Emma woke to the sound of shuffling. She stretched out an arm behind her and patted the cool sheets, sighing as she realised that Killian wasn't there. She'd been hoping for another snuggle. This week - which Emma still privately considered her honeymoon, Killian considered medical leave and everyone else thought of as battle preparation – was already nearly over. She didn't want to admit it, but Killian had been right about the food and sleep: the baby seemed to have grown in the last few days, her bump now a gentle swell, still noticeable only to someone really looking for it.

"Killian, stop rustling about and come to bed. It's a chilly morning; come warm me up."

"So is that what the pirate calls it – warming you up?" Emma startled at the unexpected sound of Regina's voice, and she found herself grabbing for Killian's dagger at the edge of the mattress. She had the knife in her hand before her brain registered that it was only Regina.

"Regina, god, did you have to scare me like that?" Emma peaked under the covers and realised that she was completely nude. "At least throw me shift or something. Why are you here? Where's Killian?"

"I'm trying to very quietly rifle through your stuff to find the storybook. Henry wanted to know if there was any mention of Merlin, and he said he'd lent it to you." Regina passed her a chemise and then sat down on the edge of the bed and patted her friend's leg good-naturedly. "I'm throwing open the windows, too. This room smells like sex!"

Emma fell back on the pillows, laughing. "Someone's missing Robin. I'm sorry, Regina," she added more seriously. "We'll get you back to him soon."

Regina sighed. "I miss him a lot more since coming in here and being reminded of what I'm missing." Emma wriggled into the chemise and make sympathetic noises. "Hook's downstairs – he said he thought you'd sleep at least another hour, so I took a chance on finding the book. Want me to find you a dress?"

Emma stood gingerly on the thick rug next to the bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "No," she mumbled. "Look, can you just, magic me presentable?"

Regina laughed and passed her hand around Emma, fixing her hair into a neat up-do and her body into a dark green dress. "Come down to the kitchen with me. We're all supposed to make sure you get plenty of food and rest this week on the Captain's orders." Regina snorted. "Though god knows why the rest of us bother if he's just going to keep you up all night burning off the calories. And have you managed to tell him about me being your plus one to Merlin's castle?"

Emma sighed and reached for her friend. "Regina, I know this is cowardly, but…"

"But you want me to have it out with him."

Emma nodded weakly. "Would you? He's so worried at the moment. If I leave a spoonful of porridge in the bottom of my bowl at breakfast, he wants to know if I'm feeling all right. I can't imagine how he'll feel if I tell him he can't come with me to face Merlin."

Sweeping her regal gaze over her friend from head to toe, Regina delivered her blunt assessment: "He's right to worry. You're overworked. And much too thin for someone entering the second trimester of her second pregnancy." Emma spluttered to protest, but Regina cut her off. "That 'saviour' title is a curse worse than the one I thought I was casting. At least here, people don't think of you that way. In Storybrooke, every problem big or small is seen as your responsibility. Here, they think of you as a princess – and I suppose that's daunting, too. But Hook is taking care of you, and so are his whole family, and yours. Let him."

"Are you telling me to do as my husband says?"

Regina laughed out loud. "I suppose I am! Well, just this once."

…

Killian looked up from a map of the coast near Merlin's castle to see Emma following Regina into the kitchen. Her eyes looked magnificently green in the dress Regina had clearly created for her – it was more structured and formal than anything Emma might choose for herself. He grinned despite himself at the sight of her.

Emma still looked uncomfortably thin to Killian, muscular but very lean. He fed her healthy snacks at every opportunity and imagined that perhaps she had developed the start of some padding around her hips. In truth, though, he could still see every rib beneath her enhanced breasts and her hip bones were every bit as prominent. The dark circles beneath her eyes had disappeared with sleep these last few days, and she was starting to lift out of the somnolence of early pregnancy. He hated that incessant emergencies never allowed her time to rest. Even now, she was hiking miles upon miles every day, down to the harbour to help with preparing the Jolly Roger or around town gathering supplies and information. With the Jones and Charming families working together, the work was shared out rather than landing quite so heavily on Emma. He spent much of his days either batting problems away before they could reach her, or flat out insisting that others come up with solutions themselves and leave Emma the hell alone.

"Thanks for letting me sleep in, everyone," Emma crossed the room to Killian and gave him a quick kiss, then sat down at the table with Regina, Oona and her parents. "Don't bother with breakfast, I'll just grab some fruit and we can be on our way to the docks."

Killian's smile faltered, but before he could protest, Oona, Snow and David were all insisting that Emma eat a proper meal and not exhaust herself on the way to the docks.

"Emma, we've plenty of bread and jam, and I'll make you a couple of eggs," Oona began.

