I'm back finally! I'm sorry this to waayy longer than I estimated, but here we are. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 18 - Monday

It was early Monday morning, really early. Usually there were only two reasons Emma was up this early in the morning. Either Hope was awake, or something happened in town that required the sheriff. But neither of those were the case this morning. Even though the sky was just starting to brighten with the slowly rising sun, Emma couldn't be happier to be awake at this hour of the morning. She was driving home from the hospital with Killian in her passenger seat.

Driving away from the hospital and back home felt like they were officially putting all this behind them. Killian wasn't one hundred percent, even now Emma could tell he was fighting sleep again. But this was the beginning of the return to normal. This thought was confirmed when they entered the house and found Henry Lance asleep on the couch with the baby monitor on the floor next to him. Emma leaned over to pick up the monitor and to adjust Henry's blanket. Yep, all was well, and her family was together again.

Despite being ready to fall asleep standing up, Killian insisted on peeking into Hope's room quickly. As if sensing that her daddy was near, Hope opened her eyes, wide awake. She didn't start to cry or fuss, she simply smiled and reached out to him. After the past two weeks, there was no way either of them could deny their little girl. So, they settled in bed with Hope in between them, and each of them dozed off once again, together and perfectly content.

CS

It was a couple of hours later when Emma woke up from her early morning nap. Hope and Killian were both fast asleep. She went about her usual routine then went downstairs to start on some breakfast. Henry was still there, watching reruns of some classic cartoons, and he helped her with breakfast. In the end they had a stack of pancakes that was Instagram worthy, if Emma was into or had time for that sort of thing. She and Henry had even made them from scratch this time instead of using a boxed mix.

Emma went upstairs to see if Killian was awake and was pleasantly surprised to find that he was. Apparently Hope had woke up and saw to it that he daddy should be awake too. Not that Killian minded. He wanted to make up for every lost minute with his family. And even though he said he didn't have an appetite, Emma and Henry still brought the pancakes up to the bedroom on a tray so they could all spend the morning together.

"I just realized; I think this is my first time eating breakfast in bed. I know it's not my own bed, but that's a small technicality." Henry commented after swallowing his first bit of pancake.

"You never had that opportunity while growing up in a castle?" Killian asked. "I suppose being royalty isn't as luxurious as some people fantasize."

"I'll admit in some ways I was kind of spoiled. But it was a family rule that unless someone was sick or travelling, everyone was to be present for all meals. I'm not complaining. I know not every family gets to have time like that. But who doesn't want to have breakfast in bed at least once in their life?"

"And now we get to combine the best of both." Emma smiled.

"Yeah, I definitely appreciate this more than if I requested it of the servants and had to eat it alone in my room."

"Everything is better with loved ones present, lad. Even though I'm not up for eating at the moment, I still wouldn't trade this time for anything." Killian added, smiling as well.

"I think that's exactly what makes having breakfast in bed special." Emma added. "When it's brought to you by someone that loves and cares about you. And it's also special because it's not normal. On the other hand, the normal and mundane things can become special after some chaos to shake things up."

"Aye, it's a simple and age-old truth. Of course, I'm glad to be home now and out of the hospital. But I was even glad to be home when I first returned from Arendelle."

"Even though you had a bite, and you weren't sure if anything could help?" Henry asked.

"I was the uncertain and worried one. He was oddly calm about the whole thing." She commented. Those had been a couple of the worst days for her, and now they had thankfully made it through to the other side.

"Well, no matter what happened next, I was with my family and able to spend time with them. And I was safe here at home rather than travelling through the forest. Even though I lived two hundred years without modern conveniences, they were soon missed when I had to go without for an extended period of time."

"So, I bet the frozen pizza I put in the oven was a luxury in comparison to having to hunt and fish for your meals." Emma hinted at the story she heard from Kristoff.

"Calling it a luxury may be going a bit far. Though, in comparison to fishing..."

"Oh, I know about the fishing. I heard the story from Kristoff the other night." Emma jumped in and proceeded to tell the story for Henry's benefit, and to see if it matched up with Killian's version of events.

"Aye, Kristoff unfortunately stuck to the truth for the most part." He sighed and found that spot behind his ear. "But I appreciate your father mentioning my drunken archery skills. Though, I have to say, it sounds as if you were telling stories about me at my wake."

"Don't be ridiculous." She rolled her eyes, knowing he was teasing with the last comment. "I knew you'd pull through at that point."

"Besides, if it was a wake or a funeral or whatever, people would have to share way better stories than that." Henry chimed in.

"Oh really? Such as?"

"Well, last year at the father-son boat competition across the lake. You, me, and Henry were out there together. You and Henry staged that argument, and then you tipped the boat so David and Neal could win." Henry gave his example.

