Emma was pacing back and forth in her apartment. She had been doing so for the last hour and a half.
Today was the day that she was going to tell Killian and Belle about their father.
All the different scenarios of how this would go had been replaying themselves in Emma's head ever since the night she had confronted Brennan a week ago. Frankly, she wasn't sure which one she preferred.
Though she now could trust Brennan, she still wanted to make sure he hadn't gotten cold feet about all of this. And so, she went to see him at the Nautilus a couple days prior.
Though she felt the slightest bit guilty about checking up on him, it was something she had to do. Brennan had understood, and he swore to her that he wasn't going anywhere.
Emma believed him, and now he needed to know if Killian and Belle would feel the same.
Deciding she needed to do something to get out of her own head, Emma opted for a snack. She headed for the kitchen and grabbed the milk, a bowl, Rice Krispies, and a banana.
She placed everything on the counter before grabbing the utensils. She fixed the cereal and replaced the milk before she set about cutting up the banana.
Her mind couldn't help but wander to how much had happened in the last couple months - and how much things would still change. She had tracked down her best friend and boyfriend's father fully expecting for him to be the same jerk that abandoned his families all those years ago. In fact, she had rather prepared for it.
What she hadn't been prepared for was that he had actually changed and that he wanted to do the right thing. And here she was helping him reunite with his kids - she trusted that he wouldn't hurt them again, though there were times she still couldn't actually believe it.
If she couldn't quite believe the turn of events, how in the hell would Killian and Belle react? If there was anyone who understands how hard it is to trust again after being hurt, it was her; however, she had never had to be reunited with the ones who caused those trust issues in the first place.
It wasn't until she saw the blood running down her finger that she realized she had sliced it.
"Damn it!" she cursed out loud as she winced. She quickly went over to the sink and ran her finger under the water while simultaneously searching through the drawers for a Band-Aid.
As soon as she had turned off the faucet, she heard a knock at her door. Knowing it was either Belle or Killian, she called out, "It's open!"
Her boyfriend was humming as he walked through the door. "Hello, Swan," he cheerily began with a smile.
His expression turned to one of concern when he saw his girlfriend wiping the still-pouring blood from her index finger.
He practically sprinted to the kitchen before he took her hand in his.
"Emma, what did you do?" he worriedly asked her.
The blonde sighed before she answered, "I was cutting up bananas to go into my cereal, and I accidentally cut my finger."
Instead of replying, Killian took the washrag from her hand and tightly tied it around her finger. He then located the Band-Aids in one of the drawers and quickly doctored her.
When he had finished, he placed a kiss on her forehead and told her, "All better, Swan."
She smiled at him as she responded, "Thank you, Killian." She then turned back to the kitchen counter and finished preparing her snack.
Emma then brought the cereal to the couch, with Killian following her. When they were both comfortably settled, he asked her, "I am rather curious about this news you had, love. Is everything alright?"
She felt her heart speed up at his words. She kept eating her cereal to try to hide the nerves that were consuming every part of her.
She swallowed before she took a breath. She then answered, "Of course it is. I just have something important to tell you and Belle."
Killian tilted his head as he looked at her curiously. He then began, "Surely you don't wish me to die of suspense, love. Although, I'm quite certain I'd figure it out eventually."
"Trust me, you couldn't," Emma thought. She then spoke, "Well, you'll just have to keep shifting through those scenarios because I'm not telling you anything until Belle gets here."
"You know she said she'd be a little late because she and August have a date," Killian pointed out. He then adopted a puppy-dog look and asked, "Maybe just a tiny hint?"
Despite herself, she couldn't help but giggle at his antics. She sobered when she considered how his reaction would undoubtedly change when he found out the actual news.
Killian noticed the change in expression, and he asked his girlfriend, "Are you sure you're alright, Emma? You seem rather… uneasy. Whatever this news is, I can see that it's troubling you."
Emma sighed and ran her fingers through her hair before exhaling deeply - which did nothing to ease Killian's mind, as evidenced by the increased worry filling his blue eyes. She hated that she was worrying him, so she did what she good to ease him.
She took a deep breath before she told him, "Okay, look, what I have to tell you and Belle has been worrying me…"
"Why haven't you said anything?" he interrupted, bringing his hand to caress her cheek.
"It's just… big… and involved. And I needed the right moment to tell both of you at once," Emma admitted. She then kissed his forehead and tried to reassure him, "It will be okay."
After a moment, she sighed once more and added, "Eventually."
