Retrospective

Chapter 37

The pirate barely heard his name being called. His blue gaze couldn't move from the tiny infant in the woman's arms. He watched as the little human squirmed in his mother's arms. If he weren't sure that the baby was his, the thick head of black hair would help convince him. But he knew. He just… knew and the sight of the baby brought stinging tears to the man's eyes.

Killian's heart was clinching in a way it never had before. That was his little boy right in front of him, making quiet gurgling sounds and moving his pink fingers at random. He loved him already, within seconds of seeing him.

No one in the room had spoke for a while. When the man looked into the blonde witch's eyes- as betrayed as he felt by her- he was too elated to be mad, at least for the moment. He only wanted one thing, "Can I hold him?"

Maleficent slowly nodded and took a step towards the man. Behind her, Emma and Regina quietly excused themselves. It was private moment and they didn't want to impose so they stepped outside of the damp place the dragon called home.

"He uh… he just ate so he might be tired." The blonde told the man as she passed the newborn into his arms.

It proved rather difficult with one hand, but eventually Killian was able to support the child's head on his hook while his right hand fixed the homemade blanket to cover him. A few tears of joy left the man as blue eyes looked up at him. "There's my little lad." He chuckled and gently brought a finger to put in the boy's fist. The small squeeze the infant gave caused joy to run through his heart.

Seeing the pirate hold their child, it was a feeling Mal couldn't define. When she found out she was pregnant, she never imagined the consequences that came with having him. With her daughter, it was different. She knew the king would never want anything to do with their child so she never thought to tell him. Honestly she never planned on telling Hook either, but the second she saw their son, she knew withholding the information of his birth was wrong. Still, she hadn't expected he travel worlds to find her.

"Have you named him?" The dark haired man questioned her. His voice turned quiet when he watched the eyelids of his son flutter shut.

Maleficent nodded and licked her lips. "His name is Jack."

The meaning behind the name wasn't lost on him. His eyes shot up to search the blue ones of his former lover. He didn't know what to say to her. What was there to say? He cleared his throat and looked back down at the boy. "He looks like a Jack."

"I figured it was fitting. He was conceived off a bottle of it." She teased.

Hook chuckled softly. That wasn't the reason why and they both knew it. "He's beautiful, love."

Maleficent smiled lightly. "He is." There was a lengthy pause between them before she spoke once again. "I'm sorry for the way I told you about him. You deserve better."

The pirate shook his head. "I'm not angry about the way you told me." He assured her. "I'm livid you didn't come back."

"I have to find my daughter."

"What you have to do is protect our son." Killian growled at her. "Hiding out in this cave? In this world? It's not safe-"

The woman cut him off. "He's safe with me. I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"Nowhere in this world is safe. He should in Storybrooke."

Maleficent glared at him. "If you're suggesting I let him go back with you the answer is, 'over my dead body'."

Hook shook his head. "Unlike you I would never suggest you be apart from him." He spat at her. "I'm suggesting we all go back to Storybrooke."

The witch scoffed. "You're delusional."

"And you're not?" Killian countered. "Look around this place, Mal. Doesn't Jack deserve better then this?"

"You know who deserved better?" The dragon asked rhetorically. "My daughter, that's who. Whatever happened to her, whatever her fate may be I have to know and I will have my revenge."

Hook looked down at the snoozing baby in his arms. He understood the revenge his former lover wanted when he looked at the innocent face of Jack. Anyone that harmed him would pay in with his or her life.

There was so much to say between them and he didn't want to disturb the baby so with light steps he headed towards the exit. Maleficent grabbed his arm to stop him. "Where are you going?"

"Swan and the Evil Queen herself are right outside the cave. Me and you, love, we have a lot to discuss and I'd rather the lad's first time meeting me not end with him crying so they're going to watch him."

A blonde eyebrow rose. "And why would he be crying?"

"You bloody well know why." Killian told her. "Regardless of how livid I am with you, we have to look out for this little lad." He motioned to him. "So me and you need to come to an agreement on what our next move is."

Maleficent took a deep breath and released the man from his grip. "Be quick. I'd like to rest my eyes before he needs to be fed again."

"I'd have liked a lot of things." The pirate stated as he walked out.

