Phillip's mother had not been in Montréal.
She'd been in Toronto.
Figured.
And she showed up an hour before Phillip's ceremony.
Figured. Again.
"Swan, you've got to breathe, love," Killian said. By her last count that was the fifth time he'd told Emma that since they'd gotten out of the car.
She glared at him.
He didn't blink.
"I feel we're at some kind of ceremonial impasse," Emma grumbled, digging the toe of her shoe into the recently rediscovered carpet in her office. She wasn't sure when that had happened exactly – had been far too busy trying to make sure Phillip's mother got a jersey that fit and Kristoff had paled a little when met with the look on Emma's face when he questioned her – but it was probably Merida's doing and there was almost enough room in that office to get around easily.
Almost.
They still had to get through Casino Night and were still waiting on the video poker thing to get there and Zelena was somewhere, probably pacing and making another list and Emma needed to get to the team suite so she could see the ice. She needed to make sure the carpet laid flat so Aurora stopped worrying about falling over.
She was really worried about falling over.
Machine. The word she'd been looking for before was machine. It was a video poker machine and they'd ordered four because that was, somehow, still cheaper than a new roulette table.
Killian's hands wrapped around Emma's shoulders, effectively holding her in place when she tried to starting pacing on instinct.
"I need you to take at least three actual, real deep breaths for me," he said, and he didn't let go, even when Emma twisted and wiggled and Matt was doing figure eights around three stacks of papers that detailed the Casino Night food orders.
Emma sighed, letting her head crash into his chest and that couldn't have been good for his ribs because the right side of his body was still a little purple and changing the bandages that morning had been a very particular type of challenge.
Mostly because it involved Killian without a shirt on.
And doing whatever he'd done with his eyebrows and his mouth and Emma was still worried about everything, but her husband was also kind of absurdly attractive and she kind of needed a distraction.
Not that that was a distraction.
God, that sounded awful even in her head.
Phillip's ceremony would last fifteen minutes and, she was convinced, it would be the longest fifteen minutes of her life.
She could not remember if someone had given his mom a jersey.
Kristoff hadn't actually said anything when they'd stormed into the locker room. Maybe Emma needed to find Anna. She could do something about Kristoff's face.
Killian chuckled lightly, chest shaking against Emma's forehead as he wrapped an around her waist and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "That's not breathing, Swan," he mumbled into her hair.
"Yeah, well, that's because Phillip's mom terrified me."
"She was a little intense, huh?"
Emma hummed, burrowing against him and that wasn't good either, but he didn't object and she knew he wouldn't and maybe they both desperately needed a distraction. "No wonder Aurora's so stressed out all the time. Did we ever find out what she was doing in Toronto?"
"I'd imagine she lives there."
"Hysterical."
"That was not a joke. That was a straight fact. And also what Lucas told me when she, somehow, found her."
"I think she searched like Canadian census records," Emma said. She hadn't moved her head. Matt was still running in circles. That was not going to end well. "Does Canada have a census?"
"I'd imagine they do," Killian laughed, leaning back so Emma had to glance up and she wasn't entirely prepared for the smile or whatever the hell he was doing with the rest of his face, but that was absurdly attractive too and this was going to be the longest fifteen minutes of her life.
"But," Killian added. "I think Lucas made some calls to the league office and some kind of draft record and Phillip's mother apparently splits her time in several Canadian cities and major metropolitan areas of Europe."
"Where does Lithuania fall into that?"
"I think she was born there. Still holds citizenship. That means Rook can play international for them and never has to worry about getting cut from Team USA."
Emma let out a low whistle, Killian's eyes widening slightly at the quasi-insult and they needed to get out of that office. They needed to get Peggy off the goddamn floor, but she kept squirming whenever one of them picked her up and crying when anyone held onto her for longer than four seconds and Emma understood that.
She kind of wanted to run a marathon.
"That was kind of harsh," Emma muttered, Killian shrugging slightly like being the face of that particular brand of hockey wasn't much more than a passing thought. "Phillip's mom is super intimidating and I don't think Kristoff wanted to give her a jersey."
"No, he did."
"Wait, what?"
"He did."
"When? I was standing there."
Killian made a contradictory noise, rocking his head slightly and he had to let go of her waist to catch a very energetic four-year-old around the middle before he practically flew out the door and into the hallway. Merida was trying to get Emma's attention on her walkie-talkie.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, but she couldn't quite get much of a threat in her voice. It was difficult to do that when Matt was laughing so loudly and he still hadn't quite come to terms with a Rangers game that didn't involve Killian, but he'd resolutely refused to wear any jersey except a Jones one when they left the apartment.
"It means you left the locker room because, one, Pegs is closing in on walking and won't hold still for more than a few seconds so you didn't want her in the middle of pre-game. And, two, that you also had to leave so you could hear Merida's slightly frantic message about the carpet."
"You think the super-sonic hearing thing is just a result of growing up in the brownstone or you think you're genetically blessed?"
Killian grinned, twisting Matt in his hold and tugging him up against his side. "Stay still for half a minute, Mattie," he mumbled, eyes never leaving Emma's and she really needed to stop swooning over her own husband.
