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"Faster, daddy, faster!" Liam shouted, overexcited as he was sitting on Killian's shoulder

"Babe, be careful he doesn't fall over, okay?" I winced, a bit worried seeing him obeying to our son.

"He couldn't be in better hands, Swan!" He cried out with a great confidence.

I smiled, telling myself he would definitely never get sick of making jokes about his missing hand, and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The wind was blowing in hot gusts, cooling the air down a bit and making my clothes stick to my skin. It was actually good, because the heatwave was still going on, and the heat was sometimes killing me even if I luckily didn't have to wear sweaters anymore. The nights were particularly difficult, and I was pretty tired, but I wasn't complaining too much because I knew things could have been much worse. I had took off my shoes and was walking in the sand near the sea as the waves were regularly crashing against my bare feet. One hand raised to protect my eyes from the sun, I noticed that Henry, who was walking a few feet ahead of me, was struggling to keep the two huge bags we had taken from Granny's in his arms.

"Hey, kid, you need some help?" I offered, screaming so he could hear me above the noises of the waves.

"I'm in total control of the situation!" He answered, repositioning a bag in his arms and that made me laugh.

With Zelena's threat hanging above our heads each hours of the day, Killian and I had decided to enjoy our family's company the more we could. Spending time together and forgetting about our problems. Simply living a normal life. The thought of these moments spent with the people I loved the most in this world was helping me moving forward, day after day. It was helping me fight against my fear of losing one of them. This time, we had decided to sail the Jolly Rodger all together. Liam always loved being on the sea, and Killian wanted to teach Henry how to navigate. We had thought an afternoon under the July's sun was going to please everyone, and I was actually pretty excited about this day.

I was walking purposely slowly to enjoy the water's cold on my feet, my eyes staring at the skyline. The town knew about my pregnancy for two weeks now, but Zelena hadn't tried anything yet. Perhaps she didn't know about the new baby yet, but I was so scared of what she could do to us when she would learn about it, because it was going to happen eventually. I shook my head and took a few deep breaths, thinking about what Killian was saying to me every time I was having one of my panic attack : "Breathe slowly, beautiful. Do as I do. Everything is gonna be okay, I promise. Just breathe, you're doing great. I'm here with you, you don't have to be afraid. I love you." His voice and the feeling of his hand against my skin was comforting me so much every time. He was right, I had to stay calm. Worrying now that I didn't even know what was going to happen wasn't useful, and my anxiety attacks were bad for the baby.

I finally joined the docks were the Jolly Rodger was tied up, and didn't even put my shoes back on before walking into the ship. Henry had put the bags in a corner of the boat deck, and was joyfully talking with Killian, standing behind the wheel. They were looking very focused, and I didn't want to disturb them by telling them I was there. I then smiled at Liam, who was listening to Killian with his lips parted, and he ran toward me with a giggle. I squatted to take him into my arms and lifted him up, pressing a kiss on his forehead, happy to see him so excited about this afternoon.

"So, are you happy to go on a boat trip?" I asked in a gentle voice.

"Yeah!" He enthusiastically shouted. "I wanna be a pirate!"

"A pirate?" I repeated and I raised my eyebrows at him with a big smile on my face. "You'll have to wait for my permission for that, young man." I teased him, tickling him as he was giggling once again.

"But I wanna be like daddy!"

"But you're already like daddy!" I said, sitting down on the steps of the ship and taking him on my lap. "You have his hair, his smile..." I continued, pointing the different part of his face as he was still laughing. "You're already as handsome as he is, I'm telling you!"

"You're very pretty, mommy." He said with a huge smile on his face.

Touched by this sudden statement, I held him close to me for a hug that lasted for a few minutes. He was still cuddled into my arms when the baby kicked, and Liam gasped, smiling in happiness. He freed himself from my embrace to lean forward and put both his hands on my stomach. He loved feeling his little sibling kicking, he could stay against me for hours sometimes, and he glued his ear to my belly-button as if he was trying to understand something that the baby was saying.

"Mommy?" He asked when the baby calmed down.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"When can I see Peanut?" He said, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

"You'll have to wait a little bit longer for that, you know." I answered, running my hand through his hair.

"How many sleeps?"

"A lot." I said with a smile, touched by how adorable he was.

"It's long! I wanna see it!" He sighted with a little pout.

