And here we are at the end of another story; thank you so much for your continued support of my fics and I hope this won't be the last time. I hope you enjoy the conclusion and the very happy ending.
three years later
On the morning of Killian's wedding to Emma Swan he's standing in front of the floor-length mirror buttoning his shirt and feeling his stomach roil with both apprehension and excitement. He hadn't seen Emma since last night and he misses her more than he had imagined possible, but he's willing to stay in this room for another hour lest he run into her in the hallways of Granny's B&B.
There's a knock on the door and Killian hopes it's Will on the other side, coming to help him with his bow-tie because it's still something he can't get a hang of doing with his prosthetic hand.
"Come in", he yells but nothing happens and he approaches the door, intending to yank it open when Emma's voice stops him in his tracks.
"It's me."
"What are you doing here, love? I'm not supposed to see you before the wedding", Killian tells her softly, his hand wrapping around the knob because he wants to throw the stupid superstition out of the window and just kiss his bride.
"You could close your eyes", Emma says and there's a catch in her voice that lets him know that she really needs his arms right now.
"Alright", he agrees and does just that, opening the door and reaching out his hand until he finds her arm, gently pulling her into the room.
"Hey, you", she murmurs and embraces him, her nose pressing against his neck and her slender body molding against his.
"Are you alright?" He asks, his hands resting on the small of her back, careful not to mess up the elaborate waves that tickle his skin.
"I didn't sleep well without you", she tells him and presses a kiss against his jaw line, her fingers sliding through his hair and guiding him to her lips.
They kiss slowly, lazily, and Killian feels himself instantly relaxing, the wedding day jitters leaving him completely because he's already got everything he wants, and the impending ceremony is just that; a ritual that won't really change anything.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret exclaims from the doorway and Killian almost opens his eyes, the safe bubble around him and Emma breaking when they jump apart.
"I'll see you soon, love", Killian says and Emma's hand finds his and squeezes before her mother leads her away and the door closes behind them.
Will shows up a few minutes later and Killian finishes dressing, and then they go downstairs to have a shot of liquid courage before walking down to the beach where the wedding is about to take place.
The sky is cloudy but it doesn't seem like it's going to rain in the next few hours and Killian inhales the scent of the ocean, carefully holding the bouquet he had made for Emma and standing in front of the arch with Will by his side.
The wedding party is small, consisting mostly of Storybrooke citizens who have become friends since Killian, Emma and her parents have moved to town, and Killian smiles to himself because it seems that Will, Elsa and their little boy might be relocating too, going by Elsa's enthusiasm over Storybrooke's charms.
There's no music as Emma walks down the sandy aisle on her father's arm but Killian is hearing angles sing because she looks like a fairytale princess dressed into a simple white gown that only accentuates her beauty.
"Here's your bouquet", Killian says once she's standing in front of him and she brings it to her nose, inhaling the scent of all her favorite flowers, and he doubts that anybody minds the wild clash of colors in her hands.
"Thank you", Emma says and stands on his left, Elsa taking her place beside her as they face the ocean.
Killian is barely listening to what's being said, too busy watching Emma's face and her little smiles; her hand is wrapped around his arm and his fingers are covering hers as they say their vows, only releasing each other long enough to slip wedding bands on the ring fingers of their right hands, ignoring the tradition because Killian doesn't have a left hand.
As soon as they are pronounced husband and wife Killian pulls Emma close and kisses her as if there's nobody watching, her flushed cheeks and the way her body sways into his giving him immense satisfaction, but it doesn't compare to the elation he feels a little while later when he leads her into their first dance and she stands on her tiptoes to whisper that she loves him against his ear.
She has been showing him that she does for years, but finally hearing it feels like a true miracle, and one he's not likely to forget.
"I know", he whispers and peers at her face, grinning when she chuckles and lets him twirl her around the dance floor, trusting that he's not going to let her stumble.
And he never does.
Daisy had her third litter of puppies two days ago and Emma sits on the floor next to her bed, holding the tiniest one in her hand and trying to feed him milk from a needleless syringe because he's too weak to suck on his own.
"Come on, baby you have to eat", she tells him, feeling on the verge of tears because she doesn't want to lose him; it prompts her to make a deal with whomever might be listening that she's going to keep him if only he survives.
"Let me give it a go", Killian says and sits down next to her, his lips pressing a soothing kiss against her temple, and she surrenders the puppy, her hand covering his shivering body when Killian cradles him in the crook of his bad arm.
"Be careful", Emma warns and Killian assures her that it will be okay, talking to the puppy in a hushed voice as he coaxes him to drink the milk.
"Just a little bit more, there you go", Killian murmurs and Emma suddenly realizes that even though she had never seen his cornflower blue eyes or his smile, she had heard his laughter countless times and felt the steady touch of his hand, she had smelled the ocean scent of his skin and tasted love on his lips, and all those things outweigh what she'll always be missing.
And so, as she sits next to her husband who's doing his utmost to feed a puppy that anybody else would write off as a lost cause, Emma realizes that the idea of having his baby isn't so frightening anymore. It would be a huge challenge for sure, but she knows that Killian would help her with everything and spend hours describing their kid to her, just like her mother had described Killian until her father had huffed in annoyance and said that Killian's eyes are definitely not bluer than his.
Emma chuckles at the memory and rests her cheek against Killian's shoulder, grinning widely when he asks her what's so funny.
"I just remembered how my mother got in trouble with dad because she said that your eyes are prettier."
"My eyes are prettier", Killian says and Emma doesn't doubt that for a second because she had heard enough about the galaxies in his eyes so many times that she can imagine them relatively well, all that bright blue interspersed with flecks of darker color.
"Is he eating?"
"Almost done with the syringe", Killian says and Emma relaxes a little, smoothing her fingers over the puppy's body and feeling slightly more confident that he's going to make it.
That night Emma can't sleep so she slips out of bed and goes to check on the puppies in the living room, and once she's satisfied that they are all breathing she sits in front of her laptop and ends up on babynames dot com without really remembering how she got there.
"The meaning of the name Arianthe; song, flower", Killian reads from behind her and puts his hand and stump on her shoulders when she jumps in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. Why are you looking for puppy names on this page?"
"I'm not looking for puppy names", Emma tells him and stands up, tugging on his hand and leading him to the couch.
"Why are you looking for baby names, then?" He asks, his voice easily betraying how hopeful he is.
"I'm not pregnant", she tells him because she doesn't want him to come to the wrong conclusion and then end up disappointed.
"Oh, right", he says and it seems that it's already a bit late for that. "Sorry, love. I know we agreed not to have kids-"
"I'm not pregnant, but I'm not adverse to the idea anymore", Emma tells him and cups his cheeks in her hands, her thumbs smoothing over his dimples when he grins.
She's pretty sure that his smile would be able to light up the whole world.
"I really hope I'm not dreaming", Killian says and she assures him that he's not, and when his arms envelop her and he presses a searching kiss against her lips, she knows that she had made the right decision.
Emma is already blissfully happy, but it will be worth facing and conquering her fears to give Killian the child that will make their life together even more wonderful.
"I love you, Swan", he murmurs against her ear and she lets him carry her back to their bedroom where they make love until they are both exhausted and Emma can finally still her mind enough to fall asleep, safely wrapped in the arms of love.
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