By Thursday, Killian and Emma had swapped out the most offensive pieces of furniture. Emma had sourced an antique four-poster bed ("It's old, babe, just like you!") for them, Henry's bedroom and a guestroom had beds and sheets and blankets, and the godawful white coffee table was gone, along with the rest of the uber-modern weirdness and anything plastic, which Killian could not abide. Emma had moved in comfortable brown leather sofas reminiscent of her last apartment in New York, to make Henry feel more instantly at home. Killian had thrown himself into the technical instructions of working the Xbox, and could at this point probably dismantle it and reassemble it without looking, Emma thought. He had a knack for mechanics and engineering that made sense given his attention to detail on his ship, but she would never have foreseen being applied to electronics.

She came out of the shower one day and saw him looking at a schematic of a circuit board on his iPhone. She froze in the doorway, with her hair dripping onto the floor as she suddenly forgot all about drying it, because he was wearing reading glasses: black plastic frames that made him look the hottest intellectual she had ever laid eyes on. He looked up when he sensed her presence, his blue eyes stripping her appreciatively in her wet, near-naked state over the tops of those glasses.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" she asked in shock.

"Since I moved somewhere with an optometrist on the same block," he answered with a shrug. "Too many long nights reading by candlelight and compensating for the ship's movement. I should have bought some ages ago."

The transformation from pirate to modern man was so complete that Emma started hunting for clues to his former identity. But all she found was layer upon layer of love for her and concern that she take it easy and recover. And fucking reading glasses.

So Emma had stayed in bed or on the sofa, letting Killian supply fruit smoothies and chicken salads from a deli down the street. She was attempting to eat healthily, more for him than for the baby, as she remembered precisely the nature of prison-issue garbage she'd eaten when pregnant with Henry as an ignorant teenager, and he'd turned out fine. She took the vitamins the doctors had prescribed. She took the naps Killian insisted on. And by Day Three of this regime, she knew she had to rebel.

"Let's go for a walk through the park," she suggested. The late fall evening was unusually warm, and she needed to get out. She promised to go slow and tell him if she felt faint. But she managed to convince him that a bit of fresh air and exercise would be good for her, so he helped her into her coat. He pulled on a sweater over his t-shirt. She looked at it suspiciously, then ran the material between her fingers. Cashmere. Really? Emma shook her head.

Emma held onto his arm as the wandered aimlessly through the park, both because she loved snuggling into some part of his body, and because she still felt weaker than she wanted to admit. Autumn leaves were still filtering down through the branches and the sun was low and generous, given the time of year.

"So," Emma began slowly. Killian turned his head to her, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Seems like we're nesting."

"Nesting…" Killian looked flummoxed.

"Redecorating, ordering furniture, buying clothes…" she looked him up and down, running her fingers thoughtfully over the lapel of his blue, wool pea coat. Blue. Wool. "Connecting games systems to a television you hate."

"I thought that stealing everything in this realm could lead to more permanent consequences for us," he shrugged. "I know you always wanted to return here; this is your world. I thought," Killian paused, unsure how much to say, "I thought you might want to stay. At least until we can return to Storybrooke. It's safer here for the baby. You could find a midwife…"

"An Obgyn, actually," she corrected.

"Sure, a… whatever it is you called it that does the same fucking thing as a midwife, and thank you for correcting my out of date terminology while I'm pouring my heart out," he rolled his eyes. "I thought we could use a home, love, even if it turns out to be a temporary one. We don't have that, even in Storybrooke."

Emma stopped in her tracks, so he stopped with her. "Hold me," she asked quietly.

"I'm holding you plenty, Swan, what is it?" Killian braced himself for rejection by taking a half step away from her.

Emma put gripped his arm. "No, really, hold me, I feel faint again."

"Oh!" Killian scrambled to pull her close, supporting some of her weight. She sighed and sank her head down on his shoulder.

"Honestly, Killian, we will have a home together. When we get back to Storybrooke, and we will get back there, we'll find a house. Something near the ocean. Something as traditional as you. Old," she smiled at him. "Antique…."

"I'll drop you."

