Chapter 21
Jacob watches from his high chair as his mother wanders around the kitchen, busy cooking dinner for their guests. The infant sucks on a toy shaped like a bird as his blue eyes follow her as she cooks a delicious roast. Eventually, he throws the toy on the ground. When Mary Margret takes no notice, he begins to squeal in frustration and tears form in his eyes. When she does look at him, she groans and picks up the toy for him. Once it's in his mouth again, the tiny tot settles down.
"I wish you'd play that game after I'm done in the kitchen," she mutters, tending the potatoes boiling on the stove. Her son was starting to become mischievous, much like his father, and had the intent to keep her attention as long as possible.
David comes through the door, just as it starts to snow again.
"Brrr, it's freezing outside," he says, stamping the snow off his boots. Mary Margret picks up Jacob and goes to greet her husband.
She kisses his lips and he cups his hand on her cheek.
"Hi honey," she says with a warm smile. Her heart always soared when he held her like that.
"Hi, and how was your day?"
"I spent it cleaning and keeping this one happy. He's in some kind of mood today, wanting my attention constantly. Can you keep him occupied while I finish dinner for our guests?"
"Sure, come here big guy," the cop says, taking his son from his wife. He notices his son has on a little, red velvet vest and a tiny white shirt. All he seemed to be missing was a little bowtie. "You dressed him up?"
"Just a little bit, I want him to wear something else besides those onesies. Anyways, everyone bought us all those baby clothes and before too long he won't be able to wear them."
This was true as young Jacob Nolan had gained significant weight in the past few months, making the outfits his mother received a tight fit.
"You're growing like a weed," his father says, lifting his son up and kissing his face. The tot gurgles happily and grabs at his daddy's rough shaven face.
"Did you pick up something non-alcoholic to drink?" his wife asks from the kitchen.
The lieutenant takes his son into the room, with a paper bag containing a sort of sparkling drink. "Yeah, it's kind of like apple cider. I think that will be okay."
"I'm sure it will," she smiles warmly at him. She checks the cherry pie she has in the oven before draining the potatoes in the sink. She looks out the window at the snowfall. "I just hope they can make it in this weather."
"The radio said it will only get worse as the night goes on."
"That's not reassuring."
Then the doorbell rings. David goes to answer it.
A pregnant blonde, her blue-eyed boyfriend, and tall teenage son stand at the door. He beams happily at them.
"Hi, I'm glad you got here safely."
"The roads are a nightmare," Killian says. "I swear the harbour might freeze over soon."
"Please let school be canceled, please let school be canceled," Henry mutters under his breath.
David embraces Emma and kisses the top of her head. His stomach still turns a little bit every time he sees her. He thinks it might be the guilt he felt over the whole incident, him not being able to find and save her. Also, that he'd still not been able to find her abductor.
"How are you?" he asks.
"Fine, but the baby's kicking a lot." She then takes David's hand places it on her stomach. His heart skips a beat when he feels the small life inside of her. He felt the very same way back when Mary Margret was pregnant; the amazement and joy of feeling the tiny being inside of her. He remembers talking to it a laying his head on his wife's stomach to tell their unborn child stories or just to hear the little feet beating against its mother. He doubted Emma had been doing such things, but maybe she should.
"We brought brownies for dessert, I know Mary Margret is baking a pie, but I've been craving chocolate lately."
"That's fine," he nods.
Killian helps Emma remove her coat before the five of them move to the kitchen. The teacher turns and immediately greets all three of them with hugs and questions about their well-being and the baby.
"Hey Henry," David says.
"Yeah?"
"Would you mind keeping Jacob happy for a few minutes, I have to set the table."
"Sure," the teen says. He takes his godson into his arms and goes to sit in the living room. He places Jacob up against some pillows and gets out his phone. Violet has been texting him non-stop. As his grounding was slowly ending, he looked forward to taking her out again. A pang of guilt resurfaced inside of him. If he had gotten on that bus, he wouldn't have been able to see her again or have little gatherings like this one. He wipes away a tear, knowing how stupid he'd been. He had had the chance to talk to Dr. Hopper about his feelings and why he wanted to run away. It was awkward at first, but the psychiatrist seemed to be very understanding and sympathetic to his plight and drive to run.