"Aye, that certainly was memorable." He laughed. "But you need to correct a few details about my motives, lad. There was nothing staged about it. Henry Daniel said there should have been a swimming competition instead, so I could enter and have a good rinse. Then he compared me to a certain farm animal. I figured it was a hot day, and everyone was sweating, and I should keep it a father-son activity. So, if i was going in the water, so would both of you boys."

"Seriously? I knew you tipped the boat on purpose, but I never heard that part of it." Emma laughed and smacked her husband on the shoulder lightly.

"What about you, Swan? What story would you tell of me?" Killian asked with a challenging brow lifted.

"Okay, I know you're fine, and it is fun to share memories, but isn't that a little morbid? Just saying."

"Perhaps, but humor me. Then we can change the subject if you wish."

"What do you want me to say? I could tell so many stories. Even if I did settle on one, hopefully we have a few more decades ahead of us. In which time, something else may happen that I'll want to share. Besides, what would you say if I asked you that question?"

"Point taken, love. Alright, I'll let you off the hook." He replied. She and Henry rolled their eyes. He never could help himself with that one. "But I'll warn you, if such a day does come, I will haunt you if you dare tell certain habits of mine from our time living that alternate story."

"I'll make that promise. But you do know that Henry Daniel, my parents, and Regina already know, right?" She pointed out to him about the goat's milk in his flask instead of rum because of his "allergy".

"Aye, but that doesn't mean my children and grandchildren and other relatives and friends have to know about it when I'm gone. That is not a detail I want to be remembered by." He adamantly informed her.

"You should probably hope for great-grandchildren. Because if Henry knows, then Lucy will probably hear about it." Henry Lance teased him.

Killian didn't get a chance to reply to that, although Emma knew by his face that he wanted to. The conversation came to a stop when everyone's phone dinged with a new notification. Emma read hers first.

"It's from Regina. There's going to be a council meeting this afternoon. Must be pretty important if Regina is barely giving any notice. She sent it out to multiple people. I guess you guys also received it."

"I'd imagine so." Killian responded without evening looking at his phone.

"How about you, Henry? You don't usually go to the council meetings." Emma wondered.

Henry had been trained from a young age to be a ruler one day. That day came sooner than anyone had imagined though. He led the kingdom well, but it was a heavy burden to bear in many ways. With his fresh start in Storybrooke, he decided that he wanted to stay away from politics and governing unless strictly necessary. He was young though, and he could put his feet back in the water when he got older if he wished to.

"Huh, oh, yeah." He nodded, though he seemed startled. "There's a meeting tomorrow afternoon at the park."

"Henry, it's this afternoon and definitely not at the park." She corrected him and looked at him curiously. "I don't think we got the same text after all."

"Oh, I must have misread that. Sometimes it's like I got this phone yesterday." He shrugged.

"Or perhaps you read it exactly right, and you have a meeting of a more personal nature tomorrow afternoon?" Killian suggested knowingly.

"You could say that." He sighed, knowing he couldn't get out of it now. "But that's all I'm saying until after tomorrow. If it goes well then maybe, maybe I'll tell you more later, like later later. And if it doesn't go well, then we're all just going to pretend that this conversation never took place, okay?"

"Agreed." She and Killian both promised.

CS

It was early evening when Emma and Hope returned from the latest council meeting. She had taken Hope with her for a change, so that Killian got get some rest. She had put dinner in the crock-pot before leaving, and it still needed some time. She decided she would go ahead and feed Hope, so hopefully she could share dinner with Killian and bring him up to date on everything without interruptions. Twenty minutes later, Killian came downstairs. It was good to see him up and about. He even had an appetite now.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Killian commented as he poured both of them drinks. "I take it the meeting was a positive one?"

"Yeah, I'd say the most positive one yet. Henry was right. Stapleton, or Baskerville, or however you want to call him, he was found last night. He's being held at Regina's castle. He was questioned by the council, and surprisingly he came clean about everything. What he did was wrong and really messed up, but I think we were all expecting something worse."

"So, what was his motive for all of this? And what was his motive for confessing so easily?"

"To sum it up, I'll say this. He's a man of science and a man of pride. He didn't reveal things to us to confess his guilt. He wanted everyone to know his genius. It didn't matter to him that he was caught. The point, to him, is that he succeeded in his experiment, and he wanted the recognition he felt he deserved."

"Aye, what he did is clear, but I still don't see the motive. What made it a success in his eyes?"

"Stapleton came from the Land Without Magic. His story didn't end with his death as readers are left to assume. He somehow found an opening to the Land of Untold Stories, but he didn't come here with Hyde and the others. When the realms united, he traveled to the Enchanted Forest. He was intrigued by magic and its potential. He took months to craft a plan, and then he executed it."