Emma shook her head against his shoulder. "You won't. You can't. All threats you make against me are empty." She lifted her head and looked directly into this eyes. "You will buy us a house, because I bring nothing of financial value into this relationship. Seriously, the Bug is it," she said.

"The Bug was stolen."

"All your money was stolen."

"Touch é. I was just more the talented thief," he smiled proudly.

"So you will buy us a house. You and Henry and I and the baby… or babies…" Killian's eyebrows shot up at that, "will live in it. Together. Forever." She put both hands on his face, stoking her thumbs across his scruff. "I will never leave you. You are my True Love, and you don't need to worry about me being all in. I am all in. Okay? You don't need to nest by stealth. You just need to tell me what you want."

"You, Swan. I want you. And Henry." He looked flushed and concerned, unwilling to ask for anything more, but unable to stop himself: "And… babies. Any we are lucky enough to have."

Emma rubbed her face against his shoulder again. She squared the mental image of Killian slicing off Arthur's hand with his sword with the man before her in Central Park, discussing babies, plural. "Let's take any and all babies one at a time, okay? But I'm open to the idea of more." She smiled when she saw the grin taking over his whole face. "I've been so afraid to ask anything for myself, afraid it will just get messed up. But I'm not afraid to ask it for you."

Killian dropped his face into her hair and kissed her neck, brushing aside her hair with his free hand. He realised that he was still holding her up, and that she seemed to be leaning on him more heavily.

"First, we'll need to eliminate Arthur. I'm sure by taking his hand, I've only made him more determined," Killian said. "We can nest all we like, but he'll show up here, sooner or later. We can't stand by forever and hope he gives up."

Emma nodded, yawning against him. She was snuggling so deep into his coat that he suddenly feared she might fall asleep right there on her feet.

"Let's get you home," he laughed, and steered her back in the direction of the park exit. They stumbled slowly along the main pathway, Killian looking up at the colours in the trees. It was just barely dark, and not a single star to admire, drowned out by the city lights. He jolted back into the present when he heard pounding footsteps behind them. Ever hyper-aware, Killian pulled Emma out of the way of man who was barrelling past, stumbling drunkenly and swaying across the whole of the walkway. Despite Killian's quick reaction, the man managed to shove Emma's shoulder, knocking her into a park bench.

Killian moved so fast that Emma couldn't quite work out how he did it. But the next thing she saw, the man was shoved up against the nearest tree, his feet off the ground, choking and gasping as Killian's arm cut off his air supply.

Hello, Hook, Emma thought. She had missed him, more than she realised, and she'd known he'd been hidden there beneath the Chucks and the cashmere sweater. Still, she needed to call him off. "Killian," she spoke softly, laying a steadying hand on his shoulder, "you cannot kill him. It's not done here. Not. At. All." She saw the man's eyes go wide with terror at her whispered words. "Let him down. I am fine. He's rude and drunk and thoughtless, but he did not intend to hurt me."

It took another beat for her words to sink in, but Killian released his forearm from the man's windpipe. Emma stepped forward and whispered to the terrified man, "If you call the police, I will tell them you tried to attack me. So don't even think about it." She stepped back behind Killian, who half-threw the man off the tree. He landed in the mud a few feet away, picked himself up and ran.

Emma slipped her arm around Killian's and persuaded him back onto the pathway towards 5th Avenue. His breathing steadied as she worked her fingers between the rings of his right hand. She could see the guilt and frustration in his face, much the same as when he'd over-reacted to Will's clumsy escape from the restaurant on their first date. She stopped him, and stepped slightly off the pathway, leaning against a tree trunk and pulling him in close. She needed to stop the recriminations that she knew were swirling through his mind before he sunk deeper into a mire of self-loathing.

"Hook," she breathed, and he looked into her eyes in complete shock at her use of that name. "Hook, take me back up to the apartment and let me thank you properly for looking out for me," she ran her hand seductively beneath his sweater and t-shirt, over his abdomen and up to his chest. Her fingers found a scar that ran down his ribs. She teased over it with the lightest of touches. "I love you, you know. Even if not all your choices are the right ones. You dispensation of justice won't be appreciated here; it will get you arrested. But I appreciate it." She looked directly into his eyes with a hungry, lustful gaze.