Jacob makes a little noise, causing the teen to look at him. Once he has his attention, the tot smiles and gurgles happily. Somehow, the three-month-old could sense that Henry was sad and needed some cheering up. Henry returns the gesture and picks up the baby again. He finds a little toy, a stuffed sheep that made a noise and shakes it. Tiny hands reach out in delight and curiosity as the teenager makes funny noises and speaks to him through the animal to amuse Jacob.
"Baaa," he says. "How much wool can one sheep have?"
Little do either of them know, Emma is watching them. She smiles and instinctively puts her hand on her stomach. She knew that Henry was going to be a great big brother, despite all the roadblocks that seemed to befall them.
"Dinner's ready," Mary Margret calls, having everyone gather at the table. Henry's ears turn red when he realizes that his mother was watching him.
Once everyone is seated, the teacher asks them to join hands as she leads them in grace.
"Since when did you become religious?" Emma asks in confusion.
"Ever since you disappeared, every night I prayed for your safe return," her best friend answers. They all bow their heads.
"Dear Lord, please bless this food in the nourishment of our bodies and thank you for the amazing life you blessed us. May we continue to honour and learn in your ways, Amen."
"Amen," everyone else says.
The dinner is a fun affair, filled with different conversations, laughter, and delicious food. There was a level of normalcy in the room, something that gave Emma much comfort and was on the verge of tears. She cannot believe that she is home and safe with those she loves. A few months ago, this type of scene would have merely been a fantasy brought on by the drugs or the many tortured dreams of longing to be anywhere else. She hoped that the new home that she and Killian would be purchasing would be just like this and be filled with new happy memories.
The cold winds pounding against the windows and the snow falling into the darkness reminds her of the cabin, still making her feel isolated and helpless from all those empty nights in that prison. But the warmth of the people around her made her feel safer for the first time in a long time.
…
After dinner, Henry and David play a few video games while Emma and Killian watch as Mary Margret gets Jacob ready for bed. They knew that they'd have to learn all this for their new arrival and practice. The teacher even tries to get Killian to diaper the baby but ends up getting peed on. The two women laugh and Emma finds one of David's old shirts for the docks man to wear.
Just as the mother is placing her son in bed, the lights flicker a few times and go out completely. The harsh winds seem to rattle the entire foundation of the house. David stumbles around in the darkness to find his wife and son. He manages to find a few flashlights while his wife finds some candles.
"The storm must've knocked out all the power," he says, as he digs to find blankets and other necessities.
Emma looks outside to see her yellow bug almost completely buried in the snow. "I guess we won't be going anywhere tonight."
The entire group gathers in the living room and Killian and David build up a fire. Mary Margret cradles her son and Emma sits on the couch next to Henry.
"What do we do now?" Henry asks. He sounded a little bored already, his phone was dying and he had no way of communicating with anyone. "We can't do anything without lights or WI-FI."
"That's not true," Mary Margret says. "People spent thousands of years without electricity Henry and they managed to stay amused."
"We could tell ghost stories," David suggests.
"We're not at camp," Emma smirks.
"How about a game of cards?" Killian suggests. "On the docks, many sailors had to find ways to pass the time out in the Atlantic and I've learned a few of them."
"As long as it's not Go Fish, I'm fine," the teen shrugs.
Killian teaches the group that Liam used to play while in the Navy. He called it Liam's Luck and although they weren't betting money or cigarettes pretty soon, the entire group, sans the baby was playing by candlelight.
"I win again!" Henry practically shouts.
"SHHH!" Mary Margret hisses as Jacob was now fast asleep in her arms.
"Sorry," he says.
"You did well Lad, but I think it was beginner's luck."
"No way, I won fair and square, you're just a sore loser," the teen teases.
"Don't make me separate you two," Emma warns cheekily.
After a few more card games, David helps make the living room into a bedroom for the group. He pulls out two sleeping bags and plenty of pillows for everyone. Mary Margret bundles her son up and lets him sleep in his baby chair. The couple decides to let Emma have the couch as it was the most comfortable while the rest of them slept on the floor.
Henry is the next one to fall asleep, curling up in a sleeping bag and Mary Margret soon follows, knowing she'll have to wake up soon to feed her son again. Killian cuddles with Emma for a long time. The two sit and watch as the teen falls asleep by the fireplace.
