AN- Thank you so much to all of you who have commented and left nice reviews so far. This fic isn't anything like my other fics because it's in mostly canon so there isn't going to be anything too crazy. Just a lot of smut and fluff with some angst in there. No one is going off the deep end. There are no trigger warnings. It's just simple and short. I'm starting off this chapter by filling in some gaps from the missing time so I hope you enjoy it!
**Chapter Five**
Consequences
Eight and a half months ago…
Killian and the rest of the town of Storybrooke were ripped from where they stood at the town line, swirling into a twister of thick purple smoke and when it finally cleared they were back in the Enchanted Forest. Each of them wore the same garb that they wore when the first curse was cast, including the Prince whose shirt was stained with dried blood from his encounter with the Queen's black knights defending his new-born daughter.
It was one thing seeing the cast of characters in their modern ensambles reminiscing about days long gone but another thing entirely to see it for your own eyes. It was like they had jumped right off the pages of Henry's storybook.
The group was met by Princess Aurora and Prince Philip, greeting them and discussing the next steps to adjust back to their new lives in the Enchanted Forest. Killian watched idly as Snow and Charming exchanged pleasantries, lying in wait for an opportunity to take some provisions and separate himself from the group in order to find a way back to her. He would stop at nothing to find her.
"You're our friends and we owe you a debt of gratitude for helping to reunite us. What we have is yours to take with you on your journey back to the castle." Aurora offered.
"Thank you." Charming spoke up for the rest of the group.
"And congratulations." Snow nodded toward the Princess's expanding stomach.
Killian leaned over from his spot on the pillar to glance at the Princess as she placed a protective hand against her stomach, smiling with happiness. The image of the Princess getting her happy ending made him sick to his stomach knowing that he would never experience the same joy with the woman he loved. At least not stuck in this magical prison that expanded their world.
He wasn't one for children. In fact he didn't possess a single paternal bone in his body and took extreme measures to prevent any unwanted children with the wenches he had bedded during his days of piracy. Babies were certainly not the first thing in his mind but the image of one day having Emma round with his progeny wasn't a completely revolting idea to him.
"Is it that obvious?" Aurora beamed with excitement.
"You're absolutely glowing." Snow admired, secretly longing for her own. "You look gorgeous." She complimented.
"I apologize for interrupting this happy reunion but I'm afraid I have things to tend to." Killian said, causing Snow and David to glare at him.
"You're not coming with us?" Snow asked, her shoulders sagging with disappointment. "I just thought after everything in Neverland you would-"
"What, join you at the Queen's castle and be an upstanding member of the kingdom?" He suggested coldly. "No. I know my place and it isn't here."
"Where will you go then if not with us?" Snow wondered, her eyes glancing back over to her husband.
"Just let him go. We don't need him." He told Snow.
"Charming!" She fired back, insulted by how quickly he dismissed the one-handed pirate that had helped them back in Neverland, even going as far to save her husband's life.
"I don't need to get along with him. I'm well aware of what you did with my daughter Hook and that kind of treachery has yet to be answered for." He warned, his hand reaching for the hilt of his sword, only to be stilled by Snow.
"Charming." She barked.
"She's a grown woman mate. She can make her own choices." He provided.
"How dare-" Charming started off again.
"Charming please." She tried to reason with him.
"You're right. He's not worth it." Charming backed off, resheathing his sword.
"Thank you, your highness." Killian bowed arrogantly in appreciation for Snow's intervention.
Snow left her husband, approaching the pirate with sad eyes. "I know you're hurting." She noted painfully, her breath catching in her throat. "We all are. Having to say goodbye to my daughter for the second time was more painful than you could ever imagine."
"At least you managed some amount of time with her." Killian reminded her. "I didn't even get that." He almost snarled, frustrated with his predicament. "Every moment I spend here is a moment I could be searching for a way back."
Snow softened her expression, her voice taking on a maternal tone. "Hook, you heard Regina, there is nothing left to go back to. Everything is gone."
"Yes." He clenched his jaw, anger bubbling inside him. "But she isn't gone. She's out there somewhere and I'm going to find her." He vowed.
