Thank you everybody for all your feedback during the course of this story, and I hope you enjoy the last chapter and come back for the epilogue tomorrow.
Emma and Killian arrive at their town house to find everybody on their feet despite the late hour, and riders are immediately dispatched to get the magistrate and a physician while Emma holds Owen in her lap and thinks she might never let go of him again.
"You should eat", Killian murmurs, sitting on the sofa next to her and rubbing his hand along her arm when she tells him that she is not hungry. "But the baby is."
She eats one piece of toast with marmalade and feeds Owen half of another, then hovers over Killian as the physician examines his leg after making sure that Lord James has been properly tended to.
"Stay off that leg for a few days", the physician advises and Emma does not even have to look at Killian to know that he is not going to follow the advice.
Lady Misthaven does not emerge from Lord James' sickroom and Emma cannot really blame her, but she prefers not to think about what her mother might be feeling right now, focusing instead on her husband and son who are looking at her with identical sleepy expressions.
"I think it is time we all went to bed", Emma says and instructs Kristoff to help Killian up to their room, ignoring the way her husband glares at his valet when he approaches.
"I am sorry, your Grace", Kristoff says with a mock bow and wraps his arm around Killian's waist. "Your wife frightens me more than you do."
"Wonderful", Killian mutters but allows Kristoff to assist him.
"I shall carry Owen", Emma says and lifts her eyebrow at Killian when he looks like he might object, and they retreat to their bedroom where Emma gently sets their son down in the middle of the bed and tucks him in, then helps her husband undress.
"It looks much worse than it is", Killian says when she discovers a bruise on the left side of his ribs, and she leans down to kiss the purple flesh and then turns so that Killian can unbutton her dress.
It is true that she could have lost him today, but dwelling on it will not help anything, so Emma changes into a night dress and walks around the bed, getting underneath the covers on the opposite side of Owen from Killian.
"Give me your hand, Swan", Killian says softly and she stretches her arm over Owen's gently rising and falling chest, instantly feeling better when her husband's long fingers envelop hers. "I have made many mistakes in my life, love, but I do not regret them. Not when the path I was taking eventually lead me to you."
Emma looks at him and manages a smile, then kisses Owen's cheek and settles comfortably on her pillow.
"Tell me a story", she says and Killian kisses the back of her hand before he fulfils her request.
Eventually, it puts her to sleep, and she wakes some time later to Owen pressing wet kisses against her cheeks, lying half on top of her, half on top of Killian, asking over and over again when are they going home.
"As soon as we have something to eat, little love", Killian tells him, his voice rough with sleep, and he drags him into the circle of his arms to let Emma get up and get dressed.
They return home that very evening and the miles help them all come to terms with what has almost happened and how much they could have lost, and Emma does not mind that Killian is a little overprotective as a result.
Gradually Killian tells her the entire story, how he had survived the bullet that was supposed to kill him and how they have learned that Jefferson had planned to take Emma all along; she has nightmares for weeks afterwards, but slowly they fade, and they spend the rest of the summer exploring the estate, playing with Owen and taking him for picnics when they are not visiting with Elsa or going for long, private walks.
Eventually, Killian hires a new steward, a quiet man named Mr. Hopper without any family who makes sure that everything is running smoothly and takes over Killian's duty of visiting the tenants; Emma tries to object to that, but Killian refuses to be parted from her for hours every day, especially now that she is visibly increasing and every day is a little miracle in its own right.
"Oooh", she exclaims on a bright day in July and lies her hand on her stomach, feeling a little flutter inside that lets her know that their baby is big enough now to move.
"What? What is it?" Killian asks, a note of panic creeping into his voice as he ushers Owen away from the waterline and sits him on a blanket next to Emma.
"Mama, I want to swim", Owen complains and Emma tells him that he needs to wait a little bit longer since they have only just had lunch, then lays her hand on Killian's knee and tells him that everything is alright.
"The baby moved, that is all", she says and Killian looks at her in awe, his eyes as blue as the sky above them when he smiles.
"What does it feel like?" He asks her and lays his hand on her stomach, both of them grinning when Owen runs around her and kneels on her other side, his little hand joining Killian's.
While Emma is Mama to him now, Killian is still Killy, and although it feels slightly unfair since Killian had known him longer, it is also understandable since Owen does not remember his mother at all.
"When are you coming out, baby?" Owen asks, his voice muffled because his face is pressed against Emma's stomach, and she feels oddly overwhelmed while Killian just chuckles and gives her a kiss, drying her tears of joy with his lips.
"What would you like, Owen?" He asks their son and rubs his back with his stump. "A brother or a sister?"
"Can I have both?" Owen asks and gives Emma a pleading look. "Can I Mama? Say I can."
"I am afraid it is not up to me to decide", she tells him gently and he turns the full force of his puppy eyes on Killian.
