Chapter 11

"Are you really sure it's in my price range?" Emma asks over the phone to her real estate friend, looking at the house that Regina had suggested she should buy. She was staying home the next day while Killian was at work and Henry at school. She decided to do the house searching in secret for right now, just until she found something she liked and then she'd talk to the men about it.

The place was very beautiful, a three-story home that had the slight resemblance to a castle with a hexagonal room on the one side with a pointed top that resembled the turret of a castle. It was painted gray, had a porch that stretched around the back and a white picket fence out in the front of it. It was in the neighbourhood that was very close to the Boston Harbour, so much so that one could stand on the third floor and see the sails of the boats. There were plenty of windows and a yard, perfect for children to run around in. It was a quite beautiful, with five bedrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, dining room, living room and basement, but it looked far beyond what she could afford.

"Trust me Em, it's in your price range. Besides, Killian wants to be near the sea, doesn't he?"

"He never explicitly said that, but I thought it might be nice to bring it back to him. He wants to remember happier times back in Ireland."

"That's nice."

"But Regina, I don't think I can afford it…"

"Why are you so worried about price?"

"Because I want to be able to send my son to college, plus new babies are not cheap…"

"This place has been on my listings for awhile but nobody is willing to buy it."

"Why?" Emma asks suspiciously, wondering what the catch was.

"Because they say it's too old-fashioned, or it's too big for just the two of them…"

"It's too big for us," Emma points out.

"For three almost four people, I doubt that. There's plenty of room in case the family ever gets any bigger."

"Whoa, whoa, who said anything about…"

"I'm just saying, if it does work out with Captain Dreamboat, you might want to make the family bigger."

"We're already having one, we don't need anymore!" Emma states firmly.

"Oh, come on Em, haven't you ever thought about expanding the family more? Give Henry a few siblings."

Emma shakes her head. "No…" Which wasn't a total lie... One baby was definitely enough for now. This pregnancy came out of nowhere, for the most part, and the last thing she needed right now was to think about having more children. There was so much going on that the thought of having a big family did not cross her mind. However, like most women, whenever they got a new partner, they would think about what it would be like to have children with him. Emma had even considered it when she was with Neal, but to date, both her pregnancies had been unplanned and she still had to make drastic changes to her life in order to accommodate them. She'd never had a family growing up, so she never knew what it was like to have siblings or do things that families did, like taking trips, playing games, or having family meals. She'd been in the foster system her whole life and never had a stable place to call home. She wasn't even sure if she truly was mother material. Henry turned out all right, but it hasn't been easy for either of them.

Emma knew Regina would trade places with her in a heartbeat. The real estate agent always wanted to have children but couldn't, which garnered a lot of sympathy from her friends. For a split second, she thought about letting Regina adopt the baby but immediately changes her mind. She knew that she couldn't part with the tiny life inside of her, the baby kept her sane in those months of captivity, it was her companion when she felt the most alone. Plus, neither Killian or Henry would ever forgive her if she gave the infant to someone else, even it was someone they knew like Regina.

"Okay, well I can set up an open house so you can come and look. Have you told Henry yet?"

"No, he's having a lot of trouble dealing with Killian living with us as it is and he just started dating…"

"I heard, how did it go?"

"He said it went fine, he's not really telling me much."

"Doesn't surprise me, I never told my mom about who I dated."

"Right," Emma restrains herself from bringing up Daniel.

"But you only have three months left Emma and there's not enough room in that apartment for a baby to make four."

"I know," she sighs. "I'm just afraid of how that conversation is going to go."

"It's something we all have to face Em, but I'd do it sooner rather than later."

"Noted," she sighs. "I've got to get out of the apartment. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Regina says before hanging up.

Emma shuts her phone off and goes for her coat. She needed to get out of the apartment for fresh air. Being cooped up was not what she wanted, besides, she'd been forcibly kept inside for so long that she needed to take advantage of that liberty now. She knew this is what it would be like when the baby comes so it's better to use that last bit of freedom she has before her life changes again.

She walks out into the sunshine and bitterly cold wind. It immediately stings her face and she shoves her hands in her pockets. She regrets not grabbing gloves. She trudges through the snowy streets, trying to embrace the cold air. Cars pass by on the street and people walk past her minding their own businesses. She walks along one of the main streets and sees that the shops are decorated with red, white, and pink hearts, symbolizing the approach of Valentine's Day. Cards line the windows, displays of stuffed animals holding hearts or kissing each other can be seen and the smell of chocolate galore wafts through the air. Emma wrinkles her nose in disgust, she'd been turned off of the holiday a long time ago. To her, more people ended up broken-hearted on this day than any other, her included. Neal never really tried to be romantic on this day, or any other because they were both so busy with their jobs and raising Henry. There were only two times she can remember him even trying something on this day was a candle-lit dinner on the fire escape at their first apartment. This was a year before Henry was born and they sat on the cold metal, drinking hot chocolate, eating Chinese takeout and watching cars go by. It certainly wasn't ideal, but at least he tried. The second time was when he broke into an amusement park and turned on all the lights. While illegal, she found it picturesque when they sat on the Ferris wheel and watched the lights reflect into the darkness. The thrill of doing something illegal was exciting to her and it did feel romantic overall, but the passion and attraction she once had for him fizzled out as time went on and they grew into adults.