Snow closed the distance between them, placing her hand against his face to calm him. "Rumple spent generations trying to get to that land to find his son. He had to have Regina cast a curse to do it. There is no way back." She tried to reason with him with sympathetic eyes.
Killian pulled her hand from her face. "I won't give up until I find a way. If there is one thing I'm good at it's not relenting until I get what I want and I assure you milady I always get what I want." He said with determination.
"If there is anyone who can do it, it's you." Snow nodded her understanding. "If you-"
"When." He amended. "When I find her."
"When you find her. Please let us know that she is okay." She asked this of him.
"I will do my best." He promised before Snow unexpectedly pulled him into her arms for a hug. "Go find my daughter." She requested, her voice low enough so that only he could hear her.
Killian managed to procure a horse and immediately began to load it up with supplies for his journey when he was approached by Neal.
"Hey man." Neal acknowledged.
Hook gripped the leather reins, his body tensing slightly at the thought of having to confront Neal about the kiss he and Emma shared at the town line. There was no way it had gone unnoticed. "Baelfire." Killian nodded curtly.
"I really hate to bring this up but there has been something bothering me ever since we left." Neal alluded.
"And what might that be?" Killian wondered, hoping that his suspicions weren't correct and Neal didn't intend to discuss the mother of the boy's child.
"I think you know man." Neal shifted uncomfortably.
"I assure you I have no idea what you are referring to." The pirate said dismissively.
"Don't play coy man. I saw." Neal prodded further. "I can't believe I actually believed you when you said you would back off to give Emma and I a chance. I should have known better to trust a pirate."
"I don't know why any of this matters now." Killian defended through gritted teeth. "She's not coming back, or haven't you noticed where we are?" He gestured to the forest surrounding them, his voice raised against Neal's attack on his character.
"It doesn't change things. You still betrayed me." Neal refuted.
Killian leaned forward, lowering his gaze to look Neal dead in the eye in intimidation. "You haven't any idea what you are talking about." He dropped his voice to a low rumble. "I held up my end of the bargain. I am a man of my word." He spat, digging his finger into the man's chest. "She sought me out. She chose me." He seethed.
"Get your hand off me Killian." Neal warned, sucking in his cheeks.
"I'm sorry mate. The truth is she didn't want you." He confessed cockily, touting his experience with Emma without actually having to say it.
Something in Neal snapped in that moment and Neal released a feral growl, charging at him and pushing him to the ground.
Killian fell backwards, his head hitting the ground as Neal straddled him, baring his weight against the pirate as he sucker punched his face.
"Is that the best you got?" He taunted, laughing with mirth in a self-deprecating fashion.
Neal raised his fist to Killian's face but the pirate remained still, never flinching against Neal's threat.
"I thought the son of the Dark One would have more fight in him than that." He coerced him further.
Neal screamed at the mention of his late father, the wound still fresh in his heart. Neal's fist connected with Killian's nose.
Killian felt the bones in his face shattered as they were pushed upwards. He continued to laugh darkly, clutching his stomach as blood trickled down from his nose. "Do your worst." He challenged.
The man on top of him brought his fist down repeatedly against his mother's former lover, putting every emotion he had throughout his life, the feelings caused by the man whose face was being beaten into the ground. This man had caused him nothing but immeasurable pain and suffering. He was the reason his mother had left him, had contributed to his father's demise, and had taken away his one chance at happiness with the woman he loved.
"Like father, like son." Killian sputtered, spitting out blood from his mouth as Neal let up on the man for a second before splitting his brow with his knuckles.
"Neal!" Snow noticed the exchange and rushed toward them to deescalate the situation. "Charming!" She yelled for her husband's help to intervene. Charming sprinted toward the pair before Neal beat him into unconsciousness.
"Neal." David seized the man by wrapping his arms around his torso and pulling him off the wounded pirate, fighting in his clutches.
"Tell him! Tell him what you did." Neal yelled as he continued to struggle against David, unable to control his rage.
"Neal, that's enough." David told him trying to get him to calm down but still he fought. "Enough!" He commanded in his authoritative voice prompting silence.
"Neal." Snow acknowledged. "Emma wouldn't want you to do this." Snow urged him to drop his defenses and put down his arms. "Whatever you have going on with Hook, it isn't worth losing a part of yourself."