Killian brought his hand up to her face and trailed his thumb heavily along her jawline and towards her mouth. She opened her lips and licked, and he placed his thumb on the edge of her teeth. She bit down gently and sucked it softly into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it. He pulled her back onto the path and hurried her up into the apartment building.

…

Emma spent the whole of Friday pacing the apartment. Killian managed to get her to sit down occasionally to rest by warning her that she would be a mess by the time Henry actually arrived if she didn't get off her feet. But from 7pm onwards, she was a bundle of nervous emotion and tears. He noticed the lights flicker once or twice. That should not be possible, he thought to himself. Emma should not have any magic here.

When Jonathan buzzed them to say their visitors had arrived, Emma ran out the door and waited, bouncing up and down, by the elevator. When the lift doors opened, she bulldozed into the elevator and grabbed Henry, spinning him around in what looked a very uncomfortable bear hug. Henry was all smiles, Regina swept towards the door of the apartment and Robin held the 'door open' button until Emma could be persuaded to let go of Henry long enough to walk into the apartment.

Emma and Henry sank down into one of the new sofas and lost themselves in conversation. Killian came over to shake the boy's hand, and got a hug in return, and a chorus of laughs all round over the fact that 'Hook' was no longer Hook.

Almost all round. Regina sat in an armchair by the window, tapping her foot and holding her tongue. She looked to Killian like a bomb about to go off. He had an uncomfortable feeling that he was the intended target.

When Emma and Robin followed Henry down the hallway to explore his new bedroom, Regina pounced:

"So, pirate, you've got her where you want her now."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Your Majesty?" Killian was instantly on guard.

"How do you think Henry is going to feel about this baby?" she nearly spat. "Did you consider him at all?"

"You know very well that Emma would never do anything to hurt Henry. It's not like she has a limited amount of love to give and now Henry will get less. So have you told him that she's pregnant?"

"No, I'll leave it to you to explain that you dragged his mother to the Land Without Contraception and then couldn't keep it in your leather pants for one month," Regina hissed.

"How long after Robin's long lost wife reappeared did it take you to start fucking him again, Majesty? Was it a whole 24 hours?" Killian shot back. He could hear Emma's laughter floating down the hallway from Henry's room. The boy was telling some story, loudly, and she sounded over the moon. Killian made an effort to lower his voice. "Don't lecture me about respect for family."

Regina advanced on him. "You are lucky there's no magic in this realm, pirate. We all know you've been looking for a way to entrap Emma since you followed her up that beanstalk. I'm surprised to find you haven't shackled her to a bed."

"Maybe I have," he leered at the queen. "You don't know what you're missing."

"So much for you never taking a woman without consent. When it finally mattered, you took Forever After from her against her will."

Killian drew back, because that one landed true. "I never forced anything on Emma. Ever."

"You knew it was True Love. You knew what those fairies were up to. They can't see a glowing couple without finding a way to procreation. Did you tell Emma that?"

"Emma was well aware of the consequences of unprotected sex, Regina. They are the same in any world, fairies or no. No, I did not insult her intelligence by explaining to her that sex might lead to babies."

"There was no might or maybe about it. It was not a roll of the dice; it was a rigged game. Just your sort of game, pirate."

"Possibly, just maybe, she loves me, and wanted the consequences. As did I."

"Maybe, maybe not. Point being, you didn't ask. You just took what you wanted, Hook."

"Are you really that jealous, Majesty? So jealous you'll twist her happiness because you can't have what she came by so easily?"

Regina's face went bright red with rage at that. She picked up the heavy whiskey glass and balanced it in her hand like a fireball. She was just drawing back her arm when Robin and Emma walked through the door, laughing freely about a story Henry had just told them. Regina instantly rearranged the glass in her hand, and Killian turned into the kitchen so that Emma wouldn't see the anger on his face.

Regina forced a smile. "What are you two laughing about?"

"Regina, you have to come and see Henry's book collection. Killian bought him a library that Belle would be proud of," Robin chuckled. "Mate, you trying to buy the boy off?"

"Sounds about right," Regina quipped, bringing Killian back out of the kitchen, moving with a nonchalant stroll over to Regina.

He smiled broadly. "Keep 'em in line with bribery or fear, right, Your Highness?"