Henry had wandered in from his game of football to give Emma a hug good morning. "Everyone lay off my Mom. She made me just fine without any of you telling her what to do." The whole room silenced at that.

"True enough," Emma laughed. "And I think I did a pretty good job." She brushed Henry's hair back from his face and admired her handiwork. "Though I think your lovely manners are down to Regina."

"Probably," Henry agreed cheerily, giving Regina a hug as well.

Nevertheless, Oona slipped a plate of eggs and bread and jam in front of Emma alongside a mug of tea, and David sat down expectantly in front of her to watch her eat it. Killian ran his hands mindlessly over the maps, glancing surreptitiously as forkfuls of egg disappeared into her mouth. He smiled as Oona silently loaded up another slice of bread with butter and jam and slid in onto Emma's plate unnoticed. Emma's whole posture had relaxed, all the tension around her eyes gone, as she laughed at Henry's description of his football match in the square. Killian held his distance across the kitchen as she listened to their family gossip and tease and generally distract Emma from anything even vaguely serious.

"So," she asked through a mouthful of bread, deliberately baiting Killian, who grimaced, "what's up for today?"

David opened his mouth to explain the final preparations for tomorrow's departure, which included the last-minute training of the 40 men intended to hold the village nearest Merlin's cloaked castle. Will and Mac had taken charge of the men, and David assumed that Emma would want to meet them before they left. Before David could get in a word, Killian called out from across the kitchen.

"I've a task I need to undertake before we depart tomorrow, and I need your help, Swan. If that's not a problem, David?" Killian strode over and placed his hands lightly on Emma's shoulders. "Snow? Oona? I trust everyone else can handle the troops and the final loading onto the ship."

Emma licked the remains of the jam off her fingers, looking up at Killian as she did it, oblivious to the politics around her. This time her table manners didn't prompt even a hint of disapproval. "Finish your tea, love. I'll get some food and water to take along with us. It's quite a hike." He looked up to see Oona already stuffing bread, cheese and fruit into a muslin bag, and Snow wrapping up large portions of teacakes in waxed paper. Still unused to having family, Killian grinned to himself. It might take a large team to fatten Emma up a bit, but everyone appeared fully dedicated to the cause.

Emma glanced over at Regina and raised her eyebrows in question. Regina patted her hand and said good-naturedly, "Hook, may I speak with you briefly before you go?" She smiled as genuinely as possible to soften her words, trying not to make it sound like being called to an audience with the Evil Queen.

Killian didn't react, his face unreadable, but he made a sweeping gesture out the door of the kitchen towards Mac's study up the hallway. "Of course, Your Majesty" he said blankly, gave Emma a light kiss on her head and followed Regina out of the room. As soon as the door to the study shut behind them, Killian threw himself casually into a chair by the fire spread his legs in front of him. "What is it, Regina?" he demanded before she could even begin placating him. "I'm clearly not going to like it, whatever 'it' is, so out with it."

Regina sat in the chair opposite, posture erect as always, and relaxed into a blessedly straightforward argument. "Emma wants me to accompany her into Merlin's castle. As much as she wants you there with her, she can only take one person, and…"

"…and she wants someone there with magic to counteract Merlin's."

Regina only nodded her assent. Killian tilted his head back and trained his gaze to nothingness, considering the options. Finally he asked, "What is your opinion of her request?"

"I think that you calm Emma and focus her, and provide her with self-belief because you believe in her. There is also the true –love aspect of your relationship, which could prove vital. So I think that you going with her, rather than me, has its advantages. However, I suspect Merlin will believe that you are coming along, so I will provide an element of surprise. Also, of course, I do have magic that can complement and strengthen Emma's, and.."

Killian held up a hand to stop her and stood up abruptly. "Yes, I agree."

"I'm sorry… you agree?"

"Yes, if Emma feels she will be safest with you inside the castle, so be it."

Regina sat still, back straight, thinking how to respond. She had been prepared for an argument, or at least a lively debate, but immediate acceptance had not occurred to her. Killian was already reaching for the door, meeting over, deal done. Regina rushed forward to catch his hands in her.

"Killian, you must know that I would do anything to protect Emma, right?"

"It's not just Emma that needs protecting though. Emma carries my daughter inside of her, and I want them both back safe and well. And if the best way to keep them safe is to send you instead of me, then I won't stand in the way." Killian sighed and dropped his head. "Look, Regina, tomorrow I need to put Emma on my ship and sail the tiny family I've managed to cobble together – somehow, despite everything – into mortal danger. Again. So I'd like one godsdamned day in which I can just take her on a picnic and not stock weapons for a fight we might not win." He looked up again. "So are we done here?"