Neal huffed, breaking out of David's arms and storming off.
Killian chuckled in amusement, spitting out blood as he laughed.
"You're a sick man." David commented, looking the battered man up and down.
Killian winced as he struggled to sit up, bearing his weight on his elbow to face the Prince. "What? Ashamed that he got to me first?"
"You're lost, Hook. I pity you." David told him.
"You're the one who's the coward, your majesty." Hook gritted out angrily. "You admit defeat without even trying." He said, shaking his head.
David rebuffed his comments and turned his back toward him before Killian dealt out the final verbal blow.
"A man unwilling to fight, deserves what he gets."
New York, Today…
"You know she wouldn't even let me through the door." Killian slurred, leaning over the bar and swishing the amber colored liquid in his glass tumbler.
The barkeep rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he dried one of the clean glasses with a towel before setting it with the rest of the glasses at the back of the bar.
"She looked at me like she didn't even know me. Like everything we had shared meant absolutely nothing to her." Killian said before downing the rest of his drink and slammed the empty glass onto the counter. "To make matters worse she is with child. I don't even know if it's mine." Killian thought to himself, his eyes widening at the prospect. "It could be mine…"
"Ay tap me off, mate." Killian requested pushing his glass toward the man behind the bar and burping as the alcohol settled in his stomach.
"I think you're done buddy." The man said sternly, shoving the towel over his shoulder and leaning down to meet Killian's stare.
Killian adjusted his eyes, trying to focus his blurring vision as the room spun. He was a man that was capable of holding his liquor but after spending the majority of his time over the last few months drowning himself in rum his tolerance for the stuff had worn off. This time he had greatly underestimated its effect on him.
"It's time to close out your tab." The man instructed to which Killian responded by narrowing his eyes and leaning backward in confusion.
"Here's the thing mate." Killian started, making dramatic gestures as he spoke.
"Are you telling me you can't pay?" The man leered over him.
"Not exactly." He waved his finger around drunkenly. "I'm afraid that I don't carry your world's currency." He shrugged, his eyes closing than opening as he stumbled in his chair.
"You're a nut job." The man said, seizing the glass from the counter.
"Allow me to compensate you for your trouble. You might find the payment useful to upgrade your fine establishment." Killian suggested, digging through his pockets to find his leather purse. "Don't get me wrong, the service was great but the rum was absolute shit. I can't believe people try to pass this off as liquor." He commented as the bar man clenched his jaw, gripping the bar to keep himself from knocking this man off his feet.
"It's a bloody waste to be peddling such watered down refreshments to wet a man's whistle. How do you expect anyone to come back when you serve this?" He raddled off, unable to hold his silver tongue.
"One more word out of ya and I will shut your mouth… permanently." He warned.
Killian flinched slightly before leaning as if his body was rocking back and forth from side to side. "Now. Now. This isn't the time to be hasty mate." He argued, furrowing his brows as he retrieved his purse and dug out five gold coins. "That should cover anything I owe you and here is a little extra so that you can restock your shelf with better liquor." He told the man, dropping the coins to the counter with a clink.
The man's eyes darted from the coins in front of him to the drunken man in front of him. "Is this some sort of joke?" He wondered.
"Oh I'm afraid I'm quite serious." Killian gave him an irreproachable smile.
"Beat it!" The man bellowed, knocking Hook clean off his stool as he tripped over his feet, stumbling away from the bar.
"Bloody snake oil salesman he is." Hook cursed under his breath as he tried to right himself. Killian paused for a moment to collect himself, placing his hand on the edge of a nearby table only to have a steak knife stabbed into the table where his hand rested. Killian lifted a curious brow to its origin and saw the fiery blonde and the object of his affection glaring daggers at him.
"You." She drawled out, her hand wrapped around a butter knife pointed in his direction.
"Hello love. Fancy meeting you here." He said, trying to slip on the charm despite his inebriated state.
"Why are you following me?" Emma asked him point blank.
"I assure you I had no idea you would be here darling. This encounter is merely a happy coincidence." He managed to say as he nearly fell. "It appears my balance might be slightly off." He tried to brush off his embarrassment. "This is certainly not the impression I wanted to make."