Killian had handed his son off the happy couple outside of the cave. The mayor was currently holding the black-haired infant as he snoozed. She saw bits and pieces of her friend in the boy but she had to admit there was some of Hook in there too.

Emma was watching the sight of her wife fawning all over the infant. "Remember when Charlie was that little?" She asked with a grin.

The memory squeezed at the mayor's heart. "Yes. My baby."

"Soon he'll be in preschool and we'll embarrass him in front of his friends like we do with Henry."

Regina pouted a little. "Don't make me cry."

The savior chuckled. "At least we got this little guy to love on." She lightly stroked his thin black hair. "Aunt Regina has a nice ring to it."

"If Mal decides to come back with us." She still wasn't convinced the dragon would be willing to leave this land without the knowledge of what happened with her daughter.

When the pirate brought his child to them, he made it clear that he and the witch were going to discuss their next step. "Hook won't leave the baby." The sheriff said confidently. "No matter what."

Regina nodded. "Neither would we." She pointed out. "But that's exactly my point. Maleficent has this void in her heart from losing her daughter. Having another child doesn't fill that. It might even have made her more thirsty for revenge. I don't think she'll leave here without answers."

"Then neither will Hook." The blonde stated. "Me and you may be going back alone."

Brown eyes moved down to the sleeping baby in her arms. It didn't sit right with the Queen. The baby deserved more than riding a revenge witch-hunt with an emotionally driven dragon.

Emma licked her lips as she studied her spouse. "You're worried about him."

"I'm worried about her." Regina corrected the younger woman. "She lost a baby here once." She reminded. "And this world… if people find out who she really is-" Her gazed moved to the knight all the way down on the ground of The Safe Haven. He was still going house to house for people, so thankfully he was distracted enough to keep away from them. "If he finds out then they'll come for her and the baby."

The savior sat down against the rough rock. They could be waiting a while before the pair figured things out. "Look around her, Regina. No one is here."

"Yes, but hiding out here is one thing. Going on a quest to find her daughter is another! The glamour spell only last so long." Regina pointed out.

Emma shrugged. "She's survived this long." Green eyes watched as her true love fawned all over the baby. "I know you're worried, but we have a couple more days here. We can bring her back to your castle and you can talk to her. We don't even know how close she is to finding her daughter. Maybe she knows more then we think."

"It was a dead end." Maleficent told the pirate as they leaned against her table.

Killian was looking through all of the leads his former lover had on people who worked with King Stefan who could have known the fate of her daughter. He licked his lips. "No one we crossed on the way mentioned a royal ruling."

"The castle is in shambles, but they're slowly rebuilding it." The witch informed the man. "Until it's complete finding Aurora is nearly impossible."

Hook nodded and looked at the apparent location of the structuring kingdom. "And getting to her once they've rebuilt will be the same way."

Maleficent nodded. "Exactly. I'm powerful, but not that powerful."

"We need Emma." The pirate concluded.

"Emma?"

"They met last time Swan was here."

Light eyebrows furrowed. "They were friends? Did the spoiled princess not know the savior was dating the Evil Queen herself?"

Killian shook his head. "It was before that." He informed her. "But Aurora would trust her."

"That's a good idea in theory, but- again- we'd have to find Aurora and the castle won't be done building for another three weeks." The woman pointed out. "Plus we can't be sure Emma would even help."

Hook licked his lips before he asked, "Are you planning on hurting her?" He knew his best friend wouldn't be up for helping at all if the princess were to be hurt.

"No." It was a lie and they both knew it. The witch relented when she got a disbelieving look from the man. "Fine. There may be some pain involved, she deserves it, but I won't kill her. I'm after one thing." That was finding out answers about her daughter.

The pirate nodded and crossed his arms over his chest as the woman in front of him gathered her plethora of information from the table and put it in one pile. "I'll help you." He vowed. "However long it takes."

Maleficent looked at him for a long pause. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You haven't asked." Killian countered. "I'm offering my assistance and when I say offering I mean insisting." He flashed her the devilish smirk that got her into bed with him all those months ago.

The dragon smiled back at him, but she wanted to be sure he really wanted to help. "It could be a long journey. Especially with Jack slowing us down. I won't put him in danger."

