a million little flips.
"Thought it might help in your decision making." He says softly and she bites at her lip. It's playful the way he says it, it's a joke but she doesn't laugh. Instead, she nods.
"Six months."
"Six months."
"Okay."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I'll go with you." She whispers, "If you do that again." She adds on before grabbing at his shirt and pulling him towards her.