"You're drunk. Get out of here before I call the cops and have you arrested for stalking." Emma warned.
"Mom!" Henry called out for his mother, sprinting toward her and the man who was acosting her at their table. "Get away from her." Henry said, trying to shove the man dressed in black leather.
"I see you brought the boy Swan. Still a little spitfire." He forced a toothy grin.
"Back away from my son." She seethed.
"Well." He clicked his tongue. "It appears I have overstayed my welcome." He assessed. "A man knows when he is no longer wanted so I will leave you two to your supper." He spun around on his heels, his black leather duster flowing out around him like a child wearing a brand new party dress. "Until next time Swan." He bowed before stumbling out the door.
"Mom, who was that?" Henry wondered as to the identity of the strange man.
"I have no idea but he looks like he just escaped the loony bin." Emma mused before dropping her napkin into her lap. "Come'on, let's eat. The baby is starving." She suggested, her stomach rumbling.
Well that didn't go quite the way he had hoped it would. His next meeting with her should have been properly thought out to eliminate the possibility of scaring her off for good. He imagined that he had caused some unexpected damage that would make it even harder for her to let her guard down around him. But how was he to know that she would be there to witness him stumbling around like a blind man? He blamed the rum. He always blamed the rum.
Nasty little devil rum was but supplying himself with an abundance of it was the only way he was getting himself through the lonely evenings. He knew he had a problem before but he had reached a new low these last couple of nights scouring the streets of New York for his long lost love. He had spent far too many nights drowning his sorrows in drink back in the Enchanted Forest, using its effects to put him to sleep.
He endeavored that the lack of its nectar had caused several sleepless nights as he scavenged the Enchanted Forest for a way back to this infernal land. He had been a man possessed on his quest to be reunited with the one woman his happiness depended on. Without her, he was completely lost.
Killian roamed the streets, the sounds of honking and sirens echoing through the night making him uncomfortable. He would never understand how so many people could voluntarily choose to live in a place like this. There was trash scattered everywhere, people could be heard arguing in the looming building towering above him, and everywhere he looked there were neon signs flickering in store windows.
Central Park had been a safe haven from the chaos of the urban jungle and it was the closest thing he found to home. He stumbled upon it one day as he ventured into a place called Manhattan. Curious name that. He often retreated there after a long day of pursuing the streets for the blonde that kept him awake at night and haunted his dreams.
He was desperate to find her. Starving even but he was determined to not give up. It had been nearly a week of searching when he caught sight of Henry coming out of a school building in a random neighborhood. Not wanting to tip the boy off to his pursuit, he waited until the next day to stealthily follow him home. After that it was simply a matter of locating the building's directory to determine what unit she lived in.
The next day he sought out proper accommodations for himself in a nearby inn in the same burrow so that he could freshen up for their first meeting. He had gone several days without bathing and the stench wafting off him had been too much for his nose to handle.
He would be forever grateful for the innkeeper who decided to take a chance on him, although she had looked a little dazed when she took in his appearance when he requested a room.
No matter of time in this land would ever prepare him for the modern luxuries that this world had to offer. Running water was one of those things that he had only ever dreamt. He never imagined he would get to experience it for himself. The only bathing he did was when a tavern maid brought up a basin of boiling water for him to soak in.
It had taken him several minutes to figure out how to work the tap. He toiled with the handles, turning them back and forth until it emitted a spray. Next he adjusted the temperature using a combination to reach his desired temperature. However, one inside he wondered how he would even muster up the strength to leave. That was until the water turned cold and he had to escape from the water coffin like a man who had been burned. No. He decided he didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. Teasing him with comfort then feeding him to the sharks once his defenses were down.
"Blasted devil." He cursed.
He kept himself fed on the streets with a supply of fruit, cheese and cured meats he had stuffed in his satchel before coming. However, it wasn't enough to last and he had to turn to some of the eateries on the street for sustenance. He tried all manner of toxic foods including something called a donut, which immediately sent him to the nearest trash disposal to empty the contents of his stomach. Never again would he partake in such a confeteconary treat. The sickeningly sweet taste of it making his stomach churn even at the thought of it. How anyone could eat such a thing was an enigma.
