Author's Note: We all know by now that I never apologize for any feels I might give you, right? O:)
If working as a fourth-grade teacher for twenty-eight years had taught Snow anything, it was that ten-year-olds could not do a single thing quietly. No better had this point been brought into stark relief than when the harsh whispers of her new favorite ten-year-olds tore Snow from her peaceful slumber.
"Wait, if you won't let me carry the tray, at least let me take the glass of milk off of it. I'm surprised half of it hasn't spilled already."
Though she kept her eyes closed, Snow smiled. That sounded like Emma.
A breathless Killian answered her. "All right, yes. Will you take it, please?"
"Yeah, I got it." There was a pause and when Emma continued, her whisper trembled from nerves. "You really think she's not going to get mad that we're waking her up?"
"David said she wouldn't." Snow could imagine the shrug Killian had given Emma just from his tone. "Why? Do you think she will?"
Another beat went by as Emma considered her answer. "No, not really. I've just … never done anything like this before. Waking up the grownups, even to do something nice, isn't usually allowed."
Oh, how Snow's heart ached at Emma's admission. The poor little girl had never been close enough with any of the adults in her life to warrant not getting in trouble for disrupting their sleep. Those people were all damn lucky that Snow had no idea who they were because if she did, she might not be responsible for her actions.
"I've never done anything like this before, either. We'll just have to do it for the first time together."
Clearly Killian Jones, in any of his forms, always stood behind Emma Swan. He constantly supported her and encouraged her. He broke down those walls she'd hidden herself behind and helped her truly feel the love that was extended to her.
And Emma Swan, in any of her forms, responded positively to his encouragement. For even here, standing outside the bedroom door and facing a situation that had more often than not ended in punishment for her, she took a deep breath and shored up her courage. "Okay, let's go."
The enticing aroma of cooked peppers and onions, along with the earlier mention of a glass of milk and a tray, left no doubt as to why Emma and Killian were outside Snow's bedroom door. While part of her wanted to remain still and let the children surprise her, as had clearly been the intention, she sat up and propped the pillows up against the headboard. Hopefully both Killian and Emma would feel a little more comfortable if they didn't feel like they were disturbing her.
Soon enough, the bedroom door creaked open to reveal a tiny Killian, his dark hair still sticking out at odd angles from sleep, holding a breakfast tray with two slices of cinnamon toast, a couple strips of bacon, and a somewhat messy pepper and onion omelet. Emma stood behind him, blonde waves falling around her shoulders, with a glass of milk in one hand and a mason jar containing a single daisy in water in the other. Emma's sheer relief to discover Snow already awake was palpable.
As such, Snow injected her tone with a light lilt. "Well, good morning! Dare I ask what I did to deserve two of my favorite children serving me breakfast in bed?"
Killian's cheeks flushed a light shade of pink, which Snow found utterly adorable. Emma shrugged almost shyly. "David showed us how to make omelets and he said you'd like it."
Ah ha. Now the lack of Charming's usual omelet perfection made sense. He'd had four little hands helping him with this one!
Despite Snow's enthusiasm, both children appeared unsure that their gesture would be as appreciated as Charming had suggested. "I don't just like it," Snow assured them with a smile. "I love it! Thank you both very much! What's on the menu today?"
"Bacon, an omelet, and toast," Killian said as he stepped fully into the room and propped the tray up over her knees. "Emma has the milk because walking up the stairs with a full glass on a tray is hard."
The honesty of the boy's answer made Snow swallow a chuckle. "I bet it is," she said as Emma set both the milk and the daisy on the tray with the rest of the meal. "Everything looks delicious!"
Still, the children seemed uncomfortable. A discouraged Snow had no idea why. In an effort to set them at ease, she patted the empty side of the bed. The smiles that lit the children's faces at the silent invitation to climb up with her made her heart sing.
As was typical, Charming had sent up more food than Snow could possibly eat in one sitting so she handed each child a strip of bacon. "What have you two been up to this morning?"
Soft but excited little voices filled her in on the early morning adventure feeding the animals. By the time they told her about little Neal accidentally feeding the chickens a Cheerio, Emma was giggling. "It was really funny," she said. "You'd think we'd given them candy or something! They really, really liked the Cheerio."
"Do you like Cheerios?" Snow asked, though she already knew the answer.
Emma wrinkled her nose. "They're all right but I like Froot Loops a lot better. Or Cocoa Puffs. Or Lucky Charms, which are really just Cheerios with marshmallows."
In other words, she preferred a breakfast of sugar with a side of grains to give it an air of legitimacy. It was nice to know some things didn't change.
"What do Cheerios taste like?" Killian asked.
"Cardboard," Emma answered.
"Now, Emma, they taste better than cardboard," Snow laughed.
"Not by much."
Thankfully, a smiling Killian did not at all appear turned off by Emma's not-so-glowing recommendation. "I'll give you some to try when we go downstairs," Snow assured him with a smile of her own. "You can decide for yourself if they taste like cardboard."
"They totally do," Emma stage-whispered, once again making both Killian and Snow laugh.
