Chapter 4: Homecoming
"Quite the entrance there Lass," Killian calls out, as Crystal turns to see her family. Her eyes light up under her helmet and then she gives a cheeky smirk. It was so good to be home again.
"Couldn't help it, had to seize the opportunity. What's a homecoming without the imminent threat of death mixed in?"
Everyone frowns and looks slightly disturbed at the statement.
The girl frowns and begins removing her gladiator helmet. "Sorry, that's the monk talking."
"Monk? What monk?" Regina asks.
"I spent a long month with a monk who had the same horrible outlook on life. They live a life in complete depression and hope to gain the knowledge that nothing actually matters in the universe. Believe it or not, that mindset means they're close to enlightenment… nothing matters…" she shudders. "I did want to help them, but who am I to interfere with beliefs. In the end, I was glad to get out of there… a real sad kind of a lifestyle"
The daughter of the Dark One looks up at everyone's faces. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring everything down… what a way to come home… let's start over… I'll climb the clock tower and fall again."
"N-NO!" Emma says. "Please don't do that again…"
The young woman smirks. "I'm kidding… Hi everyone, I missed you so much."
The girl rushes to the man who gave her life.
"Hey Dad," Crystal says. Despite everything that she's carrying, she leans forward and hugs him; both knowing he'd always be the first she'd embrace despite their complicated pasts.
"Welcome home child," he says with a smile.
"Thanks, it's good to be home. Can you hold these for me?"
She then dumps her heavy shoulder bag filled with artifacts into his arms like he was her butler and walks away.
She then goes over and hugs Belle. She then takes her half-brother from her stepmother's arms and gives him tonnes of kisses on the cheek. He squeals in confusion and delight and she dotes on him with love.
"God you've grown so much," she says, even if she'd only been gone for a couple of months in Storybrooke time. While the passage of time was always different in various realms, Crystal was able to track it to ensure that she didn't stay too long, lest she'd age rapidly or miss out on important milestones in the family. "Makes me wish I hadn't left. He looks like you Belle, but with Dad's hair colour. Here's hoping he doesn't have the Dark One nose though."
The imp frowns in annoyance and instinctively puts his hand on the mentioned facial feature.
"What's wrong with my nose?"
"Let's just say I'm glad that none of us inherited that part of you."
Everyone laughs at the daughter giving her father grief, the right of any child to a parent. Crystal continues to fawn over Gideon and feels a slight sadness in her heart. " God, I wish time could slow down here, even just a little bit.
"If that happened, I'd be pregnant for a hell of a long time," Emma says.
The surrogate sisters embrace happily and then Crystal stares at Emma's stomach. "I can't believe it… I'm so happy for both of you!"
"Thank you, Hook and I are so happy."
"You both deserve it."
"Good to see you Lass," Killian says, waiting his turn for a greeting.
Instead, the girl pulls the pirate in to embrace the expectant couple tightly.
"Likewise, Kil,"
Once they break apart:
"I'm starting a gender pool right now… 20 bucks on twins, one of each. We're due for twins in this town by now!"
"Well, you're going to lose right away, Whale says there's only one heartbeat," Emma smiles.
"Bummer… Scratch that, new gender pool… 50 bucks on a girl."
"Aye," Killian says. "I'll take that bet." He wraps his arms around Emma. "A little sea jewel… a fair princess with long golden locks."
The Saviour smirks. "What about a boy with eyes as blue as the sea? One that looks just like his father…"
"I wouldn't dream of a child that didn't resemble you, Love," the pirate says playfully, bantering with his wife. "Even a little bit."
"This is why it should be twins… it would solve the whole problem," Crystal mutters.
She approaches Regina and pulls her in tightly.
"It's so good to see you," the former Evil Queen says. "Glad you're home safe."
"Me too, I hope everything is okay for you…"
"Town hasn't burned down…. No villains have shown up for months… happy endings are still intact."
"New Record," the girl smirks. "You always were the right ruler for a kingdom, no matter the size, all you needed was to surround yourself with the right people."
The queen just smiles.
It's then that Regina notices Crystal is averting her gaze, not wanting to meet one of her surrogate mothers in the eyes. Sensing that there was something to hide, the Queen opens her mouth to ask about it, but the girl cuts her off.
"Not now, I'll talk to you later," she says in a whisper before moving on to Snow, David and Prince Neal.
"This can't be Neal!" she says. "He's too big now. He looks so much like you David!"
She scoops up the toddler and the little one is hesitant at first until Crystal pulls out her mother's locket in the shape of a heart and lets him hold it. Like something sparking his memory, the boy holds onto it.
Ever since Crystal first babysat Neal as a baby, he was fixated on the precious piece of jewelry. Initially, it seemed to be a passing fascination, typical for most babies, but the son of Snow White and Prince Charming has never forgotten it. Perhaps deep down, he knew it was a symbol of love and being the product of true love, he was drawn to it by instinct. While wild and unlikely as this was, the locket with Lillian engraved on it, was a bonding point for both parties.
"I knew you'd want to see," she muses and kisses his forehead. "Never left my side no matter what, even when people wanted to bargain for it. It also protected me a few times as well."
She then pulls David and Snow into a group hug, squashing the toddler between them.
"I hope you always had someplace to sleep," the mothering princess says.
"With the exception of a rowboat in the sea, yes. Plus, your tracking tips did wonders for a big game hunt."
"We're glad you had such a great time," David smiles.
"No place like home," Crystal says, winking at Zelena who rolls her eyes in annoyance.
The witch approaches with little Robin and greets the Dark One's daughter too.
As the family was reuniting, no one noticed a streak of gray shoot across the sky, as if something was attempting to push its way through the magical barrier around the town. Whatever it may be, it was immensely powerful and about to change everything.
A/N: Sorry if this chapter is a little boring. It's mostly family fluff, but two very different worlds are going to collide within the next two chapters.