Killian sat down on an empty bench near the fountain, watching the water as it sputtered and then fan out to pool at the bottom. He missed the water. He missed his vessel. But most of all he missed his Swan. Her not knowing who he was was tearing him up inside. But the thought plaguing his mind the most was the child she carried in her womb. Had she sought out comfort with another man. That seemed like something the Queen would do just to ruffle his feathers. The image of her with another man made the bile rise to his throat. No. It was the rum.
He gagged as he clutched his stomach, retching violently before passing out on the park bench.
Emma sat alone in the dark, the sun barely rising outside the window as she sat in silent contemplation, a hand caressing her growing stomach protectively.
"Mom?" The sound of Henry's voice cut through the silence, taking her out of her thoughts. "Mom? Are you okay?" Henry wondered, rounding the sofa and taking a seat beside her.
"Yeah I'm fine kid." Emma told him.
"This is about that man from last night, isn't it?" Henry asked knowingly.
Emma opened her mouth in shock and quickly closed it. This kid was too perceptive for his own good. "No. No, it's not."
"Mom, I can tell when you're lying." Henry said, shaking his head at her attempt to get past him.
"When did you get to be so smart?" She asked him.
"Don't change the subject. Who is he? Do you know him from somewhere?" Henry inquired.
"No." She shook her head. "At least I don't think so." She admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Is he the baby's father?" Henry theorized.
"Henry." She sighed. "We already had this discussion." She reminded him sternly.
Henry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm still trying to forget the details." He said, going back to the uncomfortable 'birds and the bees' talk he got from his mother when she asked him the same question months ago.
"I don't know who the father is. I know how it happened but I don't know with who." She said. "It was almost 9 months ago." She defended, hoping that her son wasn't judging her for making the same mistake twice.
7 months ago…
"That should be the last of it." She declared, nodding to Henry to drop the boxes.
"Are you sure because I don't think I can carry another box." Henry complained, breathing heavily from the exertion. "Did you really have to buy all this furniture from Ikea?"
"Hey, you weren't complaining when you helped me pick it out." She argued, recalling the way her son excitedly walked around the showroom selecting the furniture for his new bedroom after their last apartment burned down. It felt good to make a fresh start.
"That was before I knew I would have to carry it up two flights of stairs." He complained, collapsing along a stack of boxes with Sweedish labels he could barely pronounce. "And before I realized I would have to help you assemble it all… Seriously? We couldn't have hired someone to put this all together?" He pulled at his hair as he looked at the boxes that littered the floor of their apartment.
"I thought it would be a fun bonding activity for us. You barely talk to me anymore. I want to know what is going on with you." She said, appealing to his guilt.
"Mom, we talk everyday." He reminded her with a sideways glance.
"I know. But I just thought with the move and everything you might I don't know maybe open up to me about how you're feeling about all of this. It's a big change." She acknowledged.
"Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Seriously." He tried to reason with her. "Besides, isn't it time that you started to think about your own happiness." He supplied. "It's been how long since Dad died? It's time to move on." He nodded his encouragement.
"I've gotta let you stop watching daytime TV." Emma scolded herself, laughing at the times he stumbled into the living room while watching The View. "Now come on, break time is over." She clapped her hands together. "Help me move these boxes into the bedroom."
Emma rounded the large box and leaned down to lift it, instructing Henry to do the same with the other side. "1… 2… 3…" She counted, grunting as she lifted the box before she felt her stomach churn. She doubled over, dropping the box as she clasped a hand over her mouth.
"Mom?"
"I think I'm gonna be sick." Emma said, her speech muffled under the palm of her hand as she ran to the bathroom. Throwing open the lid, she dropped to her knees and barely had time to pull back her hair before she was hurling into the toilet, her shoulders shaking as she emptied her stomach.
She knew she shouldn't have stopped to have lunch in the cafeteria at Ikea. Who knows how long those meatballs had been sitting out. Whatever had caused the nausea, there was something in her stomach that wasn't agreeing with her.
