I own nothing except my delusions.
Emma knew Killian was awake before she opened her eyes, feeling his arms wrapped around her as she slept.
Carefully rolling over so that she remained in his hold, she nestled onto his chest, making his arms around her tighten.
"Couldn't go back to sleep?" she asked in a voice husky from sleep.
"For a bit," he admitted quietly.
Forcing her eyes open, she nodded before leaning to lightly press her lips to his.
"Good morning," she hummed.
Resting his forehead to hers, he gave her a gentle smile. "Morning."
She reached a hand up to rest on his cheek, making him close his eyes as he relaxed into her.
Four years had passed since they broke the curse Killian had suffered, but he continued to always wake before the dawn. Emma suspected that part of it was because of habit, that he had maintained the same routine for three centuries, but knew and accepted that he would always bear some of the traumas his curse had caused.
Some mornings she woke with him when he did despite him trying not to wake her. Those mornings she would stay with him, either in silence or talking to him, but always reassuring him that she would always be by his side and that he would never suffer another change again.
Moving her hand to gently drag her nails through his hair, she caught the light reflecting off her engagement ring, resting just below her silver wedding band, its mate resting on the ring finger of Killian's right hand.
Emma had been hopeful that he had changed his mind about their relationship when they broke his curse, that they would eventually take bigger steps that they were afraid wouldn't have been possible before. She had been ecstatic when he asked her to marry him less than a year after they lifted the curse, barely letting him finish asking before she was accepting.
They had had a small ceremony, with only her family and some of their closest friends in attendance. Mary Margaret had wanted a grand event, but had listened when Emma told her that she wanted a small wedding. It wasn't because of pettiness, but Emma felt it wrong to have some of the people there that had never accepted Killian until he was completely human again despite everything he had done.
Emma had used to think she would never enjoy being married, but she thought a lot of it had to do with who she had taken to be her husband.
"You know we both have to get up soon, Swan," Killian murmured.
"No we don't," Emma replied, smiling, Henry having stayed the night at Regina's. She loved it that even though she took his name when she married him, he continued to call her by her old last name. "We both have the day off."
While he was still healing from losing his hand, Emma had begun bringing him with her to the station, both to keep him from getting too bored and to keep an eye on him while he continued to heal. Despite her original protests, he insisted on accompanying her on patrols and whenever she got a call, proving himself to be as adept at the job as her and David. She often wondered how much of it was because of the special brace he had commissioned to allow him a hook, but admitted he had talent nonetheless.
Knowing there was room in the budget for their office, they offered Killian a permanent spot, to which he gladly accepted. Only a year after he had accepted the job, David told him and Emma that Killian would be the perfect replacement for him, that he planned to leave the sheriff's office to them when he retired within the next year so he and Mary Margaret could build up an old farm in the town.
Killian grinned at her, his eyes bright. "Tell that to Hope."
As if on cue, a loud wail came from one of the other bedrooms, calling them.
"I'll get her," Emma said as she extracted herself from her husband's arms.
Padding into the nursery, she saw their infant daughter sitting up on her own in her crib, patiently waiting. While her features resembled that of her mother's, she inherited her father's dark hair and bright blue eyes, something Emma was happy about.
The baby let out a happy squeal as Emma got closer, reaching up with her tiny hands for her mother.
"Good morning," Emma said brightly as she nuzzled Hope's cheek with her nose, drawing a laugh from her.
After checking and changing her, Emma carried Hope back to her and Killian's room, talking to her the entire time. She made sure to grab her favorite toy, a soft stuffed seal before leaving the nursery.
Emma let Killian pick out most of how they did their bedroom, wanting him to have the freedom for how his own home looked. They both picked how they did their entire home, both taking each other's opinions in mind, but she let Killian's choices be final for their room.
She hadn't complained with what he chose, actually loving what he wanted, from the pale blue walls to the light wood furniture to the blue and white bedding. She had smiled when she saw he almost had a theme going, having picked mostly nautical looking pieces. She hadn't minded, even encouraging and picking a few things out herself. If it was one way for him to have the sea again, she would gladly give it to him. She loved their room, thinking it to possibly be her favorite room in the house.
Killian had opened the windows while she had been out, the cool sea breeze making the sheer white curtains flutter.
Seeing her father, Hope leaned forward in Emma's arms, grabbing for Killian.
Smiling brightly at her, Killian easily took her, supporting most of her weight with his right hand while stabilizing her with his left wrist.