Emma caught the edge to his voice. That smile came nowhere near his eyes, nor did the one on Regina's lips. Robin seemed oblivious, so she let it slide. "Go on, Regina, Henry would love to show off for you, too," she said warmly.

Regina followed Robin back down the hallway, giving Emma's arms a squeeze as she passed. Emma was on Killian in a moment. "What's going on?" she whispered loudly, pulling him back towards the kitchen. "You two look ready to kill each other."

Killian's jaw ticked, a sure sign her was debating whether to tell her the truth or not. She turned her lie detector up to full volume as he answered. "She accused me of entrapping you with this baby. She said the fairies had every intention of making sure you were pregnant as soon as possible, and she… rightly… said I knew that would be the case. But I didn't tell you." He let out a breath. Emma sucked one in.

"Okay," she nodded. "You didn't tell me that. I didn't know that the next egg was all lined up and magically ready." Emma thought about it. "You know, I'm not even sure it's true. Do you really believe that, Killian? That the baby is a result of magic, and not the scientific meeting of egg and sperm? Or if it is a result of magic, surely it's our magic? I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way. We were having sex pretty much nonstop," she gave Killian a wicked little grin, and he responded in kind. "We were having sex because we were… we are… in love. If you'd told me, I wouldn't have … couldn't have… done anything differently." She shrugged. "I guess I'm having a hard time seeing fairies at work, and faulting you for not telling me fairies were at work, when the result was damn likely at any rate. If not this month, then next, or the one after that…"

Killian stared at her as she pondered out what he had been certain she would label his treachery. He had, for once in their relationship, told the whole ugly truth straight off, and it hadn't bitten him on the arse.

"I did not, at any point, set out to trick you," he said honestly. "And yes, I think if any magic was involved in the conception, it was ours. The fairies just arranged the soonest possible meeting of, as you so coldly put it, sperm and egg."

"That's not cold, it's just how it works! I am signing you up for a basic biology course, I swear. And they didn't arrange squat. We arranged it ourselves. Repeatedly," she wound her arms around his neck and stroked her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. Killian decided to remain silent, as she was talking him out of trouble, and he didn't want to say the wrong thing and land himself in it.

"One big advantage of the fairies breaking the news to us so soon," and here Emma brought her lips seductively close to his earlobe, "is that I remember exactly how we made this baby. I remember every touch, every thrust, every way you made me scream your name." Killian remembered too, and at this moment the memories were causing him to harden against her body.

"And I don't know exactly what Regina said to you, but whatever you said to her crossed some sort of major line. You need to fix it. That is Henry's mother, sure as I am." Emma leaned her forehead against his. "Go. Grovel. Make this right with her." Emma kissed him. "I love you, and nothing of what you have just said makes any difference to my feelings."

"Also, just so you know… if I wanted out of this relationship, the baby wouldn't stop me. We could co-parent from separate homes. I am pregnant, not trapped." His whole body tensed at that. She kissed him again, teasing his lips apart and seeking his tongue with hers. He returned the kiss, tilting her head to seek more of her mouth, because he loved kissing her, and because if he was kissing her, he couldn't possibly say the wrong thing and fuck it all up.

"Gross," they heard Henry deadpan as he entered the kitchen. "I should not be subjected to that when I walk in to get a drink." Emma released Killian with a smile.

"Killian was just going to find Regina anyway, weren't you, love?" Emma said, walking over the fridge and locating the apple juice for Henry.

"Aye," Killian nodded, and walked out quickly, before he subjected the boy to physical evidence of the effect his mother had on Killian.

Henry leaned back against the kitchen counter while his mother poured him a tall glass of juice.

"So you and Hook? All moved in together?" Henry asked. Emma was about to explain, when Henry added: "Took you both long enough. That's been on a slow burn since Neverland." Henry tapped his head with his finger. "Not Hook anymore though. That's going to take some getting used to."

"You're okay with this?" Emma asked nervously.

"With Hook? Yeah, of course. He loves you, Mom, I mean really loves you. He'll look after you," Henry said seriously. "And you look after everyone else, so someone should look after you."