After flushing, she leaned back against the cold porcelain bowl, heaving and gagging as tears built up in her eyes from the act of vomiting. She took a moment or two to collect herself before picking herself up from the floor, reaching for the edge of the sink to hoist herself to her feet.
Emma turned on the faucet and quickly began splashing water on her face before dipping her head down to capture water in her mouth before spitting it out into the sink to get rid of the horrible after taste. She turned off the tap and reached for the towel she kept in the bathroom to dry her hands before she pushed her bangs from her face and glanced at herself in the mirror.
She looked tired. More tired than she usually was. But then again Henry had just started a new school and she had just started a new job at an independent detective agency. Her face was pale and she had bags under her eyes. She looked old and worn out. She had been a single mother for most of her life and it was finally starting to show on her face.
She continued to grip the edge of the sink, inspecting her reflection in the mirror before the realization finally hit her. Emma slammed her fists down in anger against the sink. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." She cursed. "How could you be so fucking stupid?" She asked her reflection, sniffling as she sucked back tears. "Fuck!" She screamed, her body shaking as she slithered down to the floor, holding her hands in her face as she sobbed.
She was ten days late. The stress of the move had distracted her from noticing it sooner and she had written off any of her other symptoms as individual incidents. Her breasts had been tender, she was constantly tired and she was irritable. All symptoms of early pregnancy. She would know, thinking back to when she found out she was pregnant with Henry.
"Mom?" Henry pressed his ear against the door. "Are you alright?"
Emma lifted her head from her hands at the sound of Henry's voice from beyond the door. What was she going to tell Henry? How does she even begin to explain this? She shoved her hand over her mouth, hoping to muffle the sound of her cries, not wanting to cause him any unnecessary distress.
"Yeah." She choked. "Yeah. I'm fine." She asserted. "Um. Hey, Henry?"
"Yeah Mom?" He answered from outside the bathroom door.
"Do you think you can stay here by yourself while I run down to the drug store real quick?"
"Sure. Are you feeling sick or something?" Henry asked her, placing his palms against the door.
"Something like that." She pressed her forearm to her mouth to snuff out her heavy breathing.
She allowed herself a few minutes before she peeled herself off the floor, emerging from the bathroom to see her son sitting against the wall in the hallway, holding silent vigil outside.
Henry moved to stand as his mother opened the door and crept outside.
"You didn't have to wait for me." Her face dropped at his sincerity. She felt incredibly guilty subjecting him to her mistake.
"Yeah I did." He said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Yeah kid. I'm okay." She smiled before pulling him into a hug. "We're going to be okay." She chided, smoothing his back with her hand. "Hey, what do you say we order pizza for dinner tonight?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Why don't you go pull something up on your phone that looks good and you can give them my card number." She smiled, her heart melting a little bit every time she could make him happy.
Henry wasted no time in leaving the hallway to retrieve his phone to search for the best New York style pizza while Emma quietly slipped out the door with a couple wadded up twenties in her pocket.
Emma walked herself down the street to the drug store on the corner. She opened the door and immediately looked up to the numbers hovering above each aisle to direct her to the one she needed. She scanned the numbers counting silently to herself before stumbling on the one that said "Family Planning." She chanced a look over at the cashier who gave her a judgemental look as she peered over the top of the shelves.
She shook it off and set to work finding a reliable pregnancy test. She knew she was pregnant. It wouldn't take a doctor to tell her that let alone a pregnancy test. But she just needed to see it with her own two eyes.
Why were there so damn many of them? Had the pregnancy test industry boomed since the last time she found herself knocked up? Not that she had shopped for her own test in prison.
Emma tried to recall the commercials that played on the TV of the couple that takes the test and find out their pregnant much to their joy. She feared that this wouldn't be that kind of moment. She tapped her foot nervously, squirming where she stood. Too much time had passed and she needed to get back to Henry. She quickly pulled a box with the words "Clear Blue" written on it and reached for "First Response" as a backup in case the other brand failed.
With her purchases in hand, she walked the length of the store and approached the cashier before jerking herself back in annoyance for forgetting the thing she needed most. Placing her items on the counter, she huffed and strode to the right-hand wall where the refrigerators stood humming.
She darted between brands before settling on a two liter bottle of Mountain Dew.