"Aw, I know, sweetheart, but it needs to grow before you can see it. It needs to be strong and healthy, you know?"

He nodded, still looking a bit disappointed, and wrapped his arms around my neck to snuggle against my chest once again. I stroked his back, enjoying this moment alone with my baby boy.

"I love you, Liam." I gently said, placing a kiss on the top of his head.

"I love you too, mommy." He replied with a smile.

It wasn't the first time he was saying this to me, and I was suspecting him to only do so to imitate the grown-ups without really understanding what it meant, but the statement was still really moving. I pulled a little bit away from him to playfully fluff his hair, and turned my head to see Killian walking toward us. I looked up to meet his gaze, a smile on my face to greet him.

"Are you ready, sailors?" He asked to our son with a wink.

"Yeah!" Liam shouted in excitement.

"It's a big day today, I'm going to teach your brother how to sail." Hook continued, squatting in front of us.

"I wanna learn too!" Liam said with a big smile.

"Later, when you'll be a little bit older, okay? For now, I need you to take care of your mommy for me, I'm trusting you." He said and that made me giggle as our son was seriously nodding to show his father he was getting the mission. "You okay? Ready for the big departure?" He added, turning back to look at me.

"Killian, we're going away for a few hours, not for a month." I kindly scoffed.

"Hey, that's important, okay?" He defended himself, looking falsely outraged by my words. "Henry is going to learn how to navigate. It's a big moment for him. So no mockery today, princess, I'm watching you."

"You know me." I giggled at his comment.

"Seriously, though, you sure you're all right? You don't need anything?" He asked, regaining seriousness.

"I can take care of myself, Killian, thank you." I answered with half a smile, before adding when I saw his falsely annoyed look. "I'm okay, I don't need anything."

He smiled at me and placed a finger under my chin to lift it up and press a quick kiss on my lips. Then he got up and joined Henry, who was waiting for him behind the wheel. I looked at him walking away with a little smile, still holding Liam close to me, happy to finally be able to spend a peaceful moment with my little family.

Sitting at the ship bow, I was feeling the wind of the ocean making my hair fly in my back and let out of a little sight of pleasure. My legs were dangling above the sea, and I was leaning against the rail, staring at the horizon. The ocean was stretching as far as eyes could see. The waves were crashing against the ship hull and the foam was tickling my bare feet. I was hearing Liam's laughter behind me : Killian had ended up surrendering and had included him in the lesson he was giving to Henry. My son seemed to be a natural at sailing, and Hook was only watching him to make sure everything was all right. I had watched them for a little while, happy to see them all so close, and had ended up isolating myself up here.

To be honest, I was feeling like I was bothering them a little bit, and I didn't want to be a burden for them. I actually didn't mind being alone there : I was just happy to see my sons and Killian spending time together. It was mostly in order not to disturb them that I had come to sit on the edge of the ship, and I hadn't expected to love this place so much. The ocean was everywhere and its deep blue color was appeasing me. I crossed my arms on the rail and placed my chin on them with a little smile. I was feeling calmer than I had been for weeks.

The baby gave a little kick, as if finally feeling me relaxed was making it happy as well. I took a deep breath, the smell of the ocean making me shiver, and listened to the conversation Killian and Henry were having, even if I wasn't really able to understand what they were saying because of the noisy wind gusts. They didn't seem to have noticed I was gone, completely lost in their little world.

I stayed for a long while in that position, rocked by the movement of the waves, and I ended up hearing steps coming behind my back. I looked up to see Killian approaching me, and he sat down next to me, letting his legs hang above the sea as well.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking a bit worried even if I didn't understand why he was staring at me that way.

"Why aren't you with Henry anymore?" I asked after having nodded with a smile.

"He's doing great, he can manage for a few minutes. I was just wondering why you were here instead of being with us."

"I'm enjoying the view" I answered with a little shrug.

"Don't stay alone like that." He said, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me closer to him, and I placed my head on his shoulder with a smile. "Come and join us, it's not that bad, you'll see."

"You manage great without me." I said as a joke with a little giggle.

He didn't answer anything, but I felt him stiffening beside me. A bit puzzled by this change, I turned my head to realize he was looking at me in worry, nervously biting his lower lip. I understood my words could have worried him, and I tried to comfort him with a smile :

"Don't look at me like that, it wasn't a criticism. I'm happy you're spending time with the boys. Come on, go back there. I'm not completely trusting Henry about sailing yet, and I'd like you to make sure he doesn't kill us all."