He pulled his hands away and walked out the door, a smirk plastered across the exhaustion and fear for Emma's sake. Regina wondered if Emma saw through it, too.

…

Emma couldn't stifle a giggle; now that she'd made the mental connection, she simply could not see things any other way. Killian scurried round his own horse to help her down from hers, and it recalled the way he'd rush round the back of taxis in New York to open her door for her. As if without him, she'd have been stuck inside the cab wondering how the hell to get out, for all the mystery of physics presented by the door handle. It had made her smile then, and here he was again, one hand holding hers and the other upstretched to catch her around the waist as she dismounted. She let him help her, descending in a graceful rustle of silk and cotton into his arms, even if it meant sliding off in a slightly odd, forward-facing position. Something about doing it seemed to make him feel better, and she was open to anything that involved his hands on her body.

A breeze tickled the leaves in the little glade high above the harbour where Killian had stopped. They had ridden off-road, through a secluded meadow and into virgin forest, for half an hour before dismounting in this stunning clearing, surrounded by flowering trees and covered in soft, forgiving grass and fallen leaves. The perfume of the bright flowers washed over them as Killian spread a thick blanket onto the ground at her feet.

"Do you think I didn't know that you were planning to skive off work for a picnic?" she laughed.

Killian didn't bother answering. He unpacked the food and drink from his horse while Emma scoped out the forest surrounding the glade. He watched her as she made the rounds, checking for vantage points and weaknesses, thinking like a general even though love not war was the day's plan. He knew the area to be absolutely safe: two of Mac's brothers and three cousins were patrolling the forest on horseback in rotation, staying clear but sticking close enough to ward off danger. Killian would take no chances with Emma and everyone was clear about that. Emma never thought of herself as a princess, but this was the Enchanted Forest, and her station commanded loyalty and respect beyond the immediate confines of family. Killian understood this and knew how to play it to her advantage, even if she had no idea it was happening.

"It's our honeymoon, right, love? Surely we deserve one picnic."

Emma meandered back through the trees towards the blanket. She sat down comfortably and looked up at him standing above her, shading her eyes against the sun. "We've never been on a picnic."

"We've never done anything that wasn't part of some mission or a response to a threat or an adventure brought on by a fall through a portal," Killian laughed hollowly. "We've managed a baby and a marriage – of sorts – all without intending to do any of it."

Emma leaned back so that she lay spread out on the blanket, both legs curled to the left and her arms splayed out to both sides, and continued to gaze up at him, eyes shaded. "Really, Killian? You mean to tell me that you didn't intend to get me pregnant? Because options may have been limited, but I knew what mine were, and I made a decision. I intended all of that."

He squinted back at her, but she could not read his expression with the sun behind him. "I wanted this, aye. I just didn't want to tell you that I wanted it."

"And now you can."

"And now I have."

She reached her hands up to him, and he stepped forward to take them. She pulled him down to her, and he placed his knees on either side of her hips, still holding her hands in his and balancing above her body. He seemed to relax into the moment, then, wrapping both arms around her and pulling her upper body up to meet his. Emma let him manoeuvre her, not resisting as he brought her up to his lips with one hand firmly on the back of her head. The move meant his muscles held taut all around her, and she let her hand run over his arms and shoulders. Killian had closed his eyes to explore her mouth, but Emma kept hers open, watching him as worked out what to do with her – to her – next. He slipped away from the kiss to use his teeth down her neck, tilting her head with the hand that still held her in place, fingers tangled in her hair. She didn't imagine this could be comfortable for him, biceps tense and burning as he held her off the ground, but he didn't seem to mind.

Killian worked his way down her neck and collarbone, causing Emma's skin to tingle from head to toe. She let her eyes fall closed, let him have control. He must have laid her out on the picnic blanket at some point, because when Emma became aware of her surroundings again, he had arranged her hair in a graceful fan around her head and unlaced the front of her dress. Killian still held himself over her, the top of his dark head descending to her breasts and settling over a nipple already peaked with excitement. He dragged her dress from her body without removing his mouth from her breasts, and Emma once again congratulated herself on having offered him his left hand that first night in the forest. Pinned beneath him, she could not do much to undress him, and she could feel his arousal through his trousers, set powerfully hard against her bare thigh. Emma breathed shallow and fast. She loved him, and she wanted him desperately badly, and it all coalesced into a breathless magical aura. His jacket came off with the barest twitch of her hand over the hem.

Killian lifted his tongue from her navel to sigh gratefully. The touch of her magic felt warm and light, and it caressed his skin as she peeled off his shirt, his belt, his boots and socks and trousers, slowly, each item folder and stacked with care and attention at the edge of the blanket, in deference to his habitual neatness.