Hook nodded. "Agreed. His safety should be our number one priority. Long journey or not, I'm in." He stepped around the table and touched her arm with gentle affection. "You managed to slip away from me once, love. I'm not foolish enough to allow that to happen again."

Maleficent looked into sparkling blue eyes. She had missed him dearly, but she was also more broken then he knew. "I can't promise you anything, Captain."

Killian just shrugged. "All I want is to know my son." He informed her. "Anything else… well, as you said, it could be a long journey. Why rush?"

They travelled the long way back to the Dark Palace Regina once called home. Lancelot went back to his village with the intention to bring them to the Safe Haven. Since he couldn't see Maleficent, the witch travelled in her dragon form to the castle.

Emma and Killian were currently exploring more of the place while Regina and Mal spoke in the kitchen. The blonde witch was feeding her child, a respective blanket of privacy over her shoulder.

She watched as her friend stirred the pot of soup she was making. "What a mighty ways you've fallen. No servants in the kitchen."

Regina laughed lightly. Her and the woman haven't had much time alone to really discuss the matters she wanted to, but she didn't want to get into them while the baby was eating. They could sense emotions and the mayor was almost certain her words would upset the dragon. "I've been without them for years."

"I must say I'm surprised." Mal commented.

Dark eyebrows creased together in confusion as she looked back. "That I've bee without servants for years? You knew that."

The blonde shook her head. "No, not that. I'm surprised that you haven't given me the lecture yet."

Regina huffed, offended. "I have no lecture."

"Please." Blue eyes rolled. "I saw it in your eyes the second Hook told you he was staying back so lay it on me."

The Evil Queen shook her head. "Now is not the time."

"Like that's ever stopped your before."

"Fine." Regina used magic to cool down the fire under the pot before she turned her body to face the blonde. "You're clouded by your revenge." She summed up.

Maleficent knew the statement was coming so she wasn't all that hurt by it. "It's not about revenge anymore, Regina." She argued. "It's about finding answers."

"Answers you might never get." The brunette pointed out.

"You seemed to be on board before." The dragon reminded her.

Regina nodded. "Yeah, that was before you had a second child!" She exclaimed. "You have to think about him now. He deserves more from you then chasing after someone who you might never find or-" She stopped herself.

"Or what?" The blonde's blood began to boil and the infant in her arms was beginning to notice. "You think she's dead?"

The mayor clenched her jaw. "Don't act like you haven't thought about it."

Maleficent nodded. "You're right, I've thought about it. I've spent years thinking about it." She spat. "But I don't know it and until I do I refuse to give up hope." She turned around to leave her old friend, but then she thought about something else. "And you're such an advocate for what Jack deserves, but what about my daughter? I'd say she deserves much better then whatever they did to her all those years ago!"

Killian and Emma entered the kitchen when they heard yelling. The pirate touched the dragon's arm. "What's going on?" He wondered.

"Just the Evil Queen living up to her name." Maleficent hissed before storming out of the kitchen.

Regina just let out a soft growl and ran her hands through thick dark hair. She wanted to explain it better. She wasn't just worried about the wellbeing of the baby; she was concerned about the well being of her friend. The witch had always been as stubborn as her, but she wished she'd be smarter.

Emma could sense her wife's tension so she took several strides towards her and wrapped her arms around the slim waist, tucking her close. She said nothing, instead opting for the older woman to start the conversation.

"Whatever they did to her daughter, it won't bring her peace." The brunette wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and breathed in the comfort.

"She's not looking for peace, baby." Emma reminded her. "It's closure she wants. You can understand that."

Regina pulled out of the embrace just enough to look into those green eyes she found true happiness in. Her thoughts went to Daniel, which she had no doubt her spouse was referring to. It took her the equivalent of a lifetime to get closure with Daniel and even then she was almost too stubborn to let go. "I don't want her journey to it to be as long as mine."

The savior leaned her forehead against her lover's. "It's already been longer, Gina." She informed her. "So hopefully it will come to an end soon." She lifted a hand up to cup the woman's cheek and offered her a good-natured grin. "Because I need my deputy back sooner or later."

With a small chuckle the Queen nodded. "He does file paperwork much better then your father."

Regina was in her chambers, lying on her bed, when her wife entered. It was pitch dark outside and a breeze was coming through the balconies just enough to leave her body in goose bumps.

