Chapter 51

"I know you probably feel amazing that you escaped all on your own, but keep in mind, I'm still very much a part of your life."

Emma feels as if there are eyes watching her while she shops in the grocery store. The haunting words of the letter still echo in her head, even after several weeks of relative quiet. She'd read it so many times that she'd memorized the words and they still made her blood run cold. She turns around once while she's in the produce section to ensure that he wasn't watching her.

"I would like to gain custody or at least visitation from her once and while. You are such a happy family, now aren't you?"

This would've been the perfect time to strike, she was alone with Sophie in the grocery store, no Killian or Henry, no one to really protect her… then again, this was a public place and there would be too many witnesses or good Samaritans who would come to her rescue. Additionally, she carried her gun in her purse now as well as a taser. If he was going to strike anywhere, it would be at home.

"The white picket fence and the nice family walks at night. Something that should have been mine, something you took from me."

She shudders and looks at her light-haired daughter sleeping in her carrier. Emma wished beyond anything else that she could be a baby again. Just temporarily, even for an hour. To be released from all the torment of her trauma, the responsibilities of being a mother, the worries of any other adult, to forget everything, relive those innocent days where the world was big and beautiful, and everything could be put in the mouth to see if it tasted good. She envied her daughter's innocence and being able to sleep peacefully. While the newborn's sleeping patterns were improving, they certainly were not doing her mother any favours. She could hardly sleep at all and when she did, more nightmares. Emma was surprised that she hadn't passed out from total exhaustion yet.

"You call the police, your son is the easier target; him, and his special girlfriend. I see them ride the bus together every day now. You tell anyone about this, your precious boyfriend's place of work is the easiest to make something look like an accident."

Emma hated how paranoid that she had become. It took all her restraint not to text her son every hour of the day to ensure that he was safe or call Killian in the same manner, to check on him. Every time the phone rang she was afraid it was the police saying that they'd found her son on the side of the road, bleeding to death, or the docks calling to say that Killian was in the morgue.

She recalls a moment not long ago where she'd heard something go bump in the middle of the night and she'd roused Killian to go check. It turns out that it was a raccoon outside trying to get into their garbage. She felt awful afterwards for getting him out of bed for nothing.

Was Arthur King going to ever carry out his threat? Why was she so paranoid? After so many weeks, nothing had happened, and everything had been peaceful. Sophie started smiling and gurgling for the first time, which was a happy moment, but with the knowledge in her head, Emma could not fully embrace the joy. Summer was fast approaching and soon Henry would be off from school, and she should be nagging him about getting a summer job, but she didn't have the strength. She couldn't be a mother or girlfriend to her children and boyfriend because she was saving it to be their protector.

As she leaves the grocery store, Emma becomes weary of all the cars in the parking lot, afraid of a hit and run…

You're being stupid, her thoughts were telling her. You need to stop this. Maybe the letter was a sick prank…? No, it couldn't be because only she, Arthur and a handful of her loved ones knew about her faking a miscarriage. For everyone's sake, especially hers, David had kept the details out of the papers while Arthur was still at large. Additionally, Emma didn't want the publicity, she wanted her life to go back to normal and to protect her children.

As she loads the van, she keeps checking over her shoulder, afraid of someone, anyone who might be watching her. She puts her daughter in the van and drives away, trying to go on with her life.

…

"Well hello there," Arthur purrs into the phone, talking to his redheaded girlfriend. "Last weekend was fun…"

"It certainly was," Zelena says, smiling over a court document that she was reading.

"I never knew that you had a cabin in the woods. I found it very romantic,"

"You certainly did," the lawyer says.

"Jacob" and Zelena had spent their first weekend away together, out at the Mills' father's cabin, out in pure isolation. Apparently, this was a turn on for Jacob as they spent most of the weekend being intimate. Zelena had never felt so exhilarated or exhausted in a long time.

The couple from apparent hell was going very strong. They fed each other's egos and bad-mouthed anyone they should care about. Arthur talked trash about his apparent ex-wife and the brats he had, while the redhead just went on and on about her mother and sister issues. Minds truly do think alike.

"I can't wait to go up there again," he smirks.

"Me too. Despite the humidity, bugs, and lack of Internet, it is a great place to escape," the female of the relationship agrees.

No kidding, Arthur thinks to himself, grinning inwardly. His fingers tap the dashboard of his car as he watches a young, blonde mother carry her child and groceries to the car. He could tell that she was spooked, he saw it on her face. His letter had worked. Emma was no longer defiant like she was in captivity, she was afraid…

"The perfect place to get away…" Arthur says.