"Seriously, Swan, come with us." He said after laughing at my joke. "We miss you. Beside, we're going to eat soon."

"I wouldn't miss that." I gently teased him. "Give me a minute, I'll be right there."

He nodded, pressed a quick kiss on my cheek and got up to walk away from me.

I had ended up going down from my perch to join my family, and we were all sitting around a meal laying on the ship deck. We could have gone inside and eat in the Captain cabin, but we had decided it was too sunny to leave the deck. Sitting not far from the wheel, we were all eating with appetite the meal we had taken from Granny's. I was listening to Henry an Killian talking, a small smile on my face, even if I wasn't saying a thing. I was feeling deeply happy to see Hook and my son getting along so well. Henry's father was not around after all, and I was happy to see he could count on wonderful men in his life : Killian, Robin, my father… I was so glad to see he was feeling good about himself, and seemed genuinely happy. As for Liam, he was overexcited about learning how to sail and it had been pretty hard to make him sit down so he would eat his meal.

As I was absent-mindlessly hearing Henry saying that he was definitely loving the sea, I saw Killian casually reach for my plate and take several onions rings from it. Falsely outraged, I slapped his fingers, and he turned toward me to stare at me in surprise.

"What?" He asked, shaking his head without understanding what was going on.

"You should be ashamed of yourself." I said, raising an eyebrow at him. "You have food in your own plate, you know."

"Oh sure, that's right." He replied with a smirk. "I forgot you always get mad when someone touches your food."

"Yeah, play smart with me, but you're not only depriving me of my own food, but also the baby." I defiantly said, placing a hand on my baby bump.

"Oh my god, you're right!" He said, theatrically placing his hand on his forehead. "Being deprived of two onion rings is going to be so dangerous for you and the baby. I'm so sorry, Peanut." he added, looking at my stomach before leaning forward to kiss it through my tank top.

I rolled my eyes, falsely mad at him as Henry was laughing beside us. I knew all too well Killian was teasing me to make me smile, because he was the first one to always make sure I had eaten enough, and he was quite happy my appetite was back after days of fasting because I was sick every time I was trying to eat something. I was actually trying hard not to start giggling, because I had more than enough food in my plate. However, Liam was staring at us, his eyes widened, as if he didn't understand we were pretending to be mad at each other. I looked at him with a smile to comfort him and gently explained:

"Don't worry, baby, Daddy and I are just playing. We're not fighting for real."

"Your Mommy's right, little mate." Killian added, wrapping his arm around my shoulders to pull me close to him. "Look, I'm giving her her food back, see?"

He handed me the onion rings, and I ate them as Liam was starting to smile again. Touched by how adorable he was looking, I giggled, turning back to look at Killian, who was quite amused by the situation as well. I pressed a quick kiss on his lips, and he smiled at me. He leaned forward to kiss my forehead, and resumed his conversation with Henry, keeping his arm around me to hold me close to his chest.

Leaning against the rail, my back turned to the ocean, I was watching Killian and Henry standing in the middle of the ship desk, as I was laughing a lot about the situation. In return of the lesson Killian had just offered him, Henry had decided to teach him something from the modern world : How to play Baseball. He had forced Killian to wear a baseball glove and Hook was looking down at it in the most suspicious way possible as if it was going to jump at his throat. Henry was trying to stop laughing as he was throwing the ball, but Killian was almost always missing it. Liam seemed to have a lot of fun, and was enthusiastically clapping, sitting not far from them to enjoy the show.

I watched them play for a little while before getting lost in my thoughts without even realizing it. I couldn't believe we had actually managed to spend a quiet afternoon, just the four of us. I loved to see how Henry and Killian had bound with each other through the years, and how they were now behaving like a father and a son without even paying attention to it. I had never imagined I could be a part of such a perfect and wonderful family. Two kids, a third on its way, a fiance who was always supporting me no matter what… Despite all of our problems, the two years that had passed since Liam's birth had been the happiest of my life. I was sincerely hoping this happiness that was still a stranger for me only a few years ago was going to last for a long, long time.

"Swan, careful!"