"Emma," he stated, his voice laced with concern. She ran her hand up and down his arm as she assured him, "I really do think that everything will work itself out."
"If you're sure, love," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. She nodded against him in response.
They then pulled away. Killian kissed Emma's forehead before he suggested, "How about we watch some TV until my sister arrives?"
Emma nodded as she took a bite of cereal. He grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels.
With her mouth still full, she nudged him in the shoulder and pointed at the screen when he came to something she liked.
"Ah, yes, The Great British Baking Show. Your new obsession," Killian commented. He started to put the remote down when she swallowed and asked, "Can you put on the closed captioning?"
He gave her an odd look as he pointed out, "They're speaking English, love. I don't think you need subtitles."
"Things just, I don't know, get lost in their accents sometimes," Emma told him with a shrug before taking another bite of Rice Krispies.
This time, Killian's odd look was accompanied by a tilt of his head. He then spoke, "Swan, you spend over half your time with Belle and I. Surely you don't have a problem understanding us."
The blonde rolled her eyes before she pointed out, "Of course I don't have a problem - I'm used to you guys. There's also the fact that you and Belle have lived your whole lives here."
Killian looked as though he had something to add when Emma put her hand up. She then said, "Can you, like, stop teasing me and just let me watch my show?"
"Aye, Swan. I know how particular you are over your TV shows," he responded with a grin. He then kissed her temple before placing an arm around her.
Emma couldn't help but shake her head at him. He really could be insufferable and annoying at times, but she really lov… cared about him deeply. She wouldn't have things any other way.
She then snuggled into his side as she soon became caught up in the triumphs and pitfalls as the bakers took on the Signature Challenge.
As Killian not-so-discreetly reveled in his girlfriend's enjoyment of the show with her telling the contestants what they should and should not do and whether or not she agreed with Paul Hollywood's opinion. She momentarily forgot the huge weight hanging over her.
Just as the bakers had entered the Showstopper Challenge, there was a knock at the door. All of Emma's worries came rushing back to her - she nearly spilled her leftover milk sprinting to the door.
"Hey, Belle," she greeted her best friend with a smile she hoped was believable. The head tilt she got in response told her it wasn't.
Belle then spoke, "Hey, Emma. Is everything alright?" concern in her voice.
Knowing there was no point in trying to act otherwise, the blonde admitted, "It will be," before she sighed and ushered her best friend into the apartment.
Worry then filled the brunette's blue eyes as she questioned, "What's wrong? Does it have something to do with your news?"
"Aye, love. Emma's been quite troubled over the ordeal - whatever it may be," Killian chimed in as he rose from the couch to come stand beside his sister and his girlfriend.
"Oh, Emma, I'm sure whatever it is, we can help. Just tell us what's wrong," Belle offered as she comfortingly squeezed her friend's arm.
The blonde sighed before she addressed both of them, "It's not me who's gonna need help when I tell you guys what's going on."
Killian and Belle both adopted a look of extreme confusion before Emma continued, "You two want to sit down for this. Trust me," as she grabbed the remote to turn down the TV.
If possible, their expressions only turned more puzzled, but they both did as Emma said. The blonde then started pacing in front of the couch as she thought about where to begin.
She decided to start at the beginning: "Do you guys remember when we all grabbed dinner at the Nautilus, and I thought there was something suspicious about the bartender giving us free drinks? How I thought he had an ulterior motive?"
"Aye…" Killian replied slowly, not knowing where this was going.
"Well, my hunch was right," Emma stated before she took a deep breath, summoning the strength she would need for the next part, "I, uh, started doing research - with the chief's permission, obviously - after Belle, uh, thought she had ran into you guys' father."
It took a moment for the connection to register. When it had, the look on Killian and Belle's faces could only be described as shock.
Neither one of them said anything for several minutes; the silence was deafening, and the tension it created could have been cut with a knife.
Emma had begun pacing to try to cope with the mood shift when Belle finally spoke, "Let's just clarify: our father is actually here in New York City? And he works at the Nautilus?"
"Yeah," the blonde simply responded, stopping to sink down on the coffee table. Without looking up from where he had his face buried in his hands, Killian then asked, "How long has he been here?"
"Almost a year," Emma answered, bracing herself for her boyfriend's hot-tempered reaction. His response was immediate sarcastic anger.
"So, what? He finally decided to be a father after almost 30 years?!"
He then got up and started pacing the room, mumbling a string of curses under his breath. When he finally calmed a bit and sat back down, Belle tried to reason: "There has to be a reason he's stayed here this long - don't we at least need to see what it is?"