"Do not look at me, little love. It is much like a game of chance, and we are going to have to wait until Christmas to find out", Killian tells him and Owen brightens up and counts on his fingers to see how many months there are left.
"Five months is a long time", he says once he is through with his calculations and lies his head on Emma's stomach, hugging her waist and softly talking to the baby so that neither Emma nor Killian can hear him.
"What would you like to have?" Emma asks Killian and smiles against his lips when he kisses her again, then shrugs and looks at his hand resting on her stomach.
"I am going to be happy regardless."
"I know you will, but you must have some kind of a preference."
"Must I?"
"No, of course not", Emma laughs and tugs on the hem of Killian's shirt. "Time to go swimming."
"Finally", Owen exclaims and scrambles to his feet, running in circles around his parents until they are ready to wade in.
Killian is trying to teach Owen how to swim while Emma floats on her back next to them, her wet shift outlining her body and making it difficult for him to concentrate on the task at hand.
Owen likes it best to just wrap his arms around Killian's neck and ride on his back, and Killian cannot say no to him, so their swimming lessons have yet to show any kind of success.
"He is never going to learn if you keep doing that", Emma says mildly and starts swimming next to them, and Killian is once more surprised at how quick she is in the water because he can still recall how she was just slightly better than Owen when they were children.
"You learned in your own time, did you not, my love?" He asks her and she attempts to look cross, but then her face crumbles and her laughter rings around the lake.
"Catch me if you can", she says and swims away, and even though they both know he does not have a hope of catching her with the precious cargo on his back and his injuries, he still sets off to try.
It is not long before she lets herself be caught and rewards him with a kiss while Owen giggles and covers Killian's eyes with his little hands.
"Don't do that", Owen sings and Killian's heart is so full he thinks it might burst from all the love he feels for his little family.
The summer passes almost in the blink of an eye, and when the harvest approaches Killian convinces Emma to join Elsa on her trip to visit Ruby and her newborn baby while he arranges a ball he had promised Emma on that day in the garden when they both admitted to wanting to dance.
The dowager Countess is of great help, making sure everything is perfect for the big day while Killian sends out invitations to all his tenants, and even visits some of the closer ones in person, Owen proudly riding in front of him while Mr. Hopper keeps them company.
Kristoff is spending more and more time at the Arendelle estate on the pretence of business even though everybody is well aware that he is only there because of Miss Anna Grimm, Elsa's sister.
During the week he is apart from Emma, Killian discovers that his episodes have not been vanquished completely, but luckily, the only witness to its recurrence is Leroy, who administers the quick cure of a slap and offers Killian rum which he declines and an apology which he accepts.
Elsa is tasked with bringing Emma home in time for the ball, and dressing her up but telling her nothing about the reason for it; still as soon as their carriage arrives and Killian meets his wife at the bottom of the front steps, he knows right away that she knows what he had planned.
"I did not tell her; she guessed on her own", Lady Arendelle says and glides past Killian to take her husband's arm while Emma accepts Killian's hand and gives him a quick but thorough kiss in view of approaching guests.
"You kept your promise", Emma says as she leans her forehead against Killian's, her gloved fingers resting on his shoulders. "You threw me a ball."
"I did not feel that the one in St. James' Park counts", Killian tells her and brushes his nose along hers, then leads her in and escorts her to the ballroom that could put any London one to shame.
"It is beautiful", Emma says and her smile is as bright as her eyes as they take a turn around the place that had held their wedding luncheon and did not see a proper ball since Killian's mother was still alive.
"May I have the first waltz, my Lady?" Killian asks her and she inclines her head, then hits his arm and tells him that he knows very well that he may have every single dance if he wishes to. "Even the quick ones?"
"Especially the quick ones. We shall spend them strolling in the garden while people who are not three months away from having a baby have their fun", Emma tells him and lays her free hand on her stomach.
"Do not forget those whose legs are up to the task", Killian tells her with a wink and they spend some time talking to their guests until the waltz starts and Killian leads Emma on the dance floor.
"Why is nobody else joining us?" Emma asks, looking around and back at Killian, her eyebrows raised in question.
"Because, my love, they do not wish to intrude in our wedding dance", Killian tells her and feels immensely satisfied that he had manages to surprise her after all.
"Killian...", Emma says, looking at him in awe, and he wraps his bad arm around her waist and takes her hand in his.
"We had our wedding party in this room, but we did not dance. I know that quite a lot of time has passed since then-"
"Thank you", Emma cuts him off and moves back when he moves forward, her eyes never leaving his as they turn in gentle circles in the middle of the dance floor.
He wants to spin her around from one end of the ballroom to the other, but since he cannot, he just focuses on the feel of her, the smell of her hair and her beautiful face as she smiles up at him, happy and safe in his arms, and he realizes that he already has more than he deserves.
He already has everything.
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