Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine, but if someone were to gift them to me I'd put them to good use.
Lots going on in this chapter. I hope you all enjoy.
"How's Neal?" Emma asked when she and Killian arrived to a room full of people waiting for word. Regina must have called Belle and Gold. Belle was sitting next to Henry with an arm around his shoulders. There were a few other townspeople waiting as well.
"You need to leave," Gold immediately advanced upon Killian the moment he saw him. "You have cause my son nothing but pain from the moment you first set eyes on my wife."
"We're not doing this now," Emma stepped in, "Killian is here for Henry."
"Emma, it's okay," Killian gave her hand a squeeze, "I'll find another room to wait. Now is not the time to be rehashing all of our bad history. If you hear anything, call."
"I will," Emma rose up on her toes and kissed his lips.
Just as Killian turned to leave, Victor came in with an update.
"Neal has lost a lot of blood," Victor explained, "We gave him an immediate transfusion to stabilize him, but we're going to need to do a second after we find a donor with the correct blood type. Neal's type is rare, and we don't have any stored in our blood bank."
"He can have mine," Gold immediately offered.
"Yes, I figured you would offer, so I checked your type. Yours is not a match," Victor replied.
"What about me?" Henry stepped up.
"You are not a match either, nor would you be eligible if you were. You need to be at least sixteen in order to even give blood with a parent's consent," Victor patted the young boy's shoulder, "Only one percent of the population is AB negative."
"Killian is," Emma turned towards her husband, "He could donate."
"Absolutely not," Gold responded immediately, "I will not consent to you putting the blood of that pirate in my son."
"Perhaps you are not fully understanding the situation," Victor responded calmly, "Neal is stable for the moment, but unless he gets at least one more transfusion within the next few hours, he will die. I've already called the state blood bank. They do have some in reserves, but it's going to be at least six hours until it gets here and is ready for transfusion."
"Rumple, let Killian donate," Belle went to her lover's side, "It will save Baelfire's life."
"There is no one else?" Gold looked to Victor.
"I checked the town's database. No one else in our database is a match. Though it may be possible others in town are a match, we don't have the time to line everyone up and test them," Victor responded, "If you want your son to live, we best get started."
Gold looked sick to his stomach but relented.
"I'll go with you," Emma took her husband's hand, "Henry, will you be okay here with Regina?"
Henry nodded and immediately went to hug Killian. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Killian returned the hug.
"You were very brave," Emma hugged her son as well, "I'm so proud of you."
Killian and Emma were lead to an unused examination area. A nurse came in and immediately poked him in the finger to draw enough blood to do a type match test. When they had confirmed Killian was indeed a match, they set him up to draw the necessary blood.
"I've been thinking," Emma took Killian's other hand and brought it to her lips.
"Thinking is always good," Killian smiled, "Unless it is about how I disobeyed your orders to stay with the children, then I'd rather change the subject."
"We'll have that conversation eventually, but not right now," she scowled at him for a moment.
"What are these thoughts then, Love?" Killian asked.
"Remember the conversation we had about maybe adding to our family?" she began playing with his fingers of his left hand.
"Aye," he nodded, "We agreed not to rule anything out, but with the danger the town was facing it wasn't a good time to decide one way or another."
"We just ended the threat," Emma reminded him.
"And now you want to have this discussion?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded, "I know your thoughts. You'd like us to have another baby."
"Aye, I would," he nodded his head.
"You're such an amazing father," she gushed.
"Because I have an amazing partner who showed me how," he brought her hand to his lips to kiss it.
"I know I'm bias, but we do make beautiful children," Emma smiled.
"Positively stunning," Killian agreed.
"I have a proposal for you," she replied.
"I thought we took care of the proposal years ago," Killian spun her wedding ring around her finger.
"Different proposal," she thumbed her rings.
"I'm not going anywhere," Killian glanced over at the needle in his arm, drawing his blood.
"My proposal is we start trying," she responded.
"Is another child what you want?" Killian asked, "Last we spoke, you were reluctant."