Easier said than done.
"And I'm assuming you did something vaguely menacing and captain-like in between all of that? Also it's entirely possible that she's just frustrated by how loud this stupid arena is and not any closer to walking than she was a week ago."
"Ah, there's no room for that kind of pessimism, Swan. Walking, skating, world domination. All within reach."
"You think she's going to take over the world?" Emma arched an eyebrow, and Killian couldn't really shrug when Matt was hanging off his shoulder, but his smile got wider and, probably, more powerful, but she did not have time to think about that.
Merida was screaming into the walkie-talkie.
"With that kind of upper-body strength? Of course."
"Is that a prerequisite?
"I think it probably helps," Killian grinned. Matt kicked him in the shin, legs flailing and laughter still lingering in the air around them. Ruby had joined the walkie-talkie fray. "It's only a matter of time, Swan. Weebling will become wobbling or however it works."
"I don't think that's how it works."
He nodded seriously, but they were only an hour away from puck drop and she really was curious about what he'd done. "You going to finish your story, then?" she asked, tugging on the back of Matt's jersey when it twisted against him. "Mattie, you've got to stop moving. You're going to hurt Dad."
Matt stopped laughing abruptly, the sound almost echoing in Emma's ears. She hissed in a breath of air, wincing when she realized what she said and even Peggy stopped crawling on the tiny bit of blanket that she just kept in one of her desk drawers.
They needed to stop putting Peggy on the floor in her office.
"Sorry," Matt mumbled, burying his face into Killian's neck and the letters all sounded like one elongated sound with a few added 'w' just to really drive the depressing point home. Emma pinched the bridge of her nose, biting her lip and ignoring several walke-talkie based attacks and Killian shook his head when she met his gaze.
She hadn't actually asked a question.
That absolutely did not matter.
And one of Matt's shoes had fallen off at some point.
"I'm fine, Mattie," Killian promised, hitching his arm under their kid's legs and trying to rest him on his hip instead of his side, but the kid in question was also four and far heavier than he had been a few years before.
"Emma," Ruby screeched. She needed to turn the walkie-talkie volume down. She had no idea where Ruby got the walkie-talkie from.
She huffed, frustrated by another conversation that had, effectively, fallen off the metaphorical rails. "What? God, what could you possibly want right now?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Retract the fangs or whatever."
"Seriously, what is with you and the metaphors? That didn't even make sense."
"Is that a metaphor? Cap, do you think that was a metaphor?"
"How did you know Killian was here?" Emma asked sharply, and it wasn't easy to try and hold a baby, a walkie-talkie and
fold a blanket at the same time her mind was trying to remember if she'd told the Garden sound guy about the music he was supposed to play before the video tribute.
That couldn't have been the right word at all.
That sounded worse than memorial.
All of these words made Phillip sound like he was dead.
No wonder he didn't want the ceremony.
"Please," Ruby sighed. "Where else was he going to be? Pegs start walking around your office yet? She better not, I'm going to be really annoyed if it happens and I'm not there."
"Yeah, that's not your call, really, Lucas," Killian said. He pulled Peggy out of Emma's arms, a kid holding onto either side of him and there were fingers in his hair and the front of his shirt and tie because he had to wear a tie to games on the off chance that the cameras panned to him in the team suite.
The cameras would absolutely pan to him in the team suite.
"And I absolutely do not care, Cap. Is someone going to answer my question or, like, what's the deal with that?"
"I honestly cannot remember it," Emma muttered. She threw the blanket back on the floor, giving up on proper folds as soon as Killian glanced her direction and they were so far behind schedule it was almost comical.
Or it would have been if her pulse would settle down.
She wasn't sure if that was entirely because of the ceremony or how hardcore Phillip's mom was or how ridiculously attracted she was to her own husband when said husband was being some kind of picture-perfect dad.
It was probably all of them.
Equally.
Not equally. The picture-perfect dad thing was definitely, at least, half. Maybe even like two thirds.
They all needed to get some kind of elementary school refresher from Mary Margaret.
"Ok, first of all, that's rude," Ruby started, and her voice sounded far closer than it should have. She smiled when they walked out of Emma's office, the door slamming shut behind them and Killian groaned when some type of limb collided with a different part of his body. Matt barely slowed down, running towards Ruby as quick as he could and she almost didn't keep her balance, crouching down to catch him and pull him towards her.
"Hey, mini-Jones," Ruby said. Her walkie-talkie was on the ground. "How come you were hanging off your dad? You're going to mess up his tie and he's never going to fix it and then he's going to look ridiculous on camera."
"Look who's being rude now, Lucas."
Her smile didn't change, hooking her chin over Matt's shoulder so she could stare at them with a look that was nothing short of confident and certain and Ruby knew something.
No wonder she'd stolen a walkie-talkie.
"Did you take Merida's?" Emma asked. "Or did you just find your own somewhere and make someone tell you what line we're on?"
"You know we're a professional hockey team, right? We do have more than one walkie-talkie available for major events."
"Is this a major event?"
"You planned it, Em."