The scream suddenly drove me away from my thoughts, and I looked up to see a white ball coming really quickly in my direction. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I reached for it and arched my back to catch it as it was flying above the rail to get lost in the blue immensity behind me. When I looked back at my family, tightly holding the ball in my palm, I noticed they were all staring at me as if I had suddenly changed into a ghost.

"What?" I asked, puzzled by their weird silence.

"Wow, Mom, that was awesome." Henry said, staring at me with his eyes widened.

"You've hidden this capacity from us, Swan." Killian added, shaking his head in surprise.

"That's right, I didn't even know you could play!" Henry resumed, looking very impressed.

"And what tells you I haven't benefited from the beginner's luck?" I laughed, skillfully throwing the ball from one hand to another. "Okay." I added, seeing they were still looking at me with their eyebrows raised. "I've played a little bit, back when I was in High School. I couldn't take real lessons because I was in the foster system and I was changing school pretty often because I was running away a lot, but a few of my teachers had noticed I was pretty good at sports, especially in Baseball."

"Why haven't you told us anything before?" Henry asked, looking amazed by these revelations.

"Honestly? I haven't played since I left school, and it's not like we're playing this sport every day in Storybrooke. This town is more specialized in monsters hunt than Home-run."

The looked at each other with an expression I wasn't able to decrypt, and Henry ended up turning to face me with a playful smile that made me giggle :

"Well, in that case, I'm offering you my post to teach the basis of this noble sport to your almost husband, master." He said with a little bow.

I burst out laughing seeing his clowning, and obeyed as he was walking away to leave me his position, still looking at me in a serious way. I raised my eyebrows as I faced Killian, who didn't seem that happy by this change of partner. He was staring at me, looking a bit afraid, and I bit the inside of my cheek to try and stop my laughter :

"Ready?" I asked with half a smile.

He answered me with a little wince, and without waiting any longer, I placed myself to throw the ball in his direction. I had been careful to aim very well so it was almost impossible for him to miss it, and he grabbed it before immediately letting it fall down on the ship desk. It rolled toward Liam, who was watching us with curiosity, his head tilted on its side. Killian shook his hand, looking at me as if I had just betrayed him grandly, and I couldn't help but smile at his outraged expression.

"Bloody hell, Swan! I only have one hand left, I would like to actually keep this one."

"Sorry." I laughed, amused by his reaction and his still offended look.

"You don't seem sorry at all." He relevantly stated, shaking his head as he was still staring at me.

"Okay mom, it's decided. Next time we play baseball I want you in my team." Henry said, looking very impressed by my performance.

"I wanna play too!" Liam shouted, running toward us with the ball in his hand.

"I'm leaving you my place with great pleasure, little mate." Killian replied, taking off the baseball glove. "I really don't want to do that again."

"Aw." I said, approaching him as I was still laughing because his reaction was way too funny. "You know it was only to tease you. I promise you I'll be nicer."

He shrugged, looking a bit upset, and I raised my eyebrows at him, placing my finger underneath his chin so he was looking at me in the eyes. I wasn't impressed at all by his look, because I was pretty sure he was joking by pretending he was mad.

"So the pirate is hurt in his ego? Don't look at me like that." I added, seeing he wasn't answering me. "I leave my teacher position to Henry. I was feeling better as a spectator."

He instantly started to smile again, what confirmed me he was just messing around by pretending to be upset, and he wrapped his arms around my waist to pull me closer to him and press a passionate kiss on my lips. He pulled away from me with a big smile on his face after a few more seconds, kissed me on last time on the tip of my nose, what made me giggle, and turned to look at Liam. He asked him to throw the ball in his direction, but our son's motor skills weren't completely developed yet and he didn't know how to aim, so the ball landed far away from Killian.

"I think someone else needs your lessons, Henry." Killian stated, kneeling on the floor to wrap his arms around Liam and help him catch the ball his brother was throwing at him.

Feeling deeply happy, I walked back to lean against the rail, still giggling as I was watching my prefect little family.

The sun was slowly setting, and the sky was dyed in a beautiful variation of red and orange. We were walking toward our house, all exhausted by the boat trip, but so happy to have spent a quiet moment all together. I was walking without really watching where I was going, lost in my thoughts. I was feeling like the iodized smell of the ocean had managed to make me feel so much better. I was feeling good, and ready to start over and stop worrying : Zelena wouldn't get to us, she wouldn't win. She was not going to hurt us, and I was going to protect my family, no matter what.