"That would require seeing the bastard," Killian deadpanned with crossed arms. He then sighed and continued, "Forgiving him was hard enough - seeing him and trusting him is another thing entirely."
"I shouldn't think he's daft enough to believe that we'll just be a happy family. I would hope he'd give us time," Belle hopefully offered, but the uncertainty in her voice betrayed her true feelings.
Killian then turned to look at his sister with a tilt of his head. He sighed once more before he told her, "I wish I could tell you if he was the reasonable sort, but there's only so much a seven-year-old lad accurately remembers," a touch of longing in his tone.
"It's more than a six-month-old remembers," the brunette longingly stated. She then looked down and began fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
Emma's heart couldn't help but break. She quickly reassured them: "Guys, he feels awful about what he did, and he knows that nothing can truly make up for the pain he caused. All he wants is a chance to make things right - it's completely on your terms."
Killian and Belle both looked up with a start. Emma's eyes widened as she instantly realized her mistake. They were just starting to process the idea of Brennan actually being back in their lives, and she just added even more to process.
"Wait, love, you've actually talked to him?" Killian questioned, his tone somewhere between disbelief and exasperation.
"Um, yeah, I have," Emma answered, avoiding looking either one of them in the eye. She then nervously ran her fingers through her hair as she admitted, "It was a week ago."
Through the pounding of her heart in her chest, Belle managed to ask, "How long have you known that he's been here?"
The blonde still couldn't bring herself to look her best friend or her boyfriend in the eye. She took a deep breath before she spoke, "I talked to Paul about starting the research the day after Belle ran into Brennan."
"That was…" Belle began, pausing to do the math in her head, "Almost two months ago," her blue eyes widening.
Emma only nodded before Killian interjected, "And you didn't feel the need to let us in on your little research project?" the anger evident in both his tone and his eyes.
The blonde only buried her face in her hands as silence once more took hold of the room. A few minutes later, she defended, "Look, I just didn't want you guys to get hurt by him again - I had to find out what the hell he was even doing here."
Killian and Belle both let out a deep breath as they thought about her words. The brunette then asked, "And what were you going to do after that?"
"That, uh, depended on him. If he was still a jerk with no intention of sticking around, I'd convince him to just leave, and that uh, would have been the end of it..." Emma began.
"So, you wouldn't have told us?" Belle interjected, giving the blonde a curious expression, one that was mirrored by her brother.
"Why would I unnecessarily hurt you by dredging up all the pain he caused if he was just gonna take off again?" Emma challenged.
"And not telling us anything was the solution to that? Don't you think we have a right to know if he's here, regardless of his intentions?" Killian pointed out.
The blonde couldn't answer that. She only looked back and forth between the two people in front of her.
She ran her fingers through her hair - again - as she spoke, "I don't know what you want me to say. Excuse me for trying to protect two of the most important people in my life."
She then got up and stalked off to her room, shutting the door forcefully behind her.
"That went bloody brilliant, didn't it?" Killian commented, caught somewhere between frustration at himself, his girlfriend, and his father.
Belle only sighed before she conceded, "It probably could have gone better."
Killian sighed as well before he spoke, "I should probably go talk to her." He then began getting up when Belle placed a hand on his arm.
"Don't you think you should sort out how you're feeling first?" she asked him.
"If I knew what the bloody hell I was feeling, I'd try figuring it out," he admitted before running his fingers through his hair.
Belle squeezed his arm before she pulled him in for a hug. When they pulled away, she assured him, "I'm sure it'll all work out."
He tilted his head at her before he questioned, "How the bloody hell are you so calm about all of this?"
The brunette let out a breath before she admitted, "Only on the outside. On the inside, my mind and my heart are at war over the whole ordeal."
Killian offered a sympathetic look as he nodded. He then spoke, "I just don't know that I'm ready to trust him again. Granted, I was just a lad when he left, but those feelings haunted me for years and years."
"I'm not sure if it was better or worse that I never knew him," Belle surmised with melancholy in her voice, a far-off look in her eyes. She then looked over at her brother and asked, "Was it all bad?"
He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought over her words. He took a breath before he told her, "Not entirely, I suppose. He is the one who introduced Liam and I to the water - it was rather enjoyable going sailing."
"I can just see you wanting to sail the boat by yourself even though you weren't quite big enough to even do so," Belle offered with a small smile.
He smiled slightly at words, mostly because they were very much true. He then ran his hand through his hair as he added, "Looking back now, it was probably a way to deal with his grief over my mother's death. I'm not sure how much it actually helped, though."