Emma made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat, leaning back when Killian managed to drift back into her space. Ruby scowled. "Don't tell Rook that," Killian said. "He's freaking out enough as it is. Thinks the whole thing's going to mess with his head and he's going to embarrass everyone on the ice tonight."
"He knows that's ridiculous, right?"
"Have you met his mom? Or his dad, for that matter? I'm surprised they both didn't fly to South Korea to denounce his very existence when he didn't win gold."
"Yeah, they're kind of terrifying, right?" Ruby asked, and Emma didn't think she imagined the way her arms tightened around Matt a bit.
"I didn't meet his dad yet," Emma admitted. "I've been kind of swamped. Is the carpet ready for the ice yet? Also seriously why did you take a walkie-talkie? And why are you here? Shouldn't you be running pre-game?"
"It's less than an hour until puck drop, if there's still media in the locker room, I'm pretty positive Arthur will just stab them with a skate."
"God."
"She's got a point, Swan," Killian muttered, an arm back around her shoulders and Peggy yanking on his tie. "Plus a three-game losing streak? Arthur's probably broken several whiteboards already."
"Six," Ruby answered lightly. She stood up, wincing when one of her knees cracked in the process, but she didn't let Matt move away from her, resting both her hands on his shoulders and she was the single most frustrating person on the planet when she had information before anyone else.
Occupational hazard.
Ruby loved being the one to break news.
And lording it over everyone else.
"Six?" Killian repeated skeptically. "Why are that many whiteboards in the locker room?"
"For reasons exactly like this, Cap. Obviously. Also, I didn't steal any walkie-talkies because, as mentioned, we've got more than two walkie-talkies to our name and Merida would never actually admit to being frustrated by Emma's tendency to ignore her."
"That was a very round about way to criticize," Emma said. Killian kissed her hair.
"I'm not," Ruby argued. "I agree with you about Rook's parents and, I swear, his mom could probably get Gina to stop glaring because she absolutely does it better. But I also know you were up here, probably freaking out about all of this, and I am here to tell you that, a, it's fine, b, it will continue to be fine and, three, you really need to get into the team suite because TV wants to camera pan to Cap at some point since he won't be on the ice and it's his linemate. Apparently we're all in on team unity or something."
"Did you change from letters to numbers at the end just to frustrate me?"
"And also because it's hysterical."
"I promise, it's not."
Ruby made a face, shaking her head and pressing half a dozen kisses to Matt's cheek when he started bobbing impatiently on the balls of his feet. "You look like your dad, but you are as prone to impatience as your mom, mini-Jones."
Emma groaned, but Ruby was unaffected by the whole thing and Killian might have mumbled that's true under his breath. "Traitor," she accused, prying Peggy's fingers away from his tie and his shirt and it only ended with her getting her hair tugged, but they really needed to get out of that hallway or Emma was going to kiss him with a very opinionated and slightly disgruntled audience around.
She still didn't know if Phillip's mom got her jersey.
"Also," Ruby added, slamming her finger into the elevator button behind her. "Mary Margaret and David are here. Which is mostly the reason I showed up."
"So you weren't just here to mock my event?"
"Who do you think I am?"
"You are you and prone to mocking. And I also know you weren't just here to announce arrivals that I probably got text messages about anyway."
"You actually check your phone?"
"Absolutely not. I don't even know where it is."
"In my pocket," Killian said, stepping through the open elevator doors and they should just take his tie off. It was a hazard at this point. He shrugged when both Emma and Ruby gaped at him, a lopsided smile and a baby in his arms and that was ridiculous. Totally unfair. Emma didn't really care about Phillip's mom anymore. "I figured you'd need it eventually," he reasoned. "And Mary Margaret texted me too because she knew Emma wouldn't look at her phone. Banana'a here too."
"Did they come together?" Emma asked, not sure why that made her heart feel like it was exploding a little bit. It was surprisingly pleasant.
"Nah. Coincidental taxi crossover. Or so Banana told me."
"That's very creative, although I'm not sure it really makes sense."
"Tell Banana that. I did already. It'll make me sound way more convincing if we tag-team the argument."
Ruby gagged, Matt laughing into her side and it might have been the longest elevator ride in the world. Merida's voice wasn't quite clear on the walkie-talkie. "Gross," Ruby announced, and Chase Square was already filled with fans when the elevator doors opened. There were far more Débleu jerseys than usual. "Seriously, Cap, fix your tie before they pan to you on TV or Anna will have even more reason to make fun of you than how obnoxiously into your wife you are."
"If that was supposed to be an insult, it fell a little flat, Lucas."
"No, that was just a fact."
Killian rolled his eyes, but did as instructed, a particularly impressive feat in the middle of a crowd that was very quick to recognize him. He smiled and nodded and took a handful of pictures before some security guard realized what was happening and directed them around the corner towards the player's entrance.
They didn't say anything more in the second elevator, Matt's not-quite-quiet commentary about the Flames and the power play and holding it in the zonelike that was a phrase he understood. He absolutely understood it.
And Ruby's eyes flickered towards Mary Margaret as soon as they walked into the team suite, Anna already making faces at Leo. "She's a goddamn baby thief," Killian mumbled, but the insult lost most of his edge when he started making his own faces at Peggy and Emma knew they were all keeping secrets.