"I was reluctant," Emma bobbed her head, "We live in an uncertain world. At any moment another evil could come to town and turn everything upside down, but I've also come to the conclusion we can't stop living our lives. More than live, we should take advantage of every good moment we have."
"I love you, Swan," he gave her his happiest smile.
"I love you," she leaned over and kissed his lips.
"I very much look forward to creating another life with you," he caressed her chin.
The nurse returned and checked the bag. After a few more minutes, the nurse removed the I.V. and bandaged his arm. Killian wanted to move immediately, but Emma held him down.
"Wanting to start trying right away?" he wagged a brow.
"This is your first time giving blood," Emma explained while handing him a cup of juice the nurse had brought, "You're going to feel a little weak. Drink this."
"I'd prefer rum," he took a sip from the straw.
"You're going to relax here for a bit," Emma explained.
"I feel just fine," Killian assured her.
"Right now because you're nearly horizontal," she smirked.
"Not nearly horizontal enough," he wagged his brow a second time.
"You've just had a pint of blood pulled out of your body," she explained, "I think we should let you recover before we send what's left south."
Killian groaned in disappointment.
"Will you behave if I leave you alone for a few minutes?" Emma pecked at his lips again.
"Define behave," Killian requested.
"Stay in bed and don't get up until I say you can," she replied.
"I'm going to need some incentive," he stated.
"You get plenty of incentive," she shook her head before leaving the exam room.
"Mama," Fallon ran and leapt into her mother's arms, "Do you have an ouchie?"
"No, Sweetheart, Papa and I are just fine," Emma reassured her, "Uncle Neal has the ouchie, a real bad one. How about we give Henry a hug? I think he needs one."
Once Fallon was on her feet, she darted over, jumped into Henry's lap and kept herself there.
"Emma, is everything alright?" Mary Margaret asked while Emma took Bradyn from her arms and rained kisses all over his face. "Your father only gave me a brief rundown."
"Wendy threw a pick ax at Henry," Emma explained after they stepped away from the group, "Neal pushed Henry out of the way."
"Oh my goodness," Mary Margaret's eyes went wide in surprise, "Is Neal going to be alright?"
"Regina was able to heal him, but he needs a blood transfusion. He has a rare blood type. Ironically Killian is a match. He just gave up a pint of blood, so he's resting," Emma explained.
"Gold's allowing the transfusion?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Reluctantly," Emma nodded, "Timing is important."
"I hope you're not too upset with Killian and Henry for disobeying your request to stay put," Mary Margaret replied.
"If they hadn't, we'd all be goners right now," Emma replied.
"I don't understand," Mary Margaret frowned.
"You didn't hear the shrieking?" Emma asked.
"What shriek?"
"When we encountered Wendy, she did this shrieking thing which crippled us. The only ones not effected were Neal, who was already under her spell and Henry. If Henry hadn't arrived and thrown the potion on her when he did, I think everyone's heart was about to burst. Regina's crypt must be fortified to protect her from a magical attack," Emma's free hand clutched at her chest, "Mom, it was a horrible feeling."
"Sounds like it," Mary Margaret hugged her daughter. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine," Emma responded automatically.
"Emma," Mary Margaret gave her a knowing look.
"I'll be fine," Emma clarified.
"It must have shook you up seeing Neal injured like that," Mary Margaret replied.
"I didn't expect it," Emma admitted, "After everything we've gone through the past several years, I figured I was done caring about him, but him lying there, gasping for breath, blood pouring out of his body…If it had been Killian, I would have been inconsolable, but this hurt more than I thought it would."
"You two share a connection and a son," Mary Margaret replied, "Once upon a time you did love Neal. That doesn't just go away because he broke your heart."
"Do I tell Killian about this?" Emma glanced down at her shoes, kicking lightly at the floor.
"Yes," Mary Margaret responded simply, "But tell him the reason it affected you so much."
"What if I don't know the reason?" Emma asked.
"Figure that out first," Mary Margaret gave her a gentle smile, "You're in love with Killian. I don't doubt that, and I'm quite certain you don't either."
"Of course I do," Emma responded automatically. "I should check on Henry."
