I own nothing except my delusions.


Standing at the stove, Emma waited nervously for Henry to come home as she cleaned the already spotless kitchen. She felt Killian come up behind her, gently resting his hand on her waist.

"It's gonna be alright, Swan," he said softly.

"I'm just nervous," she replied as she pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Henry might not like this. And I don't want to push him into something."

"I know," he replied, tilting his head so that it leaned against hers. "If he doesn't like it, we'll just have to deal with it."

She released a heavy breath. "Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

She turned around, resting her hands on his chest and pressed her forehand to his.

"He should be home any minute," she muttered quietly.

As soon as the words left her mouth, they heard the locks click in the door, prompting them to quickly break apart, Killian stepping away so a good distance stood between him and Emma.

"Hey kid," she greeted, smiling at her son as he walked through the door. "How was it?"

"Awesome," Henry replied, dragging his backpack behind him. "It was cool. We played a ton of video games until really late, and had pizza for dinner."

"Well, we're glad you enjoyed yourself," Killian said.

Henry nodded, moving closer. He lifted his backpack. "I just need to put this in my room really quick."

He quickly ran to his room, appearing a couple seconds later.

"Are you hungry?" Emma asked him.

"Not yet," he nodded.

Emma smiled at him. "I was thinking we haven't gotten to do anything for a while, so what do you think about just me and you doing some shopping then get some lunch?"

He grinned brightly at her. "That sounds great." His smile faltered, looking at Killian. "But what about Killian?"

Killian quickly shook his head, giving him a teasing smile. "I'll be fine, lad. I've lived for three-hundred years so far. I think I can survive a few hours on my own. You and your mother go enjoy yourselves."

Henry shrugged, his smile returning as he looked back at Emma.

"Go get cleaned up, and we'll go," she told him.

He nodded, turning to go get ready.

Emma released a sigh as she moved slightly forward, leaning her head on Killian's chest. She felt his nervous chuckle.

"It's gonna be okay, love," he whispered into her hair.

She nodded in response, rubbing the skin of her forehead against the satin of his waistcoat.

Tentatively, he pulled her closer, repositioning her so her head rested against his shoulder as he draped his arm around her waist.

Relaxing under his touch, she closed her eyes, content as he leaned his head against hers.

They only pulled apart when they heard Henry coming from the hall.

"Are you ready?" Emma asked him as she moved to the counter, grabbing her keys and phone.

"Yeah," Henry nodded.

"Do you want anything?" she asked Killian as she went to grab her coat.

He shook his head. "No, thank you."

She looked back at Henry. "Ready?"

"Yeah," he responded happily, moving to the door.

Emma exchanged one last look with Killian, him giving her a small nod, wishing her good luck. She gave him a slight nod in return, opening the front door and leaving with Henry in tow.

"So is there anywhere you want to go in particular for lunch after?" she asked when they stepped out onto the street.

"How about that diner we tried a couple weeks ago?" Henry suggested.

She nodded, nudging him toward her car. "Alright then."

She listened to Henry chatter happily about his day as she drove, her stomach a bundle of nerves. She parked on an open spot on the street by their destination, climbing out and following Henry as he began to look at the shops.

"Do you know what you're gonna get Killian for Christmas?" he asked her curiously. "Cause I have no clue."

"Not yet," she answered. She spied an old maritime place, resting her hand on Henry's shoulder. "But I think I just found a good place to look."

Henry spied where she began directing them, beginning to hurry.

"He didn't get to keep any of his old stuff, did he?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. At least not a lot of it."

"Maybe he might like a compass or something like that, then?" he suggested as they walked into the small shop.

Emma smiled, remembering her and Killian's fight at Lake Nostos where she knocked him out with a compass. "I think he would like that."

Satisfied, Henry smiled.

Moving around the shop, she scanned the items displayed, coming to a stop at some frames. Stepping closer, she saw the contents, the old star charts with the figures the constellations represented beautifully sketched across them. She smiled, remembering her conversation with Killian on the rooftop, wondering if perhaps it would be something he would like.

"Kid, come here?" she called.

Henry walked over, looking at her curiously.

"Think Killian would like something like this?" she asked, indicating the star chart.

He examined it for a second before he smiled, nodding. "I think he'll like it."

She smiled back at him.


Arriving at the diner a few blocks from their apartment, she entered with Henry, seeing that most of the lunch crowd had already cleared out. She followed him to one of the booths, sitting across from him. As they settled in, she glanced wistfully at the establishment. It faintly resembled Granny's, but lacked the same atmosphere, and from her experiance, the food, but it was the closest they had to what they missed.

A waitress came over, giving them some menus and took their orders for drinks, leaving them alone as Emma pretended to look over her menu anxiously.

"So are you gonna tell me what all this is about?" Henry finally asked her once the waitress deposited their hot cocoas and food.

"What do you mean?" she asked, picking at her onion rings.

"I know a bribe when I see one," he replied with a smug smirk. "And you've been trying to bribe me all day while we've been out."