"You might want to reconsider that when I'm fairly certain it's hereditary," Emma suggested."
"I'm not actually related to Banana."
"Shut up, KJ," Anna yelled from the other side of the team suite, and Ruby was whispering something to Mary Margaret. "Also, hi, Emma!"
"Hi, Anna," Emma mumbled, smile tugging at her mouth without her explicit permission and there was carpet on the ice.
Ruby glanced at her. "I told you it'd be fine."
"Do not presume to know exactly what I'm thinking."
"I'm not. It's another fact. Tell her, Cap."
"I'm not doing that, Lucas," Killian said. "When are they going to pan to me? Is there an actual plan or you just letting TV order us around?"
"You need to keep flirting with Emma so you're not quite as abrasive. Or are you just super frustrated about how," she covered both of Matt's ears, "shitty the power play is without you in front of the net?"
"You're just wandering around throwing out opinions no one asked for, aren't you?"
"I'd repeat my last two questions, but that seems redundant."
"Let go of my kid's head, please."
Anna chuckled, earning several confused glances and both teams were trying to do warmups with a goddamn carpet in the middle of the ice. "What?" she asked. "That was a funny sentence. And KJ does that whole snarl thing when he's trying to use his captain voice. It's hysterical when he thinks he's some kind of authority."
"Only when you aren't undermining it, Banana."
She stuck her tongue out.
"Mer," Emma said, yanking the walkie-talkie off her belt with enough force that she was slightly worried about the stitching of her clothes. "Did we agree the carpet was going to be out there for warmups? That seems like a pretty major hazard."
Merida didn't answer.
"Mer!"
"Uh, yeah, yeah, boss, I'm here. And no, that was definitely not part of the plan."
Emma cursed a variety of different words that mostly just revolved around facilities spending a prolonged period of time in several different underworlds and she wished she knew more Norwegian. It always sounded more intimidating.
She'd started pacing at some point. Or, possibly, just jumping up and down and Mary Margaret knew something too. She kept licking her lips and staring at her shoes and back up at Emma like she wanted to shout several headlines in her face – a move she'd already done in the last twenty-four hours because the New York media contingent had several metaphorical field days with Killian's press conference.
And maybe Emma had watched it more than once.
Maybe she hoped that wasn't as crazy as she was worried it absolutely was.
It was romantic.
Whatever.
They'd gotten the carpet on the ice too early.
"How did that happen?" Emma demanded, glancing around the room like any of them would be able to answer. Peggy almost tripped over her own feet, standing in the middle of the team suite with her arms above her head and hands wrapped up in Killian's and that was more than enough for some of the fight to fall out of Emma.
"I can't believe you're trying to calm me down with our own kid," she grumbled.
Killian grinned. And Mary Margaret might have sniffled. She, at least, took her phone out. "Is it working?"
"Kind of. Depends on what Reese's and Ruby are gossiping about."
"There is no gossip," Mary Margaret promised, but even Anna laughed at the obvious lie and David winced as if it physically pained him to hear those words. "What? C'mon, there's not!"
"You should have practiced that some more, Reese's."
"She did," David mumbled. Anna laughed louder.
"Aw, that's not fair at all," Mary Margaret sighed, slumping into a chair with her legs hanging over the side and it felt a bit like junior year of college and watching the Rangers in their dorm because David stole the remote. Only with a much bigger carpet disaster.
Emma hoped they hadn't reached disaster level yet.
"M's, did you honestly practice telling Emma a lie before you got up here?" Ruby asked, smile taking up half her face. She'd let go of Matt at some point, letting him run towards the glass and start shouting cheers that Roland and Henry had undoubtedly taught him over the Christmas break.
"No," Mary Margaret said. "No! That would be insane."
"And we're certainly not insane," Killian muttered. He pulled the walkie-talkie out of Emma's hands, turning the volume down, which, honestly was probably for the best because she still kept listening to her music too loud and she was very likely doing irreparable damage to her eardrums or something.
Mary Margaret nodded. "Absolutely not. Your tie is crooked."
"Pegs is a menace."
"With some honestly ridiculous lower-body strength. She start running around yet?"
"God, stop suggesting that we're looming close to walking," Emma groaned. She stuffed the walkie-talkie back in her pocket and they were all professional hockey players, they could skate around the goddamn carpet. As long as Aurora didn't fall over later, she didn't care.
"It's got to be close though, right?" Mary Margaret pressed, and that inflection wasn't right either. Emma narrowed her eyes.
"What did you bet on?"
"What?"
"Is that what the gossiping is about? And why Rubes was so mad at the thought of Pegs walking without her being there to confirm it? Did this team bet on Peggy's first steps?"
"No!"
"Try again, Reese's. "
"No."
"Oh, that was worse than the last time," Ruby sighed, leaning against the door behind her. "M's, you've really got to get better at this. We can't deal with the garbage lying for the rest of our lives. It's just going to be exhausting."
"That doesn't seem like a problem?"
"Yeah," David agreed. "Maybe we shouldn't be advocating better lying. Aren't we supposed to be the responsible ones? Also, Em, stop glaring at all of us. It's not that big of a deal. This is...familial and fun. And I've got to pay for Rol's onion rings again later, so you can deal with this."