"If you need to talk," Mary Margaret gave her daughter's hand a squeeze.
"I know," Emma smiled. Her mother was always there when she needed her. After twenty-eight years of being alone, it was a comfort she didn't take for granted.
Emma returned to the waiting area were Gold was pacing. She side stepped him and took a seat next to Henry and Fallon, who was doing a bang up job of cheering up her brother.
"Princess, why don't you go with Grammy for a bit," Emma tugged on her daughter's pigtail, "I bet she'll get you some ice cream if you ask sweetly."
"Do you want some, Henry?" Fallon batted her lashes at her brother.
"If you bring it back for me," Henry nodded.
"Okay," Fallon hugged him tight around the shoulders and then wiggled from his lap. She instantly darted over to her grandmother and swayed back and forth while asking for the sweet treat her mother suggested. Emma wasn't surprised with Mary Margaret's immediate offering of her hand to take her to the cafeteria.
"She has this entire town wrapped around her finger," Henry chuckled.
"Including her big brother," Emma slung an arm around his shoulder, "Do you want to take a walk...just around the hospital? I promise we will not go far."
"Yeah," Henry nodded, "Whale said it might take awhile to complete the transfusion."
"You were very brave back in the mines," Emma walked with her arm still slung around his shoulders, "I'm very proud of you."
"You're not mad I disobeyed you?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head, "Not even a tiny little bit."
"Don't be mad at Killian either," Henry requested, "I made him take me."
"I'm not," Emma smiled, "Just don't tell him I said that. He needs to work for forgiveness a tiny bit."
Henry laughed in reply.
"You want to talk about Neal?" she asked.
"Is it okay?" he asked.
"Of course," she nodded.
"I feel guilty," Henry admitted, "I've been so mad at him since everything happened with Killian. I really haven't given him any chances to make things right."
"He made some pretty big mistakes, and he hasn't done a lot to try making up for them," Emma replied.
"But I still should have let him try," Henry frowned, "I should have done what Killian told me to do. I should have given him something to look forward to…given him a chance to be my father. If I'd done that, maybe he wouldn't have gone to London in the first place, and then Wendy never would have known how to find Killian and none of this would have happened."
"Henry, what happened with Wendy is not your fault," Emma tried to reassure him. "Your father was just looking for a reminder of who he used to be, before he make the bad choices he did. There is no way he could have known Wendy and her brothers were still alive when he went to London, nor could he have predicted she was a siren. It's just really bad luck."
"He has a lot of that," Henry grumbled.
"He's not perfect," Emma replied.
"Do you regret ever getting involved with him?" Henry asked.
"There is a lot of things I regret in my life," Emma gave a sarcastic laugh, "If I hadn't met Neal, I wouldn't have you. You are one of the best things I've done in my life. I only wish I had been in a better place in my life so I could have kept you. Then I could take credit for how well you turned out."
"You're doing a good job now," Henry offered.
"I'll take what I can get," Emma smiled.
"What if Neal doesn't make it?" Henry's voice broke as the question left his lips, "What if he dies thinking I hated him?"
"He knows you don't hate him," Emma tried to reassure him, "You've been disappointed with them. There's a difference…But you can't think like that. Neal is going to pull through."
"I hope so," Henry nodded.
Just as Emma and Henry were about to reenter the waiting area, Paige appeared.
"Paige, what are you doing here?" Henry asked.
"We all heard about your dad," Paige fidgeted nervously with her fingers, "I thought maybe you'd like some company while you waited, so I asked my parents to bring me…Hi, Sheriff Jones."
"Hi, Paige," Emma smiled, "It was very thoughtful of you to come. Henry, Fallon and your grandmother are going to come back with your ice cream. Why don't you see if you can catch them and have Grandma buy Paige some too? If we hear anything about Neal, I'll come find you."
"Yeah, okay," Henry took Paige's hand as they wandered off.
"I'm not ready for that," Regina approached and motioned towards Henry and Paige and they're joined hands.
"I'm not either," Emma laughed.
"No word yet on Neal," Regina stated.
"Thank you for healing him," Emma replied.
