Chapter 41

"Oh, Em she looks just like you," Ruby says as she cradles little Sophie. She then looks down at the baby. "When you get bigger I'm going to dress you up in the prettiest outfits."

"For heaven's sake Ruby, she's a baby, not a doll," Elsa scolds, vying for her turn with the infant.

"Same difference," the waitress says. "At least she can't complain about it yet."

Emma leans back and holds Killian's hand tightly, trying to stay awake and watch her friends and family fawn over their newborn daughter. Henry sits next to her, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"She's quite sturdy," David says, taking his turn with her. "I agree with Ruby, she does look just like you."

"But will Killian's eyes and nose," Anna adds.

Emma gives a tired smile, all the sweat, pain, stress, anger, fear, and blood she'd endured to get to this point, has brought her a new miracle. Looking back now, she wished it was slightly easier in terms of psychological trauma, but she wouldn't change the end result. She closes her eyes for a moment.

When she comes to again, the room is empty except for Killian who is still next to her, holding her hand.

"Where did everyone go?" she asks.

"They all left to let you sleep."

"Henry?"

"I think he's at the vending machine."

"And Sophie?"

"The nurses took her to the nursery for now so you could get some sleep."

Emma leans back, still unable to wipe the smile from her face a smile of genuine happiness.

"Never thought I'd see one of those,"

"It's called a baby," she mutters sarcastically.

"No Swan… a smile," He then kisses her deeply. She pulls him in close, almost to the point where he's pulled off his chair and into her bed. She continues to hunger for his taste, she lusts for his strong arms around her. For the first time in a long time, she had no flashbacks, no moments of anxiety, just pure love for him. Killian runs his hands through her hair, happy to be able to hold his beloved Swan without worrying about whether she'd have a panic attack. He wanted to always be near her, he would never leave her side again.

They continue to kiss until Emma pushes back, not out of fear but remembering where they were. She's already started unbuttoning his shirt and he wanted to undo her hospital robe.

"Easy tiger," she whispers. She winces several times in pain; still not completely recovered from giving birth. "We just had one, we don't need another."

Killian smirks and kisses her neck. "Would that be so bad?" he murmurs. "Another beautiful baby."

"I don't plan on going through that for a long time," she says, trying her best not to give in to his demands.

"But you're still open to it…"

"Maybe…" she whispers, very unsure of how their future was going to go. "Let's focus on this one first."

"Aye," he breathes contently. Emma slides over so Killian can join her in bed. Despite how small it was, the two managed to fit, him holding her in his arms the whole time.

…

Regina stands in front of the glass window looking into the nursery, she stares at the beautiful little girl, swaddled in a pink blanket, with her name Baby Sophie Swan-Jones above her head. She's still trying to fight back the tears, but eventually, she can't anymore. She goes to a quiet corner at the end of the hall to cry in privacy.

Why did it seem that life always screwed her over? All her friends were happy and in love, most were beginning to raise families or were finding love… she was the odd one out… well unless anyone counted her sister… her succubus sister, that took as much as she wanted without thinking of the consequences. Who got herself pregnant by Regina's boyfriend in order to spite her. Her mind almost explodes with anger, her heart felt like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter, it was harder to breathe with every passing moment.

She sobs into her hands and continues her time in isolation. No one stops to ask if she's okay or if she needs help, she just needs to be alone, away from all the happiness… something she longed for so much.

After what feels like a few hours, she collects herself just enough. She's hungry and tired, thinking that maybe she should go home and rest, it had been a long day. She stands up and goes around the corner.

To her shock, she sees a shaggy dirty blonde-haired man with blue eyes and badly trimmed beard staring through the window. He has flowers in his hand and his dark green jacket pulled over his shoulders. Her heart nearly breaks her ribcage as she stares at him… it takes all her strength not to just run to him and wrap her arms around his neck. She longed to feel his lips on hers, the strength of his arms wrapped around her, the sweetness of his voice. She continues to stare at him it takes a little while before she realizes she's instinctively walking towards him. She tells her feet to stop, but they won't. She bites her lip hard enough to bleed and her stomach is a whirlwind of emotions. She can feel new tears coming to her eyes.

Regina's unsure if Robin can see her or not, he must sense the presence at least. His eyes remain fixated on the beautiful baby, still sleeping contently.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he asks innocently. His mind is racing too, he wants to just lift her into his arms and carry her away, forget everything else that's happened. Unfortunately, life wasn't like that, he had an ex-wife, a son, and now new parental responsibilities to another unborn child. He wished he could take it all back, fix what has been broken, but he knows it's too late.

Regina's eyes go to the baby in the plastic/glass cradle. She swallows a nervous lump in her throat.

"She is, doesn't she look just like Emma?"

"With a little bit of Killian thrown in," Robin smiles. He grips the flowers tightly, wanting to get down on his knees and beg for forgiveness. His mind says yes, but his body remains stiff.

"You should see her eyes, like the pools of a lagoon."

Robin looks at her. He can see that her eyes are bloodshot, he can see the wrinkles on her clothes and the tired look on her face, but regardless, she looks so beautiful.

He swallows hard and looks at her. He reaches out to grab her hand.

She resists at first, but not for very long.

"Regina…" he says. "I'd give up my own life just to take back what happened. I know in a thousand years that you still won't forgive me, but I haven't stopped thinking about you… your hurt face haunts my dreams and even then, I can't sleep. I know we can't ignore that what I did was very wrong, but… Regina, I can't live without you. You make me want to get up in the morning, you make me smile every time you text me and you can't ever make me love someone as much as I love you… I will devote the rest of my existence on this earth trying to make it up to you, to make you happy, to show you how much I want you…" He trails off, unsure of what else to say.

Regina takes a step back; her eyes were filled with tears again. She's still holding the tips of his fingers, barely holding onto his firm hand anymore. Her mind flashes back to their break up, how hurt she felt, how angry, but now… there was still hurt and there was still anger, but there was love there too. Lots of love, that faded in and out, like the flame of a candle or a weakened heartbeat. She stands there, a waterfall of emotion pushing down on her, the words are stuck in her throat, she can't say what she wants…

…

Late into the night, Emma and Killian are still in each other's arms, the doctors and nurses found no reason to separate the two, but they did bring a cot for Henry to sleep on. The bedside of Emma's room is now covered in flowers and gifts. Many people from the station stopped by, happy to see their friend again. Jack Overland gave her a box of her favourite chocolates, Kris gave the baby a stuffed dog, Granny had brought over onion rings and grilled cheese, Leroy had given her flowers and balloon bouquet, and ever Commissioner Gold sent a card and few more flowers in a vase. The table now looked like a small garden. The family had hardly woken from their slumber, never thinking that their lives could be more perfect.

However, in the dark of night, a man stood at the nursery window, his hand on the glass. A single maternity nurse was falling asleep in a chair nearby, but the door was locked securely. The man's dark eyes took in the innocent and angelic face… His fingers gripped the glass a little bit harder, leaving greasy streaks. He bites his lip angrily, continuing to watch…

A/N: Let me know what should happen with Regina and Robin. Someone is lurking around too...