A tiny bit of angst (no, not really) and then more fluff. Thanks for sticking with me and this story, and enjoy.
Emma is lying on the couch with her head against Killian's thigh, reading a book about the first year of their baby's life. He's watching a game on TV because he'd already read the book, his hand resting against her stomach and occasionally smoothing over it when the baby kicks, as if he's aiming to soothe their son.
It feels amazing to just be here in this ordinary moment with him, to be safe and sound and not to have to worry about anything more complicated than what are they going to have for dinner.
"How many names on the list?" She asks absentmindedly and Killian cranes his head trying to see into the kitchen where the remaining choices are tacked to the refrigerator.
"I think four?" He says and looks down at her with a beaming smile. "Logan is still in the running."
"Logan stays in the running", Emma tells him, and she's actually pretty certain that Logan is what they are going to go with in the end.
"Ethan is still there too", Killian says, and Emma smiles because Ethan, Killian and Logan all end in the same two letters.
"Ethan can also stay", she tells him, wishing his lips were closer because it's been a while since she kissed him and she's already missing it.
"Matthew?"
"I like it. Do you still like it?"
"I do."
"We're not making any progress", Emma pouts, running her fingers up and down his forearm, smiling when he captures her hand and brings it up to his lips.
"There's still the fourth name on the list", he tells her mildly and Emma presses her lips together.
"I like Oliver too."
"I know, lass, but either we kick Oliver off the list or we're back where we started", Killian says, tracing his finger over her forehead and smoothing her frown.
"Oh fine, goodbye Oliver", she agrees grudgingly, and he winks at her, places a pillow underneath her head and goes to remove Oliver from the list.
"Actually, we forgot one!" He calls from the kitchen and Emma tries to remember what it is before he tells her. "Your precious Alexander is still on it."
"He's not my precious Alexander", Emma yells and hears him laughing, but before they can continue the conversation the doorbell rings and Killian goes to answer it. "Who is it?"
Killian doesn't answer and Emma gets a really, really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she scrambles from the couch so fast her book falls on the floor.
Standing in front of their door is Neal, trying to get into Killian's face and push past him into the apartment.
"Em, hey, tell him to let me in", Neal says, leaning around Killian and trying to catch her gaze.
"I don't want you in here", Emma tells him, and realizes that it's the absolute truth; she's not just saying it for Killian's sake, she actually does not want to have anything to do with the guy who left her high and dry. "And I really hate it when you call me Em."
"You heard the lady. Hit the road before I punch you so hard you're never going to do another pirouette", Killian says and Emma half-embraces him from behind, her hand resting on his chest and preventing him from getting violent with Neal even though she wouldn't really mind seeing Neal with a busted lip.
"Oh you two are together now, is that it?!" Neal demands, glaring daggers at her as if she's the one who did something wrong.
"It's none of your business anymore because you left me", Emma says, her voice shaking; seeing him makes her remember how he had broken her, and it still hurts.
"I didn't know you were pregnant", he yells and Killian pushes him so hard he ends up sprawled against the opposite wall of the hallway.
"My patience is wearing thin, Cassidy, so I suggest you make yourself scarce", Killian says, and his voice is as icy as his eyes.
"It's my baby! You can't just waltz in and take my place", Neal says, but he stays well away from Killian.
"You gave up that baby the day you gave up Emma, and all just so you could jump around in a tutu away from your daddy", Killian tells him, and his voice is scarily calm compared to Neal's.
Probably because Killian is right about everything.
"Leave us alone, Neal", Emma says, covering her belly protectively and tugging on Killian's hand so he gets back into the apartment. "The baby is Killian's and you can't do anything about it."
Neal looks like he'd like to say something to that but Killian just slams the door in his face and locks it for good measure. He rests his forehead against the door and breathes heavily, a muscle jumping in his jaw when he grits his teeth.
"I want to throttle him", he says softly and Emma squeezes herself between him and the door and lays her hand on his chest, gently pushing him back toward the living room.
"I know, and I love you for that", Emma tells him, then stands on tiptoes and kisses him, wanting them both to go back to the way they were before Neal showed up; blissfully happy.
Killian returns the kiss, but after a moment her pulls away and steps around her to go see if Neal is still outside their door.
"He's gone", he announces when he comes back to her and Emma breathes a sigh of relief, wrapping her arms around Killian's waist and resting her forehead against his shoulder.
"He won't be coming back", Emma says, and she wonders who's she trying to convince; Killian, or herself.
Emma is reading from the shopping list and walking beside Killian as he pushes the shopping cart and puts the things she points at in it; the fact that he won't let her carry anything is slightly annoying but it's also endearing at the same time, and Emma just goes with it and lets him be overly protective, especially after what had happened last weekend with Neal.
Sometimes she catches Killian looking at the keychain around her neck, but he always looks away quickly and pretends that it's not affecting him; she's going to take it off soon, but they both need it to be the right time, and the right reason.
"We forgot ice-cream", Emma says and lies her hand on Killian's chest to stop him from going forward.
"I'll go get it", Killian says and presses a kiss on her forehead; Emma watches him go until he turns the corner and disappears from sight.
It's kind of amazing how things work out when they are meant to be.
"I thought he'd never go away", Neal says from behind her and Emma whirls around, unconsciously taking a step back, which corners her between the shopping cart and the shelf; he'd never been physically violent with her, but she still feels an almost irrational fear not for her own safety, but for the safety of her baby.
"Killian is going to be back in a minute", Emma says, and she hates the note of uncertainty that creeps into her voice; Neal makes her revert into a scared little girl, and it pisses her off.
"Yeah? What's he gonna do? Beat me with his fake hand?" Neal asks and takes a step toward her.
Emma slaps him, hard.