This would have to do.
She told herself before heading back towards the cashier to cash out. Emma looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at the cashier in the face as he scanned her items. The cashier told her the total and she fished the money out of her pocket to pay as he bagged everything up.
"Good luck." He said, handing her the bag.
Emma gave him an uncomfortable nod before leaving and heading back home.
She arrived back home a few seconds later, slamming the door behind her announcing to Henry that she was home. She grimaced for a few seconds, leaning against the door before he entered the room to greet her.
"Hey Mom. Pizza will be here in a bit." He told her before taking a seat on the sofa to wait for the delivery person.
"Sure kid. I'll be right there. Just give me a few minutes." She said nervously, trekking through the apartment to the bathroom, hiding the bag slightly so she didn't rouse suspicion.
She couldn't believe she was doing this again. She paced the floor to the point she was worried she had burned a whole in the ground. She shook nervously, bouncing around as she nursed the large bottle of Mountain Dew in her hand, waiting for it to take effect.
She took a few more gulps of the citrus flavored beverage before she started to feel the urge to urinate. She danced around awkwardly as she tore open one of the boxes. She took one of the packaged sticks from the box, bringing it to her teeth to rip it open. Grasping the test in one hand, she slipped her pants down and settled on the toilet. She sucked the cap into her mouth and spit clear across the room before holding it between her legs, letting a steady stream coat it.
Emma sighed in relief after she removed the stick and placed it on the counter top allowing herself to pee freely. She shook her legs impatiently, glancing at the test as the annoying dots appeared to let her know it was thinking.
What was there to think about? She was either pregnant or not pregnant.
She cleaned herself up and flushed the toilet, taking care to close the seat. Emma moved to wash her hands in the sink, keeping one eye trained on the test that was waiting for results.
Dear God.
The anticipation was killing her. Emma took her eyes off the test for a second to dry her hands and when she looked back it had reached its final conclusion. She read the word clear as day "pregnant."
She was pregnant and the worst part was she had no idea who the father was. A thought that bothered almost more than the inconvenience of having a baby itself.
It was a little over a month ago and she was out celebrating her new job at a local club while Henry was being tended to by a sitter. It was a rare night out and she was going to make the most of it. She hadn't even bothered to learn his name opting to stealthily creep out of his apartment in the middle of the night while he was still asleep. She thought she had been safe but she guessed she was wrong. It was a one night stand with a man she didn't know and now that unknown man was the father of her baby. How was she going to explain this to Henry?
"Mom, pizza's here." Henry announced dropping the box onto the one piece of furniture they had managed to acquire without the help of a trip to Ikea.
"Coming." She called, padding through the apartment to find him at the table with a slice already buried in his mouth. "You couldn't wait for me?" She asked, dropping a kiss to the top of his head and sliding down beside him. "This looks good." Emma said lifting the box.
"I thought you were sick." Henry commented with his mouth full.
"Yeah. I was." Emma popped her head up as she pushed a slice onto her plate.
"So you're better now?" Henry wondered.
That's when she realized that there was really no getting around it. Right now it was just the two of them making it difficult to keep secrets from each other. She would have to tell him sooner or later, and there really wasn't going to be the perfect time to announce that she was pregnant. That's even if she decided to keep it. The jury was still out on that one.
"Not exactly." She replied.
"I'm confused." He said, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Henry, you know where babies come from, right?" She asked, her shoulders sinking with discomfort about having to even broach the subject.
"Mom!" He whined nearly losing his appetite.
"Sorry. Sorry. I had to ask." She threw up her hands in defense.
"No you didn't." He squished his face in disgust. "Can this wait until after I'm finished eating?"
"I'm giving you a choice kid. Either we do it now and you rip the band-aid off or you can wait knowing that every second I could spring this conversation on you." She explained.
"Now. Definitely now." He relented.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." She said, gathering the courage to start. "So with sparing you some of the more gory details, you know that it takes two people to make a baby right?" She winced at her approach to the conversation as she wadded a paper towel in her hand nervously.
"Duh." He said, waving a slice of pizza.
She gave him a stern look as if to say "watch it" before clearing her mouth to proceed. "Not everyone who has a baby is married. And not everyone is prepared to have it."