"This was all some bizarre science project you mean. He wanted to play with the elements of magic like it was a shiny new toy or piece of lab equipment." Killian put it into his own perspective.

"Pretty much." She nodded. "There is a silver lining though. Stapleton was so absorbed in accomplishing his work; he didn't think much about what he would do afterwards. We weren't sure if we believed that at first. But it does match up with this story in The Hound of the Baskervilles. If he had succeeded in killing Henry Baskerville, how was he suddenly going to claim Baskerville Hall if everyone knew him as Stapleton? I think he is a genius and very meticulous in his schemes and science projects, but outside of that he lacks purpose. He mentioned the possibility of putting himself out there for hire if someone wanted to target a certain person or people in a specific area. But he wanted to see how this first trial panned out and possibly improve the formula before spreading the word."

"Only the first trial you say?" He asked rhetorically and shook his head. "I suppose we should all be glad he's a better scientist than he is a villain or opportunist though. I'd say it worked well enough, but at least he didn't try to market his product, so to speak, before knowing the results. That probably saved a lot of other people. As long as the dogs can be treated, and no one else can get their hands on the formula."

"That's another piece of good news. I'm sure Lucy will be glad to hear it, since she was the one to originally ask about the well-being of the dogs. Apparently, it doesn't hurt animals, and it wears off after a few weeks. So, all the dogs you helped to round up should be fine, but we're giving it some extra time just to be sure. But even then, they're still wild because they've never been truly cared for. The animal shelter will see what they can do. As for the formula, he told us where it is in his lab. Regina is going to store it in her vault along with the antidote. He assured us no one else had any because he didn't want anyone replicating it. That's why, hypothetically, if someone wanted it, they'd have to hire him, and he'd give it to the dogs to get the job done."

"This has definitely been the strangest foe to be encountered. And I use that term loosely. We didn't have any battles, dramatic threatenings, or any of our usual dealings with villains. Honestly, it seems a bit too easily settled."

"I thought the same, but I'm not complaining about it. This is a case where it's a good thing to not be normal. A group from the Enchanted Forest will finish cleaning out and properly dealing with his lab, the dogs won't be a threat anymore, and Stapleton himself will go to a facility in the Land of Untold Stories. Obviously, something like this is a downside to having the realms together, but there's also been way more help when it comes to making the difficulties better. Everything is taken care of, and we don't have to face things alone anymore."

"Aye, it didn't end with a one-on-one battle. And speaking of battles, there's a whole navy out there with different ships and crew to fulfill different duties. Instead of the single crew of our family and friends here in Storybrooke to fight every battle."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Captain." She smiled.

CS

Later that night, Emma was getting ready for bed after her shower, and she heard Killian talking. She peeked into Hope's room and eavesdropped on the bedtime story he was telling her.

"He still didn't like the dark, but he got used to it. That tends to be the case with a lot of things in life. Perhaps the visible darkness didn't seem as bad in comparison to the darkness that wasn't visible. He didn't have much hope in life, and he was going down a path that was not that of a gentleman or a man of good form.

"But when things seemed the darkest, an incredible light would appear. It wasn't like any other light he had seen before, not the sun, or candles, or any modern lights. The first time it appeared, he was a lad, and he found comfort in the brightness and warmth. When he was older though, he became angry with it. You see, someone can walk into a dark room and not see the cracks in the ceiling, the dirt on the floor, and the peeling wallpaper. But when the light shines in, all of those things are then revealed, and this sailor did not like that in the least.

"Deep down, he knew he wanted to do better, and he would try for a little while before falling back into his old habits. Then one day, the light appeared for the last time. He was so angry that he set out to destroy it once and for all.

"As the light started to dim, he realized he would miss it. He started to question what he was doing, but a few minutes later, his previous mindset returned. Shortly thereafter, in a moment when he needed strength like he had never had before, he saw the light again. It wasn't gone after all, but it was different. It wasn't the brilliant glow of red and yellow before him, but rather a simple shine in the eyes of the woman he loved, the woman who loved him. Now, he sees that same light every day in her eyes, and in his children's eyes."

Thank you for reading, and for patiently waiting. Stapleton's motive caused major writer's block, and I hope it seems reasonable. This is it for the main story. I am planning to do an epilogue to sum things up for Emma and Killian, and the other characters of course. After that I have some Killian POV outtakes that I'll post. I wanted this story to be from Emma's perspective as much as possible, but sometimes I had to write Killian in order to brainstorm. Hope to be back soon, and thanks again for sticking with this story!