With a sigh, he then spoke, "I suppose that's one way I take after him - I was a bloody mess when I lost Milah."
"But you changed. You were able to find a way to be yourself and be happy again - perhaps our father wants to do the same thing," Belle told him, though there was an apprehension in her voice on that last part.
Killian tilted his head at her before he perceived, "You want to believe that he's changed, but you don't know if you can."
She simply nodded in response. A moment later, she told him, "For so much of my childhood, I just wanted my father to come back - I thought that if he perhaps got to really meet me, he'd want to stay. I eventually realized that he wasn't coming back, and I had to learn to just be happy with me and Mum."
"And now, he is back. For both of us," Killian supplied. He then raked his hand through his black hair and let out a breath.
Silence ensued once more as the two of them really began to consider the implications. Emma then slowly came back into the living room.
"You guys okay?" she asked as she came to sit down on the coffee table once more.
"Depends on your definition of okay," Killian told her. He sighed before he apologized, "I am sorry that I lost my temper, love."
Emma waved her hand before she assured him, "I get it. If my parents showed up after all these years talking about wanting to be a family, I doubt I'd have a better reaction."
She then nervously ran her fingers through her hair as she spoke, "Do you guys get why I didn't say anything? I admittedly could have handled things a little better, but I was only thinking about you two."
"Of course we get it, darling. I do wish you would have told us when you first started researching, but you didn't want to say anything until you knew exactly what we were dealing with," Killian told her. He then leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead.
When he pulled back, they exchanged a sweet smile. Belle then added, "It's not exactly an easy situation. You did what you thought was best, and you were looking out for us."
She then pulled her best friend in for a hug. They stayed embraced for a few minutes before they pulled away.
Emma then spoke, "I know you guys need time to figure all of this out, and I'll be here for both of you."
"We know you will, love," Killian told her as he reached over to run his fingers over her knuckles. She smiled at her boyfriend in response.
Belle let out a breath before she said, "I think I'll head back home. I'll probably call August to let him know what's going on - and to get his support."
Killian and Emma both gave her a look of understanding before the blonde gave her another hug.
Belle then turned her attention to her brother. She assured him, "We'll be okay." "Aye, love. I think we will," Killian told her before he hugged her.
The brunette bid her brother and best friend goodbye before she headed out of the apartment.
Killian ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned back against the couch. He sighed before he lamented, "I'm really hoping we do turn out alright from this."
Emma simply got up from the coffee table and moved to sit beside him. She wrapped her arms around him before laying her head on his chest.
She then assured him, "You will, Killian. Probably not immediately, but you will."
He offered her a small smile before placing a kiss on her head. He then spoke, "I really am glad I have you to help me through this, Emma."
She looked up at him before she told him, "I know I don't say it much, but I care about you so much, Killian. I can't stand the thought of anyone or anything hurting you. I'll always be here for you."
He smiled at her before he told her, "And I you, my love." She smiled back at him before closing the distance between them for a sweet and tender kiss.
He smiled into the kiss before he tangled his fingers in her long blonde hair. The kiss lasted until they were both breathless.
When they finally pulled away, Emma grinned and told him, "Besides, isn't that what girlfriends do?"
Killian couldn't help but chuckle at that before he told her, "See, Swan, I'd knew you'd get the hang of it."
She couldn't help the laugh that erupted as she buried her face in his chest. When she had sobered and looked up, her boyfriend was wearing a contemplative expression.
She reached to cup his cheek as she spoke, "Hey, what is it?"
"It's just that, for a moment, when I heard you laughing, everything seemed normal. Not like the father who abandoned me when I was seven years old has come back in my life with promises about having changed."
She caressed his cheek as she assured him, "I know it's a lot to take in. And we don't even have to talk about it right now if you want."
Killian took a few minutes to consider her words. He then scratched behind his ear as he told her, "I will deal with everything. I know I'll have to, but maybe not just yet."
Emma nodded in understanding before she suggested, "We could watch that car show you like? The one with the guy who likes vampires and hearses?"
The dark-haired man laughed at her description before he told her, "As much as I would enjoy an episode of Counting Cars, I think I'd much rather watch you instructing bakers how to bake."
The blonde smiled at that before turning up the volume on the TV. She snuggled closer to his side as he wrapped one of his arms around her, settling his hand on her waist.
The coming days, weeks, and months were sure to be riddled with mixed emotions as this difficult situation was navigated through. But, they were both going to get through it - together.