She pushes past the displays and heads toward one of the local parks, trying to get away from the memory of her ex and the excessive commercialism of the winter holiday. She walks by a coffee shop and the scent of roasted beans makes her mouth water, but being pregnant with the baby denied her the option. She knew that she would also give up liquid caffeine if she breastfeeds the baby.

Emma sits down on a park bench near a tree to rest her feet. She sees a few children running around in the snow. They seem to be building snow forts and throwing the white powder at one another. They laugh and scream, chasing one another and acting like normal children.

Emma's mind fills with flashbacks to when Henry was young. Neal would take him to the park like this one to push him on the swings and kick a soccer ball around. In the winter, they might build a snowman or have their own snowball fights. She would sometimes join in and shove snow down Neal's back when he nailed her in the face with a white projectile. It felt normal and the two parents managed to forget their troubles for a little while. It felt like they were a family and yet, the happy memory fades and drifts away like the blowing snow.

She puts a hand on her belly. She wanted this baby to have similar happy memories, with Killian and her big brother. She really wanted the feeling to last a lot longer this time and not have her boyfriend run off. She knew Killian would never do that, but what if she did? In her fragile state, she was likely to do anything… What if she couldn't care for this baby? What if she could never get back to normal? What if she breaks this family up even more?

Tears reach the edge of her eyes. She reflects on these feelings inside, she knew she'd probably have to bring these up with Archie at their next session.

Emma then begins walking along one of the snowy paths of the park. It has more trees and brush, most were bare due to the winter months. She's still thinking about how to tell Killian and Henry about moving when she gets a weird feeling. It makes her stomach twist in anxiety. It feels like someone is following her. She turns around once and finds no one. Her heart pounds in her chest and she continues walking.

She tries to think back about to the house Regina suggested when a chill goes up against her spine. She hears something… She still has that feeling that someone is following her. The sound of boots, heavier boots, not just hers, padding in the snow. She lifts her hat up from her ears to make sure it's not disorienting her hearing. The sound continues against the ground. She turns and sees nothing, but someone was definitely there… so it seemed.

You just hate forests right now, after what happened… she thinks.

With that thought, her pace speeds up, hoping to lose whoever might be following her. Her heartbeat echoes in her head, her breath becomes laboured and comes out in quick white clouds. Her boots crunched against the snow… faster and faster.

She decides to test to see if someone was following her. She stops walking and pretends to tie her boot. She listens, the quiet was not helpful. Then, she takes slow steps, one at a time, seeing if the person would match the pace, quietening her breath as well.

Crunch… Crunch… Crunch…

Sure enough, the sound matches hers.

She quickens her steps.

crunch… crunch…crunch… crunch…

Emma goes into a full panic. She begins to run towards the end of the trail, not caring what happens. She couldn't fight whoever this was due to the risk of the injuring the baby but she might be able to outrun him.

Thoughts of those gray eyes and the thick build and wheezing voice come back to mind. The memory kick starts the adrenaline and Emma runs. Somehow, she manages not to fall in the snow. She can't think clearly, but she knows she has to get back to civilization.

Focusing on the end of the path, she presses on. The sound still seems to follow her, much quicker, likely trying to keep up.

She makes a sharp turn, hopefully out of view and sees a street up ahead. Finally, Emma exits the park and runs across the street. She picks the first shop she can find and slips inside. She makes her way to the back of the place and begins looking through a rack of clothes. She picks something that was now too small for her widening body, but she takes it back to the changing room without a second thought. Once she's there, she locks the door and pulls her feet up out of view.

Curled up into a ball, she lets the tears come. She also manages to catch her breath despite her sobs. Her entire body shakes with fear… the same fear she'd felt so many times before.

Why the hell did this happen to her? Was he still after her? He had to have been caught…

She knew deep down that this wasn't true. She hadn't talked to David about Arthur King in awhile now, wanting to avoid it all together, but she hadn't been called down to give another statement or how she wanted to press charges. The bastard was still out there, free to prey on other innocent women… but something told Emma that he wasn't done with her.

The baby kicks inside, reacting the sudden exercise and she cries even harder. She just wants to shut her body down, to not think about this. She wanted to move and hopefully, change her name… Why did she have to hide? He's the one who took me!

It's almost an hour before someone knocks at the changing room door.

"Ma' me are you okay in there? Do you need help?"

By this time, Emma had composed herself enough to come out of the tiny room without thoroughly embarrassing herself. She quickly thinks up a story in her head. She unlatches the door and faces one of the employees.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. "I just got some very bad news and needed some privacy."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the employee says. "Do you need a glass of water?"

"That would be nice."

"Do you need to call someone?"

"I will," Emma nods.

The employee guides her to a chair and brings the pregnant woman a glass of water. Emma sips it slowly, thankful for a simple act of kindness, something that made her feel the tiniest bit better. She then phones Killian to come pick her up on his way home from work.

In the back of her mind, she wants to tell him what happened, that she swore that she was being followed, but… it could've all been in her head. She also didn't want to worry him further. She makes up a story about how she went out for a walk and got tired because of the baby.

She waits outside the store until his car pulls up. She climbs into the warm vehicle and kisses him. He smells like sea water and rotting fish it seems. Wrinkling her nose, she thanks him.

"It's no trouble love, I'm just glad you were getting some exercise and found someplace warm to rest."

Emma forces a smile on her face. "Yeah, let's go home, I need to start dinner and you need to shower."

"Aye." He responds and he pulls away from the store.

Emma leans her head against the window on the way home and occasionally looks at the window, hoping that no one was following them.

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