Disclaimer: Only Catalina and Clara are my creation. Nothing else.

A/N: Time to get to know Emma and Killian's younger daughter Clara a little better. It's funny because I had to spend more time figuring out who Catalina was, but I had a really clear picture of Clara right from the beginning. That said, sometimes characters have a way of surprising you and that happened to me while writing this. Something came out that's going to get more important later on. This is remaining a series of oneshots, but there will be a few multi-part stories woven within this. Maybe some slight foreshadowing in this one. :) Hope you enjoy getting to know Clara!

Rating: K

It's been said that the sisters Jones are like opposite sides of the same coin. There are things that they have in common like how they adore their parents and Henry. They're both naturally compassionate and empathetic, though they show it in different ways. If Catalina Pearl is like a living ray of sunlight, Clara Marie is a living moonbeam.

Clara takes after Killian, physically speaking. Her hair is a touch lighter than his, but her eyes? Her eyes are exactly like his. And his are the same shade as his mother's. He doesn't remember her all that well, but he remembers his older brother Liam telling him that once. It makes him happy to know that his daughter has something of the grandmother she'll never know. And he loves that it's something that he has in common with them both.

When she's about a year old and right on the verge of walking, her parents do what they did with Catalina. Put her down by the living room table and sit on the floor, this time with Henry, to see who can coax her to walk to them. Catalina, who is around three years old at this time, assumes the role of cheerleader. When Clara takes her first step, she looks over at her sister for reassurance. "Come on, Clara, you can do it!" Catalina encourages her.

And she does. Her steps are wobbly, but her path is certain as she toddles straight into her father's arms. "That's my girl!" Killian beams at her before making her squeal with laughter by peppering her cheek with kisses.

Now at four years old, Clara is a sweet albeit cautious child. Like moonlight in comparison to sunlight, Clara is softer and more delicate than her big sister. Whereas Catalina is a social butterfly, Clara is shy. Painfully so. There's only a few people that she's completely comfortable with and she's related to most of them. It's hard for her to be around other people.

See, most people push too much. They'll ask too many questions or talk too loud and generally make Clara feel like she's different. Too different and in a way that's not good. It makes her horribly self-conscious, like there's something wrong with her. So she tends to cling to the people who make her feel safe.

Namely, her parents, siblings and grandparents. But all of them know that Killian sits at the very top of that list. For as much as Clara loves her mother, Clara and Killian have a special bond. He understands her more than anyone else does and she flat out adores him. It makes Emma a little jealous sometimes, but she chooses to ignore it. She knows her baby loves her.

Besides, she loves watching Clara and Killian together. Clara tends to be on the quiet side, even around her family, but Killian knows how to get her talking. He also has a way of sending her into fits of giggles and Emma so adores hearing her baby laugh. Especially since her laugh is a contagious one. Once she starts giggling, it's only a matter of time before everyone else joins in.

Though Emma's favorite part about Clara and Killian's relationship is the way it showcases his tender side. As fearsome a pirate as Killian used to be, there's always been a heart of gold buried underneath. He feels things deeply, especially when it comes to his girls. He's tender with and protective of all of them, but especially so with Clara.

Though, in truth, the entire family is extra protective of Clara. She's just so shy and she's always been small for her age that it brings it out of all of them. Even Catalina, who is only two years older, has developed the habit of looking out for her. But with Killian, this protectiveness is amplified. Emma suspects this is at least part of why Clara adores him so. He's often the first one she'll seek out for a comforting cuddle.

What really makes their relationship special is that this tenderness is a two way street. Clara always seems to know when her father is upset or hurt and will come up with ways to try and make him feel better. For example, it's true that Killian's hook and brace are a big part of who he is, but there's always a point where he has to take them off or risk losing his mind. Especially if he's had his brace on for too long as he's prone to do.

As nervous as Killian was about wearing his hook around Catalina as a baby, he may have been more nervous about either of his girls ever seeing his mutilated wrist. It's not pretty or anything close to it. So he usually takes care to keep them from seeing it. It's not hard to do; the brace rarely ever comes off until he goes to sleep anyway.

But one night when Clara was about 19 months old, his wrist is hurting so badly that he has to take it off. The girls were playing on the floor and Emma was massaging his wrist for him, trying to ease some of the pain when Clara decides that she wants to climb up into his lap.

Time seems to stop for a minute while Killian braces himself for a terror filled scream from Clara when she notices his wrist. But it never comes. He's surprised when she reaches out and touches it. "Daddy hurt." She says this to her mother who gives her a somewhat sad smile.

"Yes, baby, but he'll be okay," Emma assures her.

When Clara looks up Killian, her eyes are swimming with tears but she's not afraid. "I help." Killian's breath catches in his throat when she places a soft kiss on his wrist. "All better?"

"Aye, love." His voice is thick with emotion. "All better."

When it comes to her grandparents, Clara prefers Mary Margaret though she does love her Grandpa David. It's just that, like Killian, Mary Margaret has a way of getting her to open up. After her parents, Mary Margaret seems to get Clara the best.