I felt Hook's thumb starting to gently stroke my hand. Henry and Liam were a few feet ahead of us, and we were slowly walking in silence. We didn't really need words to understand each other anymore, and we were both really tired. I was just enjoying his presence by my side and the touch of his fingers intertwined with mine.

"You okay?" He suddenly asked me.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I replied, a bit puzzled by his question.

He answered with a little shrug, but I could see he was carefully looking at me to make sure everything was all right. I knew he was worried about me, and he was probably thinking my silence was hiding my anxiety, but I was feeling genuinely good for once. I smiled at him to reassure him and pointed at Henry and Liam to change the subject :

"They seem to be having fun."

"They've always gotten along with each other." He replied, smiling back at me. "I hope they are going to be close with the little one as well."

"I don't see why not." I said, squeezing his fingers between mine. "Especially if it's a boy. They are going to form a real squad with Neal."

"If it's the case, we better brace ourselves." He stated, and that made me giggle.

"But if it's a girl, she's going to feel a bit alone among all these boys."

"There is Robyn." He countered with a big smile on his face. "And she's going to be so loved and spoiled by her two big brothers, you'll see, she'll have everything to be happy."

"You really want your little princess, don't you?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I would be as happy if it's a boy, you know it. But you're right, I would like a little girl. You'll be the two princesses of my life."

I giggled once again, touched by his words, and stopped to put myself on my tiptoe and kiss his lips. He looked at me with a smile as I pulled away from him, raised an eyebrow and playfully said :

"But if she looks like you, she's going to be really beautiful, and I'm not sure I agree with all the boys who are going to be around her."

I shook my head and poked his shoulder, amused but also touched by his comment. I started walking again, laughing and dragging him behind me. We finally caught up on Henry and Liam after a few seconds, as they were waiting for us in our yard. I was about to follow them inside the house when Killian gently held me back, his fingers woven together with mine. I turned to look at him, a bit perplexed. He was suddenly looking worried, and I wasn't getting why. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but he didn't give me the time to do so, and told to Henry :

"Lad, can you watch Liam for us for a sec? I would like to talk to Emma alone..."

"Sure!" My son cheerfully answered. "Be good while we're gone!"

He closed the door behind him and I turned back to look at Killian, raising an eyebrow at him to quietly question him. He didn't say anything and drove me toward the back of the garden. I sat down on the swing we had installed there for Liam several months ago, as he was staying up in front of me. I frowned as I was seeing him scratching behind his ear, and asked :

"What's wrong, babe?"

"I just wanted to make sure of something..."

"I'm listening." I encouraged him, worried by his sheepish look.

"When you said that the baby would feel alone if it was a girl, I realized that I hadn't been really nice with you today..." He said, looking very embarrassed.

"What?!" I shouted, utterly confused by his comment. "Are you kidding me? This day was just perfect!"

"No, I'm serious." He answered, looking a bit destabilized by my reaction. "We left you a bit out today. First when I was teaching Henry how to sail, then when we played baseball… I didn't realize it then, but we haven't really included you, and I'm so sorry about that..."

"Killian." I started, getting up and feeling so surprised by his words. "It's okay, I'm not upset. I'm the one who held back on purpose. I didn't want to bother you, I wanted to give you space because, you know, I thought you would like to stay with the boys for once."

"Swan, you will never bother us in any way." He said, looking deep into my eyes as I was smiling, touched by his words. "I just don't like you to be left alone while you could be with us. You've already been all by yourself way too much in your life, and now that you have a family, I just want you to know you're surrounded and there are people who love you..."

"Killian, I have enough experience in this field to tell you being alone isn't hearing your kids' laughter, it isn't having someone who is always there for you to support you when you need it, and it isn't being pregnant with the kid of the man you love. So don't worry, and don't feel guilty, okay? You really don't have to blame yourself. I'm really, deeply happy."

He nodded and leaned forward to press his forehead against mine. He placed a quick peck on my lips and that made me smile. He ran his hand through my hair as I was gently stroking his back, and he looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the entire world.

"You have no idea how much I love you, Emma Swan." He whispered against my lips.

"I think I know." I answered, smiling before pulling him closer to me to kiss him passionately.

Here we go! The darkness begins in the next chapter, I hope you liked all the fluff in this one, and see you friday! :)