"Don't you dare talk about him like that", she spits at Neal, and when she looks at him now, all she sees is a small man with a small heart that she's much better off without.
"Em, please. How can you choose him over the father of your baby?" Neal asks, his hand pressed against his burning cheek, and she can't believe that he actually doesn't understand, and that he still hasn't even tried apologizing.
"What did you expect would happen when you came back for me after eight months without so much as a phone call?" She yells at him, glad that the store is pretty much abandoned at this hour, and wondering if Neal had actually stalked them these past few days in order to get her alone.
"I thought you wouldn't answer my calls", Neal exclaims and Emma shakes her head at his pathetic excuses.
"If you were persistent enough, maybe I would. If you came back sooner and begged me for forgiveness, maybe I'd have given you another chance for the sake of our baby, but frankly, I don't think it would've worked between us. You're all wrong for me, Neal", Emma tells him, and she feels so light, finally unburdened with the notion that she had done something wrong.
He was the one who abandoned her, and he would've done it eventually no matter how much she had loved him.
"Like Jones is so much better? No hand, no career, absolutely no future?!"
Neal really doesn't understand anything, and Emma wonders how did she ever sleep next to somebody so small-minded and never knew he was.
"This has nothing to do with him; even if he wasn't in the picture, I wouldn't take you back."
"The baby is mine", Neal says, his hand reaching out to touch Emma's stomach.
"The baby is most definitely not yours", Killian says and grabs Neal's hand, twisting it behind his back and pushing him up against the shelf.
"Killian, no, he's not worth it", Emma tells him, coming to stand beside him and laying her hand on his arm, just wanting to go home and forget this ever happened.
"This is your last warning; come near her again, and I won't be responsible for my actions", Killian growls in Neal's ear and lets go of him, wraps his arm around Emma and pushes the shopping cart toward the cash registers.
Emma looks over her shoulder and feels an intense feeling of relief when Neal walks away in the other direction.
"He didn't hurt you?" Killian asks her softly as soon as they reach the line, cupping her face in his hand and brushing his thumb over her cheek.
"I slapped him", Emma says, still a little surprised that she had actually done that.
"You slapped him", Killian repeats, a half-smile tugging at his pretty mouth; he takes her hand in his and presses kisses over her palm, his lips drowning out the stinging.
"He kinda deserved it", Emma says, and wraps her arm around Killian's waist, cringing when she remembers the way Neal had talked about Killian.
"He deserves worse than a slap for the way he abandoned you", Killian tells her softly and smoothes his fake hand down her back, pulling her closer and resting his cheek on top of her head.
"He didn't even try to apologize", Emma says softly, still not sure why is it so important to her that he does.
"I think the way he sees it, is that if he apologizes, it's all his fault that he lost you, opposed to me being the one who stole you from him", Killian says as they inch forward toward the cash register.
"You sound almost… sympathetic?" Emma says, tilting her head back and looking up at him.
"I'm really not", Killian tells her and gives her a quick kiss. "But just the thought of being in his shoes, of losing you for whatever reason… I can't bear it."
He looks so distraught, and Emma pretends that all the people around them don't exist, stands on her tiptoes and presses a deep, loving kiss against his lips.
"You're never going to lose me."
Emma sits in the armchair in the living room and lets Killian deal with the groceries, trying to imagine what her life would've been like if Neal had asked her about Canada as soon as he got the offer, and if they went up there together.
No matter how hard she tries, she can't imagine it, she can't imagine anything but the life she's leading, because the love she has with Killian is something one of a kind, something she never even knew was possible.
Dancing used to be everything to her, and she realizes now that she had loved it more than Neal; there's nothing in the world she loves more than Killian, except their baby.
"Come", Killian says and pulls her out of her reverie, offering her his hands to help her up. She lets him lead her to the piano and sits on the bench next to him, smiling because she's got a feeling he wrote her something again.
"Is it another lullaby?" She asks, wrapping her both her arms around his left one and waiting for him to start playing.
"First I have to ask you something", Killian says and Emma nods, looking at him expectantly. "The variation I wrote for you, do you think it's good enough to be a part of an actual ballet? Can you picture yourself dancing to it?"
"I could see all the steps the first time I heard it", Emma tells him, her fingers entwining with the ones of his left hand as he lays his right against the keys.
"This could be pas de deux", he says and starts playing, the music flowing around them and making her see the scene so easily; the only trouble is, it's not another dancer lifting her on the stage, it's Killian.
"Can you write me an entire ballet for our love story?" Emma asks him, and when he smiles and nods, she's not picturing sold venues and herself as the star of the show; she's picturing them working together to create another beautiful thing that came from their tragedies.
"Who's going to dance my part?" Killian asks her and Emma laughs, sifting her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck; she looks at his sparkling blue eyes and seeing the light that used to burn inside them come back makes her feel like she's falling in love with him all over again.
"We're gonna find somebody adequate", Emma tells him, realizing that Neal and Milah could play themselves.
"As long as it's not Neal", Killian says with a shudder and Emma kisses his shoulder, telling him that Neal and Milah are the only two dancers not welcomed in their production. "But how does the story end?"
"Neal and Killian have a heroic fight, in which Killian punches Neal in the face, and then he goes back to Emma and his son, and they live happily ever after", Emma says, and Killian's hand on her stomach when he kisses her makes her think that their happy ending is already here.
"You really want me to punch him in the face, don't you?" Killian asks her with a crooked grin, and he looks all too amused with her new-found violent side.
"I really, really do", Emma says without batting an eyelash and then blames it on the pregnancy hormones.
"I meant what I told him; if he shows up again, I'm not going to talk to him anymore", Killian says, and his protectiveness feels so good that she doesn't even try to tell him that violence is not the answer.
Sometimes, you have to get physical, because words are simply not enough.
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