"That will cost you twenty bucks, tops," Emma seethed, twisting away from Killian's arm when he tried to rest his hand on her shoulder again. And, really, she wasn't that upset. She wasn't even angry. She was, admittedly, kind of charmed by the whole, stupid thing and no one could tell Mary Margaret anything.
But she'd almost lost track of how many times she'd watched Killian's presser and the headlines weren't bad, were almost complimentary, and every time Emma thought about the league offer again, she was a little worried her brain was actually going to explode.
They all needed to stop making brain jokes.
It was tactless.
"That's twenty bucks I don't want to spend feeding a ravenous teenager," David grumbled. "But, seriously, no sign of walking? Just standing up with Cap's help?"
"That's still pretty impressive," Killian argued.
"I'm not disputing that. I'm just trying to save my investment."
"How much you got riding on this exactly, Sergeant?" Emma asked, glancing at the ice when the players started working their way off it and they were running out of time for witty banter. Matt was not particularly pleased warmups were over. He kept trying to shoot at the glass.
David leveled her with an even stare, the visual embodiment of older brother and Emma bit her tongue so she didn't dissolve into slightly stressed-out hysterics. "That's not information you need to be aware of."
"It's my kid though, so…"
"And," Mary Margaret added brightly. "That's not even remotely what the gossip was about. You guys go in the locker room yet?"
Ruby groaned, sliding down the door into a less-than-professional heap and Emma could also see the color leaving Mary Margaret's face. That was almost kind of funny too. "Oh, shit," Mary Margaret muttered.
Emma gasped. Killian tensed next to her, head snapping from Emma to each of their kids and back again like he was checking they were still there and still fine and she really couldn't be blamed for whatever sense of dread landed in the pit of her stomach.
It had been that kind of month.
"M's, seriously, if you didn't bring cookies to this game, I would say some really horrible things right to your face," Ruby said.
"You brought cookies to this hockey game?" Emma asked. Mary Margaret shrugged, and appeared to be trying to melt into the chair she was still sitting in. "How did you get those in the Garden?"
"That security guard downstairs totally knows us now."
"And she bribed him with a cookie," David mumbled, grinning when Mary Margaret snapped her head around to stare at him.
Emma laughed, head falling against Killian's shoulder and both Ruby and Matt stuck their tongues out when he kissed her hair. "That's the most Mary Margaret Nolan thing I've ever heard. I'm surprised the pigeons on 34th Street didn't join in the whole thing and serenade the guy with several songs."
"That'd just make him fall asleep," Anna pointed out. "He always kind of looks like he's falling asleep, doesn't he?"
"To serve and protect," Ruby intoned. She was still on the floor.
And the ceremony had started.
The music went off without a hitch, or something less than lame than the word hitch and Emma breathed an audible sigh of relief when it transitioned perfectly into the video montage. That was a much better word than tribute.
Anna chuckled when they showed Phillip getting drafted, highlights from his rookie season and they pointedly ignored the incident with Soyer and injuries and Mary Margaret sniffled again when they got to back-to-back Stanley Cup victories and smiles and parades that weren't really that much work.
They were fun.
Emma wanted another Stanley Cup parade.
Killian didn't move – an arm slung around Emma's shoulders and Peggy's fingers gripping his tie – but his fingers started drifting in between her shoulder blades when they showed the Olympics and the whole, stupid video finished with Phillip scoring in Chicago and lifting the second Stanley Cup and she turned towards him before she remembered the inevitable camera pan.
"Holy shit," Ruby breathed. "We did actually get her a jersey."
Emma's head jerked back to the ice, lips parted and she had no excuse for whatever her breathing was doing, panting slightly like she'd run that marathon she'd been hoping for.
Killian kept staring ahead. But his tongue darted between his lips and he muttered something to Peggy when she yanked harder on a tie that was almost perfectly Rangers blue.
"Did you do that?" Emma asked quietly. The jersey wasn't a perfect replica of the ones Aurora and Phillip's dad were wearing – the laces weren't perfectly tied and Emma thought she noticed a tiny rip at the end of the right sleeve, but it was a jersey and, really, at this point, that was all any of them could ask for.
"Killian," Emma prompted, and he blinked. "Did you threaten Kristoff in the middle of the locker room and make him give Phillip's mom a game-worn jersey?"
"I didn't know it'd be game worn."
"Oh my God."
"And I didn't really threaten him either, so take at least five-thousand steps back, Banana. Also if you got here on time, you definitely could have helped."
"That's like insider trading or something, KJ," Anna challenged, but Emma's mind was still kind of reeling and Phillip's mom was smiling. Beaming, in fact.
Aurora hadn't tripped on the carpet.
"That's not even remotely what that is," Killian argued. "But it didn't really matter. I think Rook's mom was angry she thought she was going to miss it or not be allowed on the ice-"
"-I wouldn't do that," Emma interrupted.
"Aurora might have. But, yeah, she's incredibly intimidating and apparently a very respected museum curator or something and it's a very strange family dynamic and I just told Kristoff to give her something from the last home game."