They couldn't believe how scared they both were when he'd run off. Emma was beside herself in fear and Killian was very concerned. Despite not being his father and for the obvious dislike of him at first, the docks man had grown on Henry. Killian felt like Henry was his son now and just as much of his responsibility as Emma's. He felt a great kinship with the boy and hoped that he'd soon adjust to the new life that their little "family" was starting. Clearly, the teen still had some feelings to work out, but the dark-haired man hoped for the best. Emma keeps her head against her boyfriend's shoulder, her heart heavy in her chest. The sheer amount of terror she felt when her son had disappeared was still haunting her. The emptiness she felt and the flashbacks to her own childhood, being alone on the streets, with no one to care for her. She never wanted that for her son and she was relieved that he figured out on his own that what he had was too important to let go of.
She was still concerned for his well-being. She knows she's going to try and spend more time with him, at Dr. Hopper's suggestion, but also prepare herself for the changes to come. The couple had placed a bid on the house and she felt like she was jumping off a cliff into the ocean; the anxiety and anticipation filled her body entirely. She'd never taken such a big step before, literally leaving her old life behind and she wasn't sure if it was because she was afraid or that it felt normal. For a long time, she'd accepted that her life would always be anything but that. The instability of her life had kept those walls around her heart and the fear of the unknown at bay. She didn't feel quite ready to move in with someone new and prepare for a baby. It felt so surreal and so scary.
Still, the strong arm around her gave her that security and confidence that she could do this, make these changes in her life and start all over again.
"I love you," she whispers quietly.
"I love you too." He murmurs, kissing the side of her head.
Soon, Killian finds himself yawning and stretching out.
"I think it's time I turn in too, Swan," he says. He finds a pillow and quilt, positioning himself on the floor next to the couch. "I'm right here if you need me," he says.
Emma smiles and gives her boyfriend a long kiss on the lips before he settles down to sleep.
Then it's just her and David. The lieutenant knows this is a good a time as any to talk to her about the future. He piles another log on the fire and pokes at it before going to sit next to her.
"How are you feeling?" he asks.
Emma looks at him. "All right,"
"How are the sessions going?"
"Good, the doctor says I'm making some good progress. It seems like I still have a lot of fear I need to work through. He describes it like a ball of yarn and we're going to untangle it, one strand at a time."
"And the house?"
"We put an offer in. It's a lot and I'm probably going to have to go back to work if I want to send Henry to college, but I think it will work. Regina says no one has bid on the house in a long time."
"Glad to hear it." The cop swallows and stares at Emma in the flickering firelight. He saw the fear in her eyes, the trauma of what she endured. "And what about security?"
"What do you mean?"
David swallows. "I want you to know Emma, I'm spending all my free time at work trying to find him."
Neither needed clarification to what he meant.
"We're doing all we can to put this guy behind bars, but I can't protect you all the time. I know witness protection or victim protection can guarantee anything, but I still worry about you."
Emma looks at her friend and father figure. She could see the pain in his blue eyes, the stress he felt that he'd failed her.
"You won't have to protect me all the time David. I have Killian now."
"But even he's not Superman."
She swallows. "I know."
"I just want you and this… family to be safe." With her permission, he puts his hand on her abdomen. The baby seems to be quiet at the moment, but Emma could feel her daughter moving inside.
"And we will be," she says quietly, sounding surer that she felt.
"I think you should hire a bodyguard or something."
The two smirk at the idea and how stupid it sounded.
"But seriously, a top rank security system and I'm thinking of assigning a police officer to patrol the neighbourhood."
Emma wipes away a few tears. Despite not being a captive anymore, she still felt trapped. As long as this man was still out there and roaming the streets, she nor her family or friends were safe. Her mind flashes back to the stalking experience a few weeks ago and how scared and helpless she felt.
"I can carry my gun everywhere for safekeeping," she says.
"I'll see what else I can do," David says.
"Don't neglect your job just for me David," Emma says, locking eyes with him.
"Emma, you are my family. I will do whatever it takes to protect you. I won't fail you again… I promise."
She grabs his hand and then lightly kisses his cheek as a sign of gratitude. She had never felt more loved in her life. She wished beyond all measure that David had been her father growing up. He could have made her feel safe and maybe these trust issues wouldn't exist. She'd be more secure and confident in herself and not feel like the world was always against her.
"Thank you," she whispers.
The two sit in silence for awhile, watching the fire flicker and listening to the wind howling outside.
Eventually, they both find blankets and get ready to sleep. Emma puts a hand back on her bump and rubs it a few times. She may have never had a loving family growing up, but her baby girl certainly would.
A/N: Some nice family fluff, but also reassurance for the future. Sorry if these chapters seem tedious, it will get much more interesting because they are not done with Arthur... not yet.