"Good morning," he said as he kissed her cheek. "Did you sleep well?"
Hope let out a happy babble, something her parents took as confirmation.
Emma sat down beside them in the bed, taking in the scene. They were all sitting in their pajamas, her in a tank and sleep shorts while Killian just wore some sleep pants with little anchors on them. Sitting just in front of him, Hope ran her hand over the ink that was etched into Killian's right forearm, depicting a black and red dragon surrounding a compass.
Killian had designed the piece himself with some help from Emma, creating an exact likeness to the compass she had been searching for that had led her to him. He had proposed the idea to her only a short while after the curse broke, to which she immediately encouraged. Aside from helping him with some of the design, she helped him find an artist to do it, telling him they could go out of Storybrooke if they had to.
Reaching out with his blunted arm, Killian drew his wife into his side. He sweetly kissed her as she cuddled into him before turning the majority of his attention back to their daughter.
When Emma had found out she was pregnant, Killian had been terrified. Part of her knew he would be, that the curse would linger with him even with all of the proof that it was over. He had felt guilty, that he truly was happy, but it was tainted with fear. The guilt remained despite Emma's reassurances, knowing that it was just part of the man she loved.
He had nearly cried from joy when their daughter was born, remaining by her side the entire time. They both knew Hope's name was perfect for her, that it would have special meaning for them. She would never forget the way her chest nearly burst at the sight of him the first time he held Hope.
She continued to see that same love and adoration everytime he was with their daughter, making her love him impossibly more every day.
Killian nodded animatedly as Hope babbled to him, making Emma catch the first sight of it.
"Hold on," she said suddenly, making him look at her in confusion.
"Love?" he asked curiously.
Her touch gentle, she tilted his head toward her, running her fingers through his hair until she found it again, a single silver strand against the near black.
"You have a gray hair," she noted absently.
Killian suddenly froze for a beat before jumping out of the bed to go to their bathroom.
Emma suddenly found herself panicking, wondering what was running through his mind. It sunk in that he had been the same age for literally centuries, that the first sign of him starting to age could be a shock to him.
Quickly making sure Hope wasn't going anywhere, Emma padded into the bathroom after him, seeing him standing in front of the mirror and staring at his hair.
"Killian?" she spoke cautiously. "Are you okay?"
"I have a gray hair," he said faintly.
He suddenly turned to her, laughing as he lifted her into his arms.
She wrapped her arms around him in surprise, letting him support her as she kicked her legs up.
He kissed her happily before resting his forehead to hers, continuing to hold her.
"You know, most people don't have this reaction to finding their first gray hair," she commented with a small laugh.
He kissed her again. "Well, most people haven't been stuck at the same age for a few hundred years."
She pulled back from him just enough to look at him. "You're okay? I mean, you're not freaking out or anything?"
He shook his head as he set her down, his hand finding hers as he led them back out to their room. "No, Swan. I want this."
Sitting back on the bed where Hope sat with her seal, Killian drew them both into his lap, keeping his arms around both his wife and daughter.
He looked at Emma as he spoke. "I wanted you to be able to have a family and a husband you can grow old with. I can give you all of that now."
Feeling her heart about to burst, Emma leaned over the short distance she needed to kiss him, resting her hand to cradle his face as she did so.
"I love you," she told him.
Killian's answering words made her heart continue to flutter. "I love you, too."
She smiled, about to kiss him again when Hope decided she had gone without their attention for long enough, making them both laugh.
Happy with spending the morning in bed with Killian and Hope, Emma thought about how lucky she was, that she had found the love of her life from searching for a compass.
Author's note: Wow, the end of this story came up fast for me. I want to thank all of my wonderful readers, who really make writing these stories worthwhile. I mentioned it in my last update, but I will be taking a little break of about three weeks between now and my next story, Undertow, but if anyone is interested, I do have a couple pieces set up to go into Stolen Moments.
Synopsis for Undertow: Killian's life in Storybrooke is his own personal hell. He has what would be considered a good life, with a house, a stable job, and a wife given to him from Regina's curse, but he hates it all, the house with a woman who likes to make his life hell and his job at the university teaching the same five students every semester making everything a monotonous cycle he wants out of. When a stranger comes to town to deliver her son back to Regina, Killian finds himself intrigued by her, wondering if she will be the one to break the cycle, as well as feel things he hasn't felt since his first love died.
Review?