"And how much convincing did that require?" Anna asked archly.
"Not a lot."
"You and Reese's should have lying competitions," Emma mumbled, smiling when Mary Margaret clicked her tongue in reproach. She'd finally sat up straight, feet on the ground and Leo on her leg and they hadn't figured out what the gossip was. They needed Elsa to schedule literally every conversation.
"Not a lie, Swan," Killian said. "An amendment."
David scoffed. "That's not the word you're looking for either."
"I think we really need a refresher on the English language, Reese's," Emma said. "Like maybe before Casino Night."
"That's not a very long time," Mary Margaret laughed. Phillip was kissing Aurora on the cheek, a blush on his face that absolutely had everything to do with the literal spotlight on them and there were cameras on the ice and a very loud PA announcement and people were standing and clapping and Emma didn't really think before she turned.
It was, she'd eventually argue, partially because he wouldn't let go of their kids and partially because he'd saved the jersey incident and partially because he was just really stupid good looking, but it was mostly because she was more in love with him than she'd been the first time he'd saved one of her events and the headlines were going to be absurd.
She had to press up on her toes because she already had enough to worry about without thinking of blisters on her heels, and Killian's breath hitched when Emma's lips pressed against his. It wasn't particularly easy or a particularly good angle – one kid clinging to his very bruised ribs and the other less than pleased that his parents were making out in public spaces again – but Emma couldn't bring herself to care.
It was a very good distraction.
It still wasn't a distraction.
It was...her life.
That was such a dramatic thought.
Her fingers found the back of Killian's hair, the smile clear on his face even as he kept kissing her and his hand landed on top of her ring when it fell over the front of her shirt.
"I love you," she mumbled against him. She should have worn heels. It would have made all of this easier.
Killian laughed softly, hair falling across his forehead and breath warm against the curve of her jaw when his mouth moved there. "I love you too, Swan."
"Hey, uh, guys," Ruby muttered, nodding to the closest TV screen and Killian cursed in Norwegian.
"Don't repeat that," he said immediately, glancing at Matt who was already doing just that.
They'd clearly cut away from them quickly – probably scandalized several truck operators at MSG in the process – but they'd also clearly been making out on the game broadcast and Phillip was quite obviously trying to stare at the team suite from the ice.
He looked like he was laughing.
Ruby snickered. Anna might have been guffawing. And on her phone. "Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "No, that totally just happened. I was sitting right here, El. No, of course they didn't plan it. I don't know KJ was staring at Emma like she built the Earth or something."
"The Earth didn't get built," Mary Margaret corrected. "If you want to get technical. The Big Bang kind of formed it and then everything evolved out of there."
"See, this is the kind of things we need a refresher on," Emma said, but she could feel the heat on her face and Killian kept running his hand through his hair. She sighed, closing her eyes and she could hear her phone ringing. It was still in Killian's pocket. "I need that," she muttered.
He grimaced when he dropped it in her outstretched palm. "Swan, this is-"
"No, no, this is...if the worst thing that ever happens to us again is making out on camera for an unscheduled pan, then I think we've won some kind of metaphorical lottery."
Emma stared meaningfully at Ruby, a smile lingering on her face as she held both hands up in mock surrender. "If Zelena is pissed, I'll take full responsibility for the pan. Unscheduled or otherwise."
"Your mercy knows no bounds."
"Stop making out everywhere."
"I've got to go deal with this," Emma muttered, phone shaking in her grip.
Killian hummed, the hint of a smirk on his face and it was actually kind of funny. If funny was actually ridiculous and absurd and Liam was probably calling his phone too. "We'll be fine, love."
He kissed her again, quick and easy and Emma's smile didn't feel as out of place as it probably should have.
The entire suite shouted get out of here at once.
And, really, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Zelena had to keep pausing so she wouldn't laugh when she was using her powerful voice and Emma's stomach stayed exactly where it was supposed for the entire conversation, feet propped up on the edge of her desk as she was reminded aboutprofessionalism and the brand and she hummed in agreement at least seventeen different times.
She didn't actually apologize once.
She wasn't really sorry.
And she wasn't really ready for the knock on her office door.
"Hey," Henry grinned, leaning against the half-open doorway with his feet crossed at the ankles and the move was almost too Killian. Emma laughed loudly, swinging her feet back onto the floor and practically leaping across the space.
Henry didn't stumble when Emma crashed into him, far taller than she was still entirely used to with hair that probably infuriated Regina daily, but he hugged her back tightly.
"What are you doing here?" Emma asked. "Are you supposed to be here? Did I know you were going to be here? Are you the gossip that Ruby and Reese's were talking about. Were you in the locker room before?"
"God, that was like eighty-six questions at once. And no to all of them actually. This was kind of a spur of the moment thing so I could see Phillip's ceremony and be here for Casino Night."
"I didn't get you a ticket to Casino Night."
"I'm pretty positive Merida did."
"God, she should just be running the whole department at this point, it'd be so much more efficient."