She took a deep breath, looking down before looking back at him, folding her arms on the table.

"Okay then, Henry," she sighed. "I need you to answer me honestly. What would you think if I started seeing someone?"

She didn't know what she expected his reaction to be, but she never expected the sheer panic that he wore. Her eyes widened at his reaction.

"You can't!" he exclaimed, frantic. "Mom, you can't! What about Killian? He cares about you and gave up everything to be with us-"

Emma couldn't help smiling as she heard him bring up Killian, releasing a small chuckle, making him stop. She reached out, touching his hand to calm him.

"Henry, who do you think I wanted to start seeing?" she asked in a calming voice, soothing him. "I like Killian a lot, but we both agreed that I should talk to you first. We both want you to be okay with this, cause we both know it's a pretty big change."

A wide, bright smile broke out on his face. "Are you kidding? This is great. My mom is going to be dating Captain Hook."

She released a small laugh, shaking her head as she withdrew her hand. "You're sure about this?"

"Absolutely," he declared. His voice softened. "Mom, I want you to be happy. And I know that you're happy with him, and that he cares about you."

Her smile softened. "Thanks, kid."


Deciding to keep their bags in the car for the time being, Emma led Henry up the stairs to their apartment. Opening the door, she let Henry through first, hearing him greet Killian as she shut the door behind her, locking it. After depositing her coat in the closet, she walked into the living room, seeing Killian standing up from the couch, his book discarded. She could see he was anxious as she met his eyes, stepping until she stood right in front of him.

"Swan," he greeted. His voice dropped. "How did it go?"

Instead of answering, Emma leaned forward, kissing him chastely.

He smiled at her when she pulled away, his voice light. "Really?"

She smiled, pressing her forehead to his. "Really. He actually started to freak out at first when I asked him what he would think if I started seeing someone, until I told him it was you."

Killian released a small chuckle, leaning in to brush his lips to hers.

They pulled away just before they heard Henry enter the room, smiling knowingly at them.

"Do you guys really have to do that now?" he teased.

Emma and Killian both laughed as she moved her hand on his chest as he moved his arm to her waist.

"So, it's still kind of early, so do you think we can do some more sparring practice?" Henry asked.

Glancing down at Emma first to make sure she had no objections, Killian nodded. "Of course. I'm always happy to help you, young Padawan."

Henry whirled on them, his mouth hanging open. His voice was incredulous. "You guys watched Star Wars without me?"

Emma bit back her laugh that he had no problems with her beginning to see Killian, yet was offended they watched some movies without him. She truely loved her son.

Killian released her waist to scratch behind his ear. "Your mother decided yesterday it was time I saw those stories. And I can see why you enjoy them so much."

Quickly seeming to forget his annoyance, Henry grinned at him. "Now I have someone else to talk to about it."

Killian returned his smile. "Aye. I found I am rather partial to Han."

Henry's smile widened as he laughed. "I thought you would. Just like mom likes Leia."

Emma felt her cheeks start to redden as Killian looked down at her, quirking his brows as he gave her a cocky smirk.

"Okay, aren't you two supposed to be practicing with your swords?" she asked them, trying to hide her blush.

Killian and Henry both chuckled.

Stroking her waist with his thumb, Killian turned to kiss her temple. "Right you are, love." He looked over to Henry. "Maybe we should give your mother a little break."

Henry laughed in agreement, going to retrieve their swords.

"Where are you guys gonna go?" Emma asked.

"Most likely the roof," Killian responded. He pulled back enough to look at her. "Care to join us?"

"In a few minutes," she responded, deciding to sneak the bags from the car into her room after they went up. "I just need to do a couple things really quick."

He nodded as Henry returned, releasing her and going to switch his hook for his false hand and shrug on his jacket.

"I'll be up soon," she called as they went out, waiting a minute to go out to her car.

Dragging the bags into her room and carefully hiding them away, Emma wondered faintly how everything was going to work out over the coming days and couldnt help but worry. Henry had come from a stable home with Regina, he had had many Christmases. Emma's own experiances with the holiday were less than favorable, it had just been a day that reminded her she was an orphan more than usual, that she had no family. Killian had no experiance with the day at all, leaving him nearly as lost as she was.

She knew that perhaps she was over-compensating, but she wanted to make the day special for Henry, despite her own feelings on the holiday. They may have been missing most of their family, but she didn't want Henry to feel that absence, for him to know he still had people who cared about him.

Sighing, she walked out to climb up to the roof, hearing the sounds of laughter mixed with wood hitting wood. She couldn't help smiling when she saw Henry and Killian mock-fighting, seeing them both grin widely as Killian instructed Henry how to move.

She went to the bench, settling in as she watched them, warmth spreading through her chest, knowing that everything was going to be alright.


Teaser: "I was able to get it from Grandpa- Mr. Gold- a while ago," he confessed. "It was in the small box my other mom sent us with for me. I thought you might like to have something that your parents wanted you to have, so I held onto it for a while."

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