"I…ah…I don't know why I hesitated," Regina glanced at her hands.
"It's like you said in the mines. If it didn't work, it could have started a war with you and Gold," Emma replied, "I can't blame you for having the same thoughts I would have had."
"Another evil gone from Storybrooke," Regina mused.
"One down, probably a billion more to go," Emma responded dryly.
"I think you're overstating it a bit," Regina rolled her eyes.
"We've come a long way since I first arrived in Storybrooke," Emma stated.
"Considering I hated you the minute you arrived, yes, I'd say way have," Regina chuckled.
"Does that mean you don't hate me anymore?" Emma snickered.
"No," Regina smiled, "I'd say we moved to fond tolerance."
"I'll take it," Emma replied, "I'd better go check on my husband. He's likely ignoring my orders to rest."
"He does seem to have a slight disregard for authority," Regina replied.
"You're still in bed," Emma was surprised to find Killian still laying down.
"I did try to get up," he admitted sheepishly.
"Did you get a little dizzy?" Emma guessed.
"I'm still in bed, aren't I?" he pointed out.
"You might need to actually listen to me for a change," Emma felt his forehead. He was a bit clammy.
"I always listen," he scoffed.
"Then you choose to ignore," Emma kissed his temple.
"Any word yet on Baelfire?" Killian turned serious.
"Nothing yet," she shook her head. "These things can take time."
"When we first met, I saw myself in him. He'd been essentially abandoned by his father, completely alone in the world," Killian began, "When I found out he was Milah's son, I vowed to protect him, but then I went and screwed it up by letting my need for vengeance get in the way. Our relationship never recovered…Then of course we quarreled over you. I've never made his life better…ever."
"You will now," Emma caressed his shoulder. "You're giving him the gift of a second chance, one hopefully he chooses not to waste."
"Is it enough?" Killian asked, "After all I've taken from him…"
"You didn't take Milah from him. She left. She made her own choice. You've said it yourself, you would have taken her back to Neal if she'd asked, but she never did. You didn't take me from Neal. I made my own choice. We fell in love. I'll never apologize for that," Emma set him straight.
"Nor will I," Killian brought her hand to his lips.
"Fallon and Bradyn are here. Do you want me to bring them in?" Emma asked.
"Hi, Papa," Fallon came running in with a paper bowl full of ice cream and held it up to him, "I broughted this for you."
"Guess you don't get the choice," Emma smiled and went around his bed to pick Fallon up so she could hand Killian the ice cream.
"Thank you, Little Love," Killian accepted the ice cream.
"Papa have an ouchie?" Fallon noted the bandage around his arm when she reached out to give him a hug.
"Papa is helping Uncle Neal, remember," Emma reminded her daughter while lowering her enough to give Killian the hug.
"Why?" Fallon refused to let go when her arms were able to wrap around his neck.
"Because it's the right thing to do," Killian set aside his ice cream and motioned Emma to let Fallon curl up in his arms.
"But he's so grumpy," Fallon replied, "He's grumpier than Leroy."
"Yes, he is," Emma snickered.
"Even grumpy people deserve our help," Killian tapped her nose.
Fallon giggled and curled up against him.
"Did Henry and Paige find you and Grammy?" Emma asked.
"Yep," Fallon bobbed her head while pulling at her father's necklace.
"Where Grammy now?" Emma asked.
"With Bradyn," Fallon released a healthy yawn.
"And where is that?" Emma asked.
"I don't know," Fallon shrugged her shoulders.
"You two okay in here?" Emma asked.
"Aye," Killian stroked Fallon's back as she appeared ready to drift off to sleep. With his other hand, he was able to feed himself the sweet treat Fallon had brought him.
"I'm going to check on them and then see if there is any news on Neal," Emma replied. "I'll be back."
"We won't go anywhere," Killian replied.
"Make sure Papa behaves," Emma bent over to kiss Fallon's forehead.
"Okay," Fallon nodded her head slightly but it was obvious she wasn't going to stay awake for long.
"Did Fallon find you?" Mary Margaret was rocking from side to side with Bradyn in her arms. The little boy was sound asleep.