Henry clicked his tongue, brows pulled low in something that was an almost too obvious disagreement and Emma had to blink to remind herself that the kid in front of her was actually an eighteen-year-old and kind of an adult and she always forgot how tall he was.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded, tugging lightly on the front of his team-branded t-shirt to pull him further into her office. He let a quiet whoawhen he saw the small explosion of paperwork, sinking down into an open chair as Emma perched on the front of her desk. "It was worse a couple days ago, honestly."
"I find that very hard to believe."
"How long have we known each other?"
"Ah, yeah, that's true," Henry grinned. He crossed his arms, expression steady when Emma lifted her eyebrows. "You ok?"
"Depends on how much you know."
"Probably way more than I should."
"You've always been a very good eavesdropper," Emma said, and she could almost feel her metaphorical and literal heart strings being tugged. "You get a tux for Casino Night? Oh God, are you bringing a date?"
"Of course I got a tux for Casino Night? Did Killian? Rol said he hadn't yet."
"That was the less interesting question."
"That's because you sound like Mom."
Emma scrunched her nose, working another laugh out of Henry and he was better at imitating Killian's eyebrow thing than anyone else. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that. Seriously. A date? You're bringing a date. She a Ranger fan?"
"It'd be weird to bring her to Casino Night if she wasn't."
Emma wasn't sure what noise, exactly, she made in response to that, but it kind of sounded like a yelp and a screech and the general, vocal embodiment of excitement and Henry drooped in his chair. "Did you meet her at school?"
"In my creative writing class."
"You read anything she's written?"
"Why does this seem like an interrogation?"
"It's not," Emma argued. "End of the season presser at the worst."
"Yeah, we're well acquainted with pressers now, aren't we?"
"Oh that lacked a distinct sense of subtlety. Scarlet-esque. You're usually much better than that."
"I'm going to tell Will you said that."
"Ah, don't do that," Emma sighed. "I'm never going to hear the end of it. And he's probably got like ten bucks on when Peggy's going to walk."
Henry shook his head, smile a little more tremulous, but still a hint confident and Emma was breathing out of her mouth. She should have put the game on in her office. "It's more like fifty," Henry said. "I think they're all trying to avoid how worried they are about Killian. Focus on something good instead, you know?"
"That's ridiculous."
"It's nice. It's proper family. Which is why I don't think you should take this league job."
Emma was glad she was sitting down, gripping the front of her desk a little tighter and she was only a little surprised her eyes did not, in fact, fall out of her head. "Jumping right into the deep end of it, aren't we?"
"That's not true at all. We hugged, we bantered a little, you interrogated me."
"That's not what happened! How do you even know about this job?"
"Rol asked Mom if you were going to leave on the cab ride from JFK."
"God, that's playing dirty," Emma sighed, but Henry just shifted his eyebrows and smiled wider. He'd been taking lessons from Killian, she was sure. "Why don't you think I should take the job?"
"Because you don't want it."
"You're skating on very thin ice, kid."
Henry rolled his eyes, but he sat up a little straighter – staring at Emma with a look she hadn't seen in years, not since he was terrified Regina and Robin might send him back or decide they didn't actually want him and she had to swallow to stop herself from crying.
Again.
God.
"You'd be great at it, Emma," Henry said. "And it'd be so good. So it probably makes me a selfish asshole when I-"
"-Hey," she snapped. He rolled his eyes again.
"I'm in college, you don't have to correct my speaking patterns."
"Tough luck. Keep talking."
He saluted. "You'd be great at it, but this is...you can do all that here. You already have. Hell, look at me. Look at every GD kid you've ever done anything for. You can inspire things here and inspire people here and no one wants you to leave the Garden, Emma. It's...did Merida already tell you it's your team too?"
"How do you know that?"
"A very lucky guess, actually. And because everyone thinks that. And also because I think you could do more here."
"That's a very strong opinion."
Henry shrugged, shaking his hair off his forehead. He didn't blink. He didn't say anything else. He kept looking at Emma with a sense of confidence he'd had in her since he was twelve because Emma had the same in him and time was, apparently, some kind of flat circle.
"I know it's a good offer, Emma," Henry whispered. "But this is…"
"Home?" she chanced, and he nodded, ducking his gaze to the ground when she noticed the bit of moisture in the corner of his eye. Emma leaned forward, pulling his hands away from his thighs and lacing her fingers through his, squeezing tightly.
"You're a incredibly smart guy, you know that?"
"Sometimes."
"Eh."
"With one hell of a mouth on him," Emma added, brushing a kiss over the top of his forehead. "So, what's your date's name? You going to wear matching outfits?"
Henry did, eventually, answer, most, of Emma's questions – drawing the line at home many dates he and Maddie had been, but she wasn't even counting on getting a name, so that felt like a victory. Which was good since the Rangers did not get one.
Again.
And that probably shouldn't have made her happy, but she'd been caught making out on live TV already that night, so she figured her maturity was kind of fluid at this point.
Will cackled as soon as they walked into the restaurant, nearly falling off his stool and earning a frustrated look from both Aurora and Phillip's mother and they were going to have to let her keep that game-used jersey.
Kristoff wouldn't appreciate that.
But that all seemed to fall by several different waysides when Arthur appeared in front of them, a pinch between his eyebrows that was understandable since the power play still looked like several different Norwegian curse words.
