Today
Emma and Killian were sitting on the living room floor, furniture parts and tools spread around them as they tried to assemble the new bed they had bought on Saturday. It had been delivered earlier that day, while Killian had been at work at the garage and when he had returned home, Emma had already unpacked everything, making the living room look a mess. He had joined her without a comment and together they tried to follow the instructions.
"When will she be here?" Emma asked him nervously.
"In about an hour, I guess," Killian answered after checking the time on his phone. He looked at Emma and smiled gently. "No reason for you to be nervous. I've explained the situation to Milah and she just wants to meet you, considering that you two might run into each other occasionally."
He hadn't had the chance to see Milah again before Sunday and he and Emma had discussed beforehand whether or not they should tell her the same story as her family. When Killian had admitted that he wasn't feeling comfortable with lying to her, Emma had said that they should just be honest with her. Milah didn't know her family after all, so it was unlikely she'd reveal their lie to anyone who shouldn't know the truth.
But when it was time to face her and explain the situation to her, he had been nervous. Milah had listened to his words carefully and more composed than he would have expected. But once he was finished she had asked just one question: Why?
Killian wasn't sure if she meant why he was claiming to be the father of Emma's baby or why he was letting her stay with him when her family had been waiting for almost a year to have her back. But his answer for both would have been the same anyway and it was the same he had told Emma. Emma was his friend – his best friend – and there was no way he'd let her deal with this situation alone. And claiming that it was his baby was at least stopping her family to ask more questions about who the actual father was. And while at least her mother accepted the situation and her brother would come around eventually, everyone else in the small town they were living would be judgmental about her situation, so it was for the best to allow her a fresh start.
He wasn't certain if Milah believed his explanation, but for the moment she accepted it and only asked to meet Emma. But he was feeling just as nervous about that encounter as Emma did, even though he tried to hide it.
They finished assembling the bed and got up from the floor, Killian holding out a helping hand to Emma.
The bed wasn't big, but Killian believed that it would be enough for him for the time being. He knew Emma would argue that she should be taking this bed since it was his place and his bedroom, but he wouldn't accept that. She should have a little more privacy.
"You know, I think we could hang a curtain up or get a room divider to separate it a little from the living room," he suggested.
"Maybe," she said and looked around for a clock.
Killian placed an arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer, kissing her temple. "Relax. She won't bite." Then he grinned. "But just to be sure I should go ahead and order the pizza I promised her. We don't want to risk anything."
Emma nudged his side, but he could see that she was finally smiling. "Do that, because I'm starving."
"And we can't have that, of course," he agreed and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
4 months ago
Killian looked at the woman sitting across from him, who was searching the list of available songs for one to perform.
She had stumbled into his life about a week earlier, when she had shown up at the garage he was working at, because her car was making strange noises. Since his boss had been on his lunch break and his colleagues were busy, Killian had been the one to greet her and after listening to what the trouble with her car was and writing down her name and number, he had promised her that they would check it as soon as possible and that they would give her a call once they knew more. She had smiled and told him that she hoped to hear from him soon. After a short goodbye she had turned around to leave, the dark curls flying as she spun. He had caught himself staring after her a little longer than would have been necessary. It had taken until late the next day to check what was wrong with her car, but luckily the problem was easily enough fixed and he had called her soon after to tell her that she could pick up the car the next day. Once all details about payment were settled and she was just about to leave, Killian heard himself ask if she would like to go out with him. It had been a spur of the moment decision and when she took a moment longer to respond, he was already regretting it, feeling the warmth spreading on his cheeks. But then she had smiled once more and said Sure, only requesting to be the one who chose where they went. They had exchanged numbers and she had left with the promise to contact him soon.
Now he took a sip from his drink, when Milah finally made her decision and with a grin went to get the song queued up.
Only two songs later he realized that she hadn't been looking for a song to sing herself, but for one he should perform, when he was asked to come on stage. Milah winked and clapped as he got up, wondering what he had gotten himself into. He was expecting the worst, some embarrassing song he would rather be caught dead than sing in public. But when the familiar tune of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now began, he felt relieved and began singing, trying his best to do it justice while not humiliating himself completely.
When the song ended he received some applause and Milah was even standing, a huge smile on her pretty face.
"You're not playing fair," he said when he returned to their table.
"Never said I would," she replied, before she added: "Besides, you needed something to loosen up."
Killian stared at her and then shook his head with a smile. "I guess you're right. I've been a little nervous…"
She raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, extremely nervous about tonight."
Milah placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry, I won't bite." Then she grinned mischievously. "Unless you ask me to, of course."
Killian laughed at her remark and from that moment on it became easier for them to enjoy their time together.
He walked her back to her apartment later that evening and to his surprise she kissed him goodnight.
Afterwards he took a taxi home, actually feeling happy for the first time in about half a year.
Today
"Alright," Milah said, after finishing her slice of pizza. "I still don't fully understand why you can't just tell your family the truth, but I guess that's not my business since we only just met. But have you two talked about what you're going to do once the baby is born? Are you going to continue living together? And if so, are you going to move into a bigger apartment? And what about the birth certificate? Will it be Killian's name on it?"
Killian scratched the back of his head. "We've been talking about the living situation and we want to start looking for another place. As about the birth certificate…"
"We're not deciding that now," Emma interrupted him, turning to Milah. "I don't want him to feel obligated to go through with it until the end. He can change his mind at any point." She looked back at him. "You know I'm grateful for what you're doing, but I won't hold it against you if at some point you're saying that you don't want to stick to the story anymore."
Their eyes locked and Killian gently smiled at her. "Not going to happen."
She returned his smile.
Killian returned his gaze to Milah and realized that she was watching him and Emma with a thoughtful expression. He cleared his throat.
"Well, anyway… Emma and I have only just started discussing the details, but we did agree that we should keep it between the three of us."
Milah sighed. "I doubt I'll have any reason to talk about this situation to anyone, so ok, I won't tell."
"Thanks," Killian said and smiled at her.
"Thank you, Milah," Emma joined in, before getting up. "I'm going to leave you guys alone now. It was really nice meeting you," she finished and held out her hand.
Milah shook it. "It was nice meeting you, too," she replied with a smile.
Once Emma was inside the bedroom, the door closed behind her, Killian turned to Milah, but before he could say a word, his girlfriend spoke: "She seems like a sweet girl."
He frowned a little at her choice of words. "She's amazing. There had been times when she had been the only one I could talk to or just spend time with, because she understood me."
"Is that why you've offered to pretend being the father?"
Killian hesitated. "Maybe some small part of it."
He half-expected her to ask what the bigger part of motivation behind helping Emma was, but instead she merely said: "I guess I should go home now."
"So early?"
She smiled. "Yeah, I need to let all of this sink in. But I'll call you tomorrow."
"Ok," Killian said and then got up to accompany Milah to the door. There he kissed her goodnight, but he could tell that she was holding back. With one last smile she said goodbye and then turned away to leave.