"She did," Emma nodded, "And she's about ready for a nap herself. Is there any news on Neal yet?"
"They finished the transfusion. It's still a waiting game, but Gold is in with him now," Mary Margaret replied, "Whale seems pretty optimist at this point. Neal will likely need a third transfusion, but he's starting to wake up."
"Where's Henry?" Emma glanced around.
"He and Paige stayed in the cafeteria to eat their ice cream. They are so cute together," Mary Margaret replied.
"I'm so not ready for him to go all hormonal on me," Emma plopped herself down in one of the chairs. Mary Margaret took a seat next to her and gingerly handed over her grandson.
"You have a few years before this one does," Mary Margaret held Bradyn's hand.
"Killian and I decided to start trying for another child," Emma admitted.
"That's a pretty big step for you two," Mary Margaret's eyes went wide, "You've never actively planned before. Fallon and Bradyn kind of sprung up on you."
"I guess I finally figured out why I was so reluctant to think about having a third," Emma admitted.
"And why is that?" Mary Margaret inquired.
"We live in a town where at any moment another evil something could arrive with an agenda," Emma sighed, "I guess I didn't think it was fair to bring another kid into that."
"So what changed your mind?" Mary Margaret asked.
"That siren was moments away from ending my life, and my only thoughts were of my husband and children, and how happy I am to have them," Emma explained, "I'm tired of being scared by what is out there. I'm tired of having outside forces dictate how I choose to live my life."
"I'm proud of you," Mary Margaret replied and then bit her lip.
"Is this going to be hard for you?" Emma asked, "I know you and Dad have been trying…"
"I've…we've been waiting to tell you," Mary Margaret placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "With everything going on with Wendy, we didn't want to distract from the task at hand."
"Is something wrong?" Emma's mind always went to the negative in these situations.
"No," Mary Margaret smiled, "I'm pregnant."
"What!" Emma gasped.
"It's early," Mary Margaret elaborated, "I just saw my doctor yesterday. It was confirmed."
"That's wonderful," Emma smiled widely.
"We're going to keep things quiet for a little bit," Mary Margaret added, "At least until I'm in the second trimester."
"Your secret is safe with me," Emma zipped her lips but continued to smile broadly, "I'm very happy for you and Dad. I know how much you wanted another child."
"If you hurry, we can be pregnant together," Mary Margaret pointed out.
"It would be kind of fun to torture Killian and Dad like that again," Emma snickered.
"I thought your father was going to spend the last two months sleeping at the station because my mood swings were all over the place," Mary Margaret laughed.
"We'll have to celebrate soon," Emma offered.
"In about six weeks," Mary Margaret nodded.
"Deal," Emma agreed. "Now it makes sense why you were so easily convinced to take the children to the crypt rather than go with us to the mine."
"I also wanted to make sure the children were safe," Mary Margaret replied, "I am a mother, wife and grandmother first."
"And we're all lucky for it," Emma smiled.
"I'd better get back to the station. I left Leo and Roland with Robin and your father," Mary Margaret stated, "With our luck, the boys probably locked the men in the cell next to Wendy."
"At least her curse has been neutralized, so no harm can come to any of them," Emma snickered at the visual picture her mother had painted.
"You appear to have everything handled here. Call me if you need anything or if there is any further word on Neal," Mary Margaret hugged her daughter around the shoulders, careful not to wake the sleeping infant in her arms. "Oh, here's my keys. I'll walk back to the station."
"Mom, you don't need…" Emma replied.
"It's a short walk," Mary Margaret replied, "It's getting colder, and my two grandchildren shouldn't have to trudge through the snow currently falling."
"I guess Fallon gets to make herself yet another snowman," Emma smiled and accepted her mother's keys, "I really need to find myself a new car."
"I'll be happy to watch the children so you and Killian can look," Mary Margaret offered before she left.
Emma sat with Bradyn for a bit, watching the little boy sleep so peaceful. His entire future still laid before him. Emma wondered what type of adventures the little boy would find. Would he love sailing the seas like his father, or would he prefer land bound activities?