He lowered himself still further – "Stop taking over, love" – and traced his thumb around her core in a wide arc, noting Emma's gasp and wriggle. He slowly brought it back to her sensitive, aching clit and she let out a little giggle of pleasure that sank into a deep exhale of contentment when he reached out to touch the tip of his tongue just above her centre. Killian licked and sucked her into a haze of pleasure, his hands roaming over her hips, her belly and breasts. Emma absorbed his attention and touch, watching the branches above her ripple in the breeze while he stroked her with his tongue and his fingers.

"Please, Killian, I want you inside of me," she finally whispered.

He smiled, raising his head from between her thighs. He slipped both hands under her arse and sat up to gaze at her spread across the blanket. After a few moments of hesitation, he seemed to make a decision. "Turn over, love, and get on your hands and knees."

Emma moved languidly, positioning herself in front of him where he waited for her on his knees. The ground was soft and yielding beneath her knees, and Killian gently pressed her shoulders to the blanket. He leaned over her body, kissing a trail from the top of her spine to the small of her back. He murmured his love for her all the way. When he reached the hollow at the base of her spine, he moved his hands to her hips, pulling her up and back to him. He brushed her hair out of her face and swept it over the opposite shoulder. "I want to see your face when I enter you," he whispered to her. He rubbed his fingers in circles over her clit, dipping into her core to pick up moisture, then returning to spark her arousal further. Emma wanted him so badly that she tried to press her arse into him, but she couldn't move with his grip on her hips.

"Don't worry, love," he said. "I'm going to give you what you want."

She couldn't thrust herself against him at this angle, so he used the strength in his arms to do it for her. With each thrust into her, Killian pulled her back against his body. He went deep and stayed deep, and Emma could feel her orgasm building within her with each shallow thrust, coaxing her completion from her willing body. Killian looked from her face – eyes closed, mouth open and wide with arousal – to where he could watch his cock sliding in and out of her, her lips beautifully stretched around his girth. In the warm air and soft earth he drew out their joining, letting Emma take her time to reach her heights.

The noises that Emma made rose it pitch and intensity, and Killian pulled out a bit more, slammed in a bit harder. She mumbled his name over and over, told him to keep going right there, and he fought his desire to take her harder still. He could feel her tightening around him, until she released a long, high-pitched cry, and he allowed her some freedom of movement to swing her hips back and prolong the ecstasy. When her cries began to quiet and her body relax, he let himself pull out almost all the way and thrust in to the hilt, all his weight and energy reduced to dragging himself along her wet walls as hard and as deep as he could. In the time it took him to build to a climax himself, Emma opened her body wider for him, letting him take his pleasure in her warm, sated centre. When he finally began to pulse his release into her, Emma whispered her praise and love back at him.

They sank onto the blanket together, Killian sliding over to face her pull her close. He kissed her relentlessly. Emma recognised the familiar feel, the way Killian made love to her when he was frightened for her life. She thought about how messed up that was, that her husband had certain sexual tells when they were about to go up against demons or wizards or monsters or mad kings. She hated doing this to him, and to herself, again and again.

"Are we ever going to get past this, Killian?" she asked between kisses. "Get to a time when we don't have to march into some sort of battle? I always feel one sword-fight from losing you forever."

Killian had no answer to that, so he skimmed his hand and lips down to her belly instead, and whispered to the baby in a language that Emma neither recognised nor spoke. Emma brushed her fingers through his hair and stroked his neck, eyes closed and listening to his voice, uncomprehending, soothed just as much as the baby was by his steady cadence. "What are you saying?"

He tickled his fingers over her lower abdomen. "I'm telling our daughter that no matter what happens to me, she will be loved and cared for because unlike you and me, she has a whole family to care for her. She will never be alone." He looked up at Emma with a lazy smile, and she felt that her heart might stop. "Someone will always love her, even if we are separated from her. Our family can cross realms, use magic, make connections… I truly have no doubt that someone would find her, no matter what."

Emma nodded, tears gathering in her eyes. "You're right. But Killian, please tell me if won't come to that."

"It won't come to that. We are stronger than Merlin, and we will win."

Emma sat up, leaning back on one hand. She kept stroking the other hand through his hair as his head rested in her lap, and his eyes closed.

"You look so relaxed that I hate to ask," Emma began, "but is there any food on this picnic?"

Killian snorted out a laugh and picked himself up off the ground. He pulled on some trousers and leaned down to kiss her again. "Anything for the two of you," he answered with a grin, and went back to the horses to unpack the food. Emma lay back down on the blanket, warm and naked and comfortable, and thought that perhaps this had been the best possible honeymoon after all.