…

"I think it's a perfect idea," Mary Margret says to her companion as she pushes her son through the mall. Killian had joined the teacher after work to go shopping and discuss the docks man's upcoming plans.

"You do?"

"Killian, you guys need a night out together, when was the last time you went on a real date?"

The docks man sighs and says nothing.

Mary Margret took that as her answer. "Exactly, you've both been so busy with parenthood and you say that Emma's been on edge the last couple of weeks. You need dinner and maybe a movie."

"It just feels like… we're abandoning Sophie."

"Please a couple of hours away from diapers, bottles, and screams will not kill you or your daughter. Believe me, I felt the same way after the first few weeks of Jacob's life, but David convinced me to take a break, we went out for dinner and then we went for a walk. It renewed our feelings of love and trust in each other. It was like we were just married all over again. Besides, your one-year anniversary is coming up."

"Aye," Killian says. He stops in the window a jewelry store in the mall. He examines the jewelry… his eyes go from the necklaces and bracelets to the diamond rings… he swallows hard, continuing to gaze at them, as if in awe. His mind was formulating an idea… something he wanted to do. Was the time, right? Should they do this?

"You okay?" Mary Margret asks, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Huh, oh yes, just thinking of a present," he answers quickly. As much as he adored Mary Margret as his friend, she was lousy at keeping secrets and even if she noticed the hints in his thought process, she could not keep her mouth shut. He continues to walk with the mother and her son.

"Have you thought about what you want to give her?" the teacher asks.

"Something special, something that means a lot to her besides flowers and chocolate."

"Well, there are a number of ways you could go…"

Killian does his best to appear interested in the suggestions that Emma's best friend was offering, but his mind kept going back to the jewelry store, at the glittering stones on display. Something to express the love he felt for his beloved Swan.

…

"So Swan," Killian says, as the four of them sat down to dinner that night. "Do you know what is coming up?"

"Exams?" Henry mutters sarcastically, picking at his chicken pot pie.

"Aye Lad, but something else. Something rather special."

"Your birthday?" Emma asks. She knew his birthday was coming up soon and she had to start thinking of a present for him.

"Yes, but also…"

Emma wants to get the hint, but with Sophie having dinner at her chest and trying to eat her own food, she wasn't up for guessing. She wracks her brain, trying to think of what happened to her, this time last year. Not much, if she could remember, her job, her son…

"I give up," she says, humorously.

"It will be one-year next week that we first met," Killian answers.

Now the blonde was embarrassed. It surprised her that he even remembered these kinds of things. Usually, it was the female who made a big fuss over it… but even then, she really didn't pay attention to things like that. She never did with Neal. But, it seemed that this meant something to him, so she does her best to feel engaged about it.

"Has it only been a year?" she asks, smiling.

"Aye, it feels longer," he smirks back.

Henry rolls his eyes. "A lot longer," he mutters.

"So, I thought that in celebration of this, I would like to take you out to dinner and perhaps a movie. Just the two of us, a special date night."

Emma swallows. She looks down at her daughter, who was still nursing. Despite how much Sophie had grown, she still did not feel comfortable leaving her with Henry or another babysitter. She still needed to nurse, and her needs were still quite high. No other person outside of this family would know the routine or how to care for the infant properly.

"I…I don't know," she murmurs.

"I'll get Mary Margret to babysit Sophie and Henry can go out with his friends if he wants. Come on Swan, you need a night away, you hardly leave the house unless you need to shop."

She wants to get mad at that statement, but it was the truth.

"I hope you enjoy your time with Sophie, she truly is a beautiful gift, but keep in mind that she's my baby too and I do intend to get acquainted with her very soon."

The words play on repeat in her mind. The last lines of his letter… he wanted their daughter and he would get it any way he could. She was very much afraid, but if she told him she didn't want to go out it would hurt him, or he might get suspicious. She didn't want to risk it and she truly did want to go out, just relax, but not with Arthur lurking out there, watching them. Was he even watching them? It had been weeks since his threat, and nothing had happened. Not letters, no calls, no break-ins, nothing to indicate that he was coming after them. That also might've been because she had kept it a secret, something that was torturing her immensely. Were they truly safe? Could she leave for a few hours and not have her daughter snatched from under her nose?

She bites her lip hard and fights back the tears, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and anxiety.

"O-Okay," she finally manages to say, wondering if she was going to regret those words.

A/N: I'm back, sorry been working on other stories. This is a set up for something big, so get ready.