"Forget a siren's curse," Emma whispered and kissed her son's hand, "You've worked your spell on me, Little Sailor."
Bradyn didn't flinch a muscle as Emma rose to her feet. She was going to check on Henry, but Belle found her instead.
"Baelfire's awake," Belle proclaimed with a relieved smile.
"That's wonderful," Emma replied.
"He's asking for Henry. Do you know where he is?"
"My mom left him in the cafeteria with Paige a few minutes ago," Emma replied, "I can go get him if you'd like."
"You seem to have your hands full," Belle tenderly touched Bradyn's hand, "I'll go get him...I'm sure Baelfire would like to see you as well."
Emma nodded as Belle wandered off. Emma wasn't so certain she was ready yet to see Neal. Her feelings were still a giant jumble. Instead she returned to the exam room Killian was using to recover.
"You're really milking this recovery from giving blood," Emma spoke quietly when she entered his room. Killian appeared to be asleep with Fallon, but his eyes opened when he heard Emma's voice.
"Just resting my eyes," Killian extended a hand to her, "It's been an eventful day."
"Yes, it has," Emma agreed, "Far too eventful for my liking."
"Blu came in while you were gone. She says I can leave whenever I feel ready," he stated.
"We should get the kids home," Emma agreed, "Once everyone is settled, I'm going to come back here to stay with Henry."
"I'm sure he appreciates you being here," Killian gave her hand a squeeze.
"Not as much as he appreciates Paige," Emma sighed.
"So the lass is here," Killian smiled, "I wondered if we'd see her."
"I'm going to need to have the talk with him," Emma frowned.
"Which talk is that, Love?" Killian inquired.
"The one about the birds and the bees," she replied.
"You'll have to do better than that love," Killian knew she was using one of her frustrating expressions he didn't understand.
"The sex talk," Emma replied, "You know about what happens between a man and a woman when there are certain feelings involved."
"Are you sure a mother should be having this discussion with her son?" he raised a brow, "Sounds more like a man on man talk."
"That sounds like such a bad idea when the first man in that conversation is you," Emma groaned.
"Why is that, Love?" Killian inquired, "I'm quite learned in the ways of man and woman relations as you are well aware."
"Which is what I'm afraid of," Emma replied, "You'll make it sound glamorous with all of your pirate stories, and I'll end up being a grandmother in nine months time."
"You don't think I can keep such discussions age appropriate?" Killian waged his expressive brow.
"I don't know. Can you?" Emma asked.
"I was a young lad about Henry's age once," Killian reminded her.
"Yes, hundreds of years ago," Emma replied, "Do you even remember when you lost your virginity?"
"Aye," he nodded, "One of the scariest days of my life. Thought I might wet myself."
"Oh my god," Emma couldn't stop the laugh from escaping, "I so want to hear this…tell you what, we have a practice session just you and me tonight after everyone is tucked into bed. If it ends up being an age appropriate discussion I'll consider letting you have the conversation with Henry because you're right, this should come from a man."
Killian nodded.
"Come on, let's get these two home," Emma replied. "Mom left me her car."
"Thank the heavens," Killian sighed, "I don't know if I'd have the strength to carry Fallon back to the cottage."
"Are you okay to take her to the car or did you want to carry the lighter of our offspring?" Emma asked.
"I'll manage," Killian untangled himself from Fallon's limbs and rolled out of bed, taking it much slower than he had the first time.
"Are you good?" Emma watched him test his balance to see if he was going to get dizzy a second time.
"I believe so," Killian nodded slowly.
"Take Bradyn," Emma adjusted her son so she could hand him off, "I'll take Fallon."
Killian agreed and took Bradyn, adjusting him so he was curled up against Killian's chest. The little boy was still out like a light.
"If you get dizzy, let me know immediately," Emma demanded.
"You're quite sexy when you get all bossy with me," he grinned.
Emma rolled her eyes and led him out of the hospital. She caught Regina just as they were about to leave. "I'm going to take Killian and the kids home. Tell Henry I'll be back once they are settled."
Regina nodded.
TBC…
Happy Valentine's Day!