Emma couldn't hold it in any longer. She had meant to tell him with Killian there, together, but now that Henry was here, it seemed like she should have this conversation one on one with her son, so that he could react without worrying what Killian might think.

"Henry, there's more," she said cautiously. "Killian and I, we're umm, going to have a baby."

"Whoa…" Henry set the juice glass down on the countertop with a crack. "A baby? Now that does seem kinda fast…" He looked at her thoughtfully. "You don't look pregnant."

"It's very early, less than two weeks," she explained.

Henry's jaw worked a bit, and he stared at a spot on the tile floor. "So it will be like all those memories we had in New York, the ones that Mom gave us. Like when we were together the whole time. You're not going to give this baby up." It was a statement and didn't require a response. So Emma waited. "I'll get a little brother or sister." Another statement. Okay, he was doing pros and cons. "Are you happy?" he asked finally.

"Yes, Henry, I'm really happy. So is Killian. And we want to have a family, the four of us. You, me, Killian and the baby," she gushed. She hoped it wasn't too much. She probably should have finished at 'yes'.

"Good," Henry gave a nod of his head in finality. "Good, then. I'm… going to need to think about this a bit. But I'm happy. For you… and for me, too. And for Hook… Killian." Henry crossed the few steps over to Emma and hugged her. "I love you, Mom."

Emma hugged him back, tears immediately back in her eyes. "I love you, too, Henry."

Henry look up at her again. "I was wrong the other day, on the phone. It's not Killian making you cry. It's me." He hugged her again and walked out of the kitchen, leaving her speechless.

…

Killian escaped to the grocery store immediately after offering the sincerest apology he could muster to the Evil Queen, who had killed her own father and whole villages of people, but nevermind, mustn't upset her. He crossed the last few steps to the front door of the apartment and arranged his face into a happy-extended-family smile.

Beyond the door, he could hear conversation, so he hung back a moment.

Regina was speaking, in that sarcastic tone of hers: "He bought this apartment for you."

Emma's voice came next: "No, he bought it as an investment. He bought the whole building."

"It was an investment in you," Regina snapped back. "And you seem to be paying off."

Henry's voice interjected: "Mom, it's in your favourite neighbourhood, right near the school I was at. I think it's great that he bought this for you."

Robin's voice came next: "Regina, why is it a problem? Killian was trying to help secure their future. At the time he bought it, he didn't know if Emma was going to choose to come back to New York with Henry or not."

Killian felt the rage building in him again. He couldn't believe he'd wasted one of his rare, precious apologies on that woman.

Then he heard Emma's sharp answer: "What has he done wrong, except love me, Regina? Why is everyone treating that as some sort of dark, ulterior motive? Killian loves me. I love him. So he bought me an apartment, bought us an apartment. Good, seeing as I'm currently living in it. I expect when we get back to Storybrooke he will buy us a house. I'm pretty sure he'd buy me anything I like, and the same for Henry, because he has no 'off' switch when it comes to us. Lucky me. Why, Regina, are you trying to undermine my happy ending?"

Silence. Then he heard Regina, very calmly: "Because I'm worried about you Emma. Because I want the very best for you, and for Henry. And I was worried that a pirate was not the best. I think… I hope… I was wrong."

Killian chose that moment to walk back in with an armload of groceries. "Oi, lad, give us a hand with these bags," he called to Henry, acting as though he had heard nothing. He saw Regina and Emma struggling out of a hug, both wiping at their eyes.

Henry vaulted over the sofa and into the relative emotional stability that was hauling shuttling groceries into the kitchen.

Regina then walked straight over to Killian and stood in front of him, as though lost in thought. Could he hit her if she went for him? Would that make Emma angry? Possibly better just to take whatever she was going to throw…

And then it happened. Regina hugged him. "Just make her happy," she whispered to him. Killian was in far too much shock to hug her back. Regina took a step back and considered him again. She turned to Emma.

"Is the pirate captain wearing cashmere?" she asked.

Emma laughed. "Oh my God! That's exactly what I thought this morning." Emma took Regina's arm in hers and sat them down on the sofa. "Do you know he has reading glasses?"

Killian blinked and looked over at Robin. Robin simply looked at Killian and said, "Did you buy beer?"

He had.

"Then let's drink."