"Someone's excited to see me." The sheriff teased and began to remove her own clothes as she gazed over her nude true love. After dinner the blonde decided to check on the two castle guests and their son. Maleficent still wasn't in the mood to speak to her old friend, but that was all right. The couple had a few more days left to mend things.

The Queen didn't want to talk about that though. She had been lying in her bed for an hour thinking about the life that awaited her back in Storybrooke and comparing it to the life she was living at the moment. She didn't want to be in the Palace. She didn't want to be without her children. What she did want was to wake up in the middle of the nigh to Charlie crawling in her bed and to wake up in the morning to the image of her two favorite blondes cuddling. She wanted to be at every single one of Henry's football games and to chaperone his school dances.

She wanted another baby. It was a revelation she had a while ago, but as she watched her spouse undress she felt sure of it for the first time. After clearing her throat she spoke, "Hey honey?"

"Hm?" The savior lifted her cream colored shirt off her head.

"Do you still want that baby?"

Green eyes shot up in surprise. She wasn't sure she heard that right. After the fuss her wife made, she was sure it was a joke. "Is this your way of trying to get out of me whipping that tight little ass of yours? Because making a baby or not, I still have to remind you whose bitch you are." She winked.

Regina sat up and leaned against her headboard. She cracked a small smiled at the joke but shook her head. "I'm being serious, Emma."

The blonde slipped a nightgown over her naked frame before slipping in the bed and staring the older woman down. "Is this because you got a little bit of baby fever from Jack today? Just spend a night a with him and your fever will be cleared right up."

"No." The mayor took her wife's hand and squeezed it in her. "I've wanted this for a while." She confessed.

Emma was confused. "You said I was pushing you the last time I brought it up." Surely the older woman couldn't have done a complete turnaround in that little of time. "I don't want to have a baby because you feel pressured."

"I was scared." Regina informed the savior with a deep sigh. "I'm still scared, honestly, but it's a good scared. If that even makes sense."

The sheriff offered a pleased grin. "That's how I felt about both our kids." She chuckled. "We've done it before, Regina. Why are you so scared this time?"

"If you remember correctly, my last pregnancy wasn't exactly a walk in the park." The queen reminded her. "It was stressful and on more than one occasion I was scared we were going to lose Charlie. I wasn't sure I could handle going through that again."

It was no secret to Emma that her wife had abandonment issues. They both did. People either left or died so it wasn't surprising to hear those fears from the brunette woman. "If you felt this way you should have told me. If you don't want to go through again," She swallowed thickly. "I-I can carry." She offered. While carrying a child wasn't something she was looking to do again, she would.

"No, no." Regina shook her head. "I don't want that. You did your part. You gave me Henry." She smiled, feeling emotional just thinking about the day she adopted him.

"And you gave me Charlie." The savior countered. "Baby, I don't want you to be unsure-"

"I'm always going to unsure about carrying another child. Not because I don't want to, but because anything could go wrong. It's the same unsure feeling I have about a lot of things. You know how controlling I can be."

Emma grinned wider at the very true statement. "You call it organized."

"And I'll stand by that." Regina told her. "But I want this, sweetheart. I love you and if there's one thing in my life I am sure about it's that, no matter what our future holds, you'll be right there beside me."

"Damn right." The blonde said surely. "No kids, eight kids, you'll still be waking up to me every morning."

"Which is enough guarantee for me." Regina told her honestly before she dragged her body on top of her. Emma was more than happy to oblige. "So what do you say, Miss Swan? Think you're up for the challenge?"

A light eyebrow rose with the smirk on her face. "You have no idea what you're in for, Madam Mayor."

I hope you guys liked seeing Maleficent again & of course meeting baby Jack! :) Her & Hook have a lot to work out, but the journey for her daughter is more pressing!

Swan Queen will be going back to Storybrooke to their family next chapter. We'll see if they actually decide to have another baby. Is that something you guys would be on board with?

I don't want to give too much away, but sometime in the next upcoming chapters we will get answers about Mal's daughter! She may even be brought into the picture. Who knows?

Anyways- as always- thank you so much for being so awesome! Review & let me know yours thoughts! Next post will be Monday! Until then! :*