As Snow ate, the children filled her in on their cooking lesson. "David said we did a wonderful job," Killian said, beaming with pride. "He told us to bring this one up to show you what we learned and that he'd make ours while we were up here."
Now Snow was happier than ever that she'd given away her bacon. The poor kids hadn't even eaten yet! Still, the way Charming had lovingly taken them under his wing and let them in on the secret of his perfect omelets touched her more than words could express. "You two did do a wonderful job. This is delicious!"
While the omelet had come out a little messy – the kids hadn't quite gotten a handle on flipping it correctly – it tasted perfect.
Both Emma and Killian beamed, melting Snow's heart.
After Snow finished her breakfast, she lifted the tray off her legs and climbed out of bed. "Come on now. I bet I know two children who are positively famished!"
"I know I am," Emma said with a sage nod. "Everything smells so good that my stomach is all growly."
How Snow didn't wrap her in the hugest hug known to man due to the adorableness of that statement, she would never know.
The kids bounded down the stairs, leaving Snow in their wake. Oh, how on earth could she possibly let them go? They filled her with so much joy, so much love. Watching them blossom under her and Charming's loving care had been nothing short of a miracle. In the couple of days of Emma and Killian being little – hell, not even a full forty-eight hours – the six of them already become a family.
Of course, they were also a family with Emma and Killian as adults, too. Snow wouldn't miss the conflicted feelings that had been coursing through her since Regina knocked on her door two days ago but damn, she would miss these kids.
Henry was setting the table when the three of them entered the kitchen. Charming stood at the stove,e putting the finishing touches on the rest of the family's omelets. Neal sat in his high chair, happily squishing some of the scrambled egg on his tray between his fingers. The baby was also fully dressed because Charming apparently didn't mind extra laundry.
"Yeah, we're apparently having a two-for-one sale on eggs today," Henry smirked when he spotted his grandmother's arched eyebrow.
"That's 'cause we collected two tons of eggs this morning," Killian nodded sagely, making Emma giggle.
Snow wished she could bottle the sound of her baby girl's laughter and keep it for all eternity.
After exchanging good morning kisses with her husband, Snow strode to the cabinet, retrieved the box of Cheerios, and poured a small handful into Killian's waiting palm. The boy popped a Cheerio into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "It definitely tastes much better than cardboard," he proclaimed after a moment.
"Nuh uh," Emma teased. Her apparent distaste for the cereal didn't stop her from snagging a couple of Os from Killian's hand.
"They're not as good as garlic bread or the cookies we made," Killian allowed, "but they're a fine food for early in the morning."
Just before everyone sat down to eat – or observe her family, in Snow's case – a tiny little voice asked, "Mary Margaret?"
A surprised Snow looked down at the sound of her little girl's tentative voice. "Yes, Emma?"
The girl glanced at Killian, who nodded encouragingly. She took a breath to prepare herself. "We're sorry for falling asleep in your room last night."
And right there, Snow's heart clenched. Children fell asleep in their parents' rooms all the time. How lonely these poor children must have been to believe they needed to apologize for such a natural, everyday thing. She crouched down in front of the children and gripped Emma's hand with her right and Killian's with her left. "Oh, sweetheart, you don't have to be sorry, either of you. It actually made me very happy."
"It did?" Killian asked, his little brow furrowed in a frown.
Snow nodded. "Emma, I don't know if you remember because you were very sleepy but you actually cuddled up with me. I swear to you, I was dancing on air. We love you both and it warmed my heart to know that both of you were comfortable enough with us to relax and let yourselves fall asleep."
To Snow's utter shock, both Emma and Killian wrapped her in a hug at exactly the same time. And as she hugged them back, she found herself fighting tears of joy and of comfort and of love. After taking a moment to consider how the gesture would be received, she placed a kiss on each of their little cheeks. Their arms tightened around her, making her glad she'd taken the leap of faith.
After a moment, she felt Charming and Henry join the hug. Everyone held the embrace and Killian was the first to whisper, "I love you all."
"I love you all, too," Emma added.
"And we love you both," Snow and Charming murmured in unison, tears spilling over now. This was what they'd longed for. This was what they'd hoped and dreamed and desired. This was everything they'd wanted to accomplish while Emma and Killian were little. These two lonely little children now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what it was like to love and to be loved.
An insistent knock at the door interrupted the lovely moment. A stone forming in the pit of her stomach, Snow pulled out of the embrace first, sniffled back her tears, and wiped her eyes. "I'll get the door." She knew exactly who was at the door and what would have to happen next. She was not looking forward to it in the slightest.
Her hunch was proven correct when she pulled the front door open to find Regina standing on the doorstep, a small black velvet bag in her hand. The stone now rolled in her stomach. "You figured it out?"
"We figured it out," Regina said, holding up the bag. The faint clinking of the glass potion bottles inside provided even further confirmation.
More tears leaped into Snow's eyes but these were not tears of joy this time. Their time with the children had come to an end and she was not at all ready to say goodbye.