"I've been looking for you, Jones," Arthur announced. Killian's eyes darted towards Emma, letting Anna pull Peggy out of his arms and she absolutely leaned against his side when he pulled her there.
"I was in the locker room before, Arthur."
"Placating whatever Phillip's mother's name is."
"God, that is almost too abrasive even for you," Emma muttered. Arthur barely made a noise.
"Four in a row, Emma. Four in a row. Have you seen our power play? He may be getting pre-game ceremonies, but Phillip's shit at screening goal."
Killian groaned. "My kids are here, Arthur. Try and remember where you are. How many whiteboards you break tonight?"
"Not important. I'm here to offer you a deal."
"Excuse me? Do you even have the power to do that?"
"And shouldn't Gina be dealing with that?" Emma asked, blinking when Regina appeared as suddenly as if she'd been summoned. She glared at Arthur.
"I don't know and I don't particularly care," he said. "Regina, you can disagree if you want, this is what's happening."
"You haven't even said anything, Arthur," Killian pointed out.
"I want you to advise. The team. Or something that sounds less official because I do actually think it's against your contract."
"What?"
"What part of that was confusing?"
"All of it."
Arthur sighed in frustration, waving both his hands through the air as Regina continued to glare at him. "The power play is God awful," he muttered. "Husinger hasn't recorded a point since you punched him and I don't want you to talk to him really, but if you're just going to sit in the team suite and get us sued by the FCC then you might as well be occupying your time better."
"You're not going to get sued by the FCC," Regina mumbled. And that was probably more for Emma than Killian.
"Can I do that?" Killian asked.
"Who are you directing that question to?"
"You're my agent!"
Regina made a dismissive noise, lips twisted slightly and Killian's arm tightened around Emma's waist. "As long as Arthur doesn't use the word advisor ever again. IR doesn't stop you from participating in team events. You can tell them how to play hockey as long as you're not the one playing hockey or punching anyone else."
"That was rather pointed, Gina."
"Those phone calls lasted for hours and I'm still dealing with presser repercussions."
"Were there a lot of those?" Emma asked sharply, but Killian muttered some kind of disagreement before she'd finished the question.
He took a deep breath, fingers toying with the belt loop that no longer had a walkie-talkie attached to it and Emma needed to buy Merida several drinks. "You just want me to...what, Arthur? Help make the team better?"
"Obviously," Arthur snapped. "Did you watch that power play?"
"Yeah, it looked like garbage."
"Exactly. Don't punch anyone, we won't use the wrong terminology and maybe we won't embarrass ourselves before the end of the season."
"Aiming high, huh?"
"Cap," Will cried from the other side of the restaurant at the same time Anna screeched "KJ!" and Emma knew she shouldn't use his shoulder as leverage, but he kind of lifted her up too and Regina gasped loudly when she saw it first.
"I totally won," Roland yelled. "I told you guys it was going to be tonight!"
He was standing on a chair, Ariel's hand hovering behind him as Matt and Dylan hit a puck against the closest wall, and they'd moved half a dozen tables out of the way.
It wasn't really walking, but it was definitely more than wobbling and Emma wasn't sure either she or Killian had ever moved that fast. They both crouched down as soon as they moved into the open space, arms outstretched as Robin moved behind Peggy, careful not to get too close and disturb the slightly shaky balance she'd found.
Mary Margaret had her phone out, tears on her cheeks while Ruby shouted encouragements and Emma was glad for both because her mind couldn't quite process the rush of endorphins it was currently dealing with.
The whole restaurant turned to them – cheers echoing as loudly as they had during Phillip's ceremony and Emma didn't realize she was crying until David handed her a goddamn napkin. And that wasn't really going to help her when Killian muttered "c'mon, little love, just one foot in front of the other."
She absolutely did not understand the instructions, but she did it anyway, tottling forward until Killian's hands pulled her against his chest and they all exploded into a noise that could only be classified as pure joy.
Emma might have been sobbing.
Mary Margaret definitely was.
"You did so good," Killian said softly, holding onto Peggy tightly and there wasn't much baby to kiss, but Emma worked with what she had.
"I'll take my money now, please," Roland said, grinning like he'd won that previously discussed lottery.
"How much did you get?" Emma asked.
Will didn't look at Killian when he answered. "Probably a couple hundred dollars, honestly."
Her laugh wasn't so much that as it was just even more joy, but Emma was certain everything switched, again, in that moment and she kissed Peggy's arm before she did something stupid like shout several brand-new life plans at all of them.
She said it quietly instead.
"You should do it."
Killian blinked. "What?"
"Advise or not that word. As long as there are no punches thrown. That power play is painful to watch now."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Emma nodded, pulse thumping at the quiet hope in his voice and the squirming, now-walking baby in his arms. "You think we can get her to walk again? I think Reese's video is probably a little shaky."
"Rude," Mary Margaret said. "But also probably accurate."
Killian smiled – slow and easy and he'd taken off his tie before Henry and Emma got back to the team suite. "We can absolutely do that, Swan," he said, a promise without actually saying it.
And Elsa screamed into the phone when Emma sent her the non-shaky video of Peggy walking.