"Yeah Mom. That's exactly how you got me. I know. What are you trying to say?" He asked her, trying to get her to cut straight to the point.
"I'm pregnant." She finally announced.
Henry dropped his slice onto his plate, his mouth hanging open with shock as Emma bowed her head down from his view in shame. The two sat there in virtual silence until Henry finally opened his mouth to speak.
"That's… awesome."
"Huh?" Emma lifted her head to see her son smiling, clearly happy for his mother. She mimicked his expression, relieved by his reaction. "You're not mad?"
"Mad? Why would I be mad?" Henry asked her, confused by the question. "I've always wanted a sibling. Besides, I'm not going to be living with you forever and you should have someone you can devote all your time to."
Emma laughed as tears filled her eyes.
"Mom, are you okay?" He asked, chomping down on his pizza.
"Yeah. I'm just happy." She fanned her face before righting herself in her chair and settling into the routine of having dinner with her son.
Today…
"You're going to see him aren't you?" Henry asked.
"No. Don't be ridiculous." She shook her head at the thought. "He could be dangerous."
"Whatever you say…" Henry's voice drifted to the kitchen.
Emma heard the door of the fridge open and close as she once again let herself get lost in thought. She really knew she shouldn't entertain the man that had accosted her on more than one occasion but there was something eating away at her that she couldn't quite ascertain. What did she really have left to lose? She didn't want to wonder or regret not hearing what he had to say. Either way, she knew that she would need to be candid with him on where he stood with her. She couldn't let him continue this charade. Not around her. Not around Henry. And certainly not around her unborn child.
"Killian." Emma shook her head, her golden locks matted to her forehead.
"Killian." She called out to him. "Killian I need you."
"Killian!" She screamed, her voice fading into the distance as the image of her disappeared.
Killian woke to the sound of birds chirping and sirens playing in the distance. Groaning, he sank back onto the hard surface of the bench and clutched his aching head. A hangover. He hadn't had a hangover in years. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of sunlight glaring down at him.
It had been the same nightmare he had been having for nearly a month, but he hadn't a clue what it meant. All he knew was that she needed him.
"There you are." The sound of her voice broke him from his thoughts.
Killian opened his eyes to see Emma leaning over him, a stern look on her face as her hand rested on her hip. "Ah. Swan. Up at the crack of dawn I see." He noticed, shielding his eyes from the sunlight.
"Don't pretend like you know me. Why are you here?" She asked.
"I could ask you…" He sat up. "The very same question." He fired back, swinging his legs off the bench.
Emma gave him a disapproving look. She was not amused by his antics. "How do you know my name? How do you know Henry's name?" She demanded.
"I know you better than you know yourself." He told her.
She looked at him disbelieving. "You think you're charming don't you?"
"I prefer dashing rapscallion." He said.
"You expect me to believe that we know each other?" Emma asked.
"Look deep inside yourself and tell me if I'm lying." He suggested confidently.
"Just because you believe something is real doesn't mean it is." She told him.
"Deep down you know something isn't right here. Search your heart and you will see I'm not lying. Just try." He pleaded with her.
Emma decided to humor him and shut her eyes, searching her soul for something that might have been lost to her. She saw a few flashes of a town she had never been to and people she had never met before. They seemed distant yet somewhat familiar but she couldn't place it. She saw a picture of his face for a split second but the image was hazy.
Suddenly Emma felt a sharp pain ripple in her stomach and she doubled over, clutching her belly in agony.
"Swan!" He screamed in concern. Killian rushed to her side, lifting her up with a well placed arm around her so that she could keep her balance. "Swan, are you alright, love?" His eyes searched hers in a panic.
"I think- I think I'm in labor." She said, the next throb of pain shooting up through her spine confirming her suspicions.
AN- Dun Dun Dun. Yes, a cliffhanger. This was supposed to be one chapter but after I hit like 10,000 words and I wasn't finished with it I knew I had to split it. I neglected homework today to work on it because I was just so inspired to keep writing it. I hope to keep just pushing them out but because of my sacrifice for your entertainment it would mean a lot if you dropped me a comment. Thanks.