In fact, the best present she's ever gotten is the stuffed duck that Mary Margaret gave her when she was three years old. Clara has a love for animals in general, but Mary Margaret knows that she's had a fondness for ducks ever since she saw a family of them swimming by the Jolly Roger. David's taken to calling her little duck because of it. So when Mary Margaret sees the adorable stuffed duck in a store window, she knows she has to get it for Clara.

Mary Margaret can't help smiling whenever she remembers the way Clara hugged the duck to her chest the moment it was handed to her. The way her eyes were bright with happiness as she hugged her Grandma and thanked her for her new friend. Suffice to say, it was love at first sight. That stuffed duck has become Clara's near constant companion.

Later on that same fateful day that Clara got said new friend, Emma takes the girls to visit Killian on the Jolly Roger. As soon as Emma carries Clara on board and sets her down on deck, she immediately scampers over to Killian who is all too happy to scoop her up into his arms. He's long since mastered the art of picking up his daughters while wearing his hook. "Look Daddy, a ducky!" She holds up the duck for him to inspect.

"Mom gave it to her," Emma tells him.

"And what a fine companion he'll make," Killian smiles at his daughter. "Tell me, love, does our new ducky friend have a name?"

"Hmm." Clara considers the question carefully, her face lighting up as inspiration strikes. "His name is Jolly! After Daddy's ship."

"Well, then." Killian's supporting her weight with his left arm and makes a show of shaking one of the duck's wings with his thumb and finger to Clara's delight. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jolly."

In addition to her love for animals, Clara has also developed a love for books. One of her favorite things is listening to stories. She's already learning how to read. This love for books is what led her to form a bond with Belle.

It all started when Emma decided to take Clara to see the library. She still smiles when she thinks about the way Clara's eyes widened in awe when first surrounded by all those books. As Belle showed them around, pulling out some books she thought Clara might enjoy, Emma realizes how good Belle is with her.

The shared love for books aside, Belle knows what it's like to feel different. She doesn't treat Clara like some sort of alien life form simply because she's shy, like so many others do. She treats her like a person and she's not pushy so Clara likes her. It makes Emma and Killian happy to see their reserved little girl connect with someone outside of her family.

Neither Emma or Killian would call themselves terribly musical, though they both enjoy music. But when they have Catalina they find themselves singing lullabies to try and soothe her, and later both of their girls. It's not all of the time, but sometimes the mood strikes. Out of the two of them, Killian's the more likely to start humming or singing a tune. Usually a sea shanty of some sort.

It's not unusual to hear either of their girls singing songs to themselves. What is unusual is when Emma and Killian hear Clara singing a song that neither of them recognizes. When Emma asks her where she learned it, they're surprised when Clara says that she made it up. Granted, it's a simple melody and lyric she comes up with, but it's enough to have Killian convinced that their baby is some sort of musical genius.

Emma thinks it's way too early to go that far, but even still she knows they have to encourage this. So they find themselves exposing Clara to more and more kinds of music. There's so much of it that she loves, but lately she's been especially drawn to the violin. So much so that Emma and Killian are getting her one for her next birthday.

Of course, Emma's thinking more along the lines of encouraging their daughter's apparent musical ability will be good for her. If she ends up loving it like they think she will, Emma thinks it'll help bring her out of her shell. One of her greatest hopes for both of their girls is that they will grow up believing in themselves and their worth. She doesn't want either of her girls to ever believe they aren't good enough like she used to. And if learning the violin can help Clara in this respect, Emma's all for it.

Killian is in complete agreement with her about this. Only he also believes that Clara will undoubtedly become the greatest violinist of all time. Emma can't help but laugh when Killian talks about this like it's a given. After all, their daughter has yet to even hold a violin, let alone try to play one. At the same time, she loves him for having that much faith in Clara.

For having that much faith in both of their girls and Henry, for that matter. He truly believes that any of them can do anything they set their minds to. Killian's support of Clara's love for music makes Emma fall in love with him all over again. She's lost count of how many times he's managed to do that to her over the years.

But she knows from personal experience how much having Killian's support has helped her deal with all of her own insecurities and problems. He's always been able to make her feel like she can overcome anything. He's always been in her corner and so she knows all too well how lucky their children are to have him as their father.

Who knows? Between Clara's musical potential, the support of her family and Killian's overwhelming faith in her, maybe she really will grow up to be the greatest violin player who ever lived.

The nightmares started when Clara was around two years old. Emma and Killian can still remember the first like it was yesterday. They can see it so clearly.

They are just getting ready to go the bed when a scream rips into the night that scares them both half to death. They raced to Clara's room, fully expecting to find some sort of villain trying to kidnap her or a portal appearing out of nowhere to pull her away to who knew where.

But there's only Clara, tossing and turning in her bed. Right before they reach her, she screams herself awake. Emma goes to comfort her and is stunned when Clara pushes her away. They realize that the nightmare may have technically ended, but Clara's not fully awake yet. It quickly becomes apparent that they won't be able to do anything to make it stop. It seems like they're going to have to wait it out, so they do. Even though not being able to help their baby yet is killing them.

The screaming continues sporadically for another minute or so, though it feels like a lifetime. When it stops, Clara seems confused. When her eyes land on her parents, when it finally registers that they're with her, she bursts into tears. Terribly gut-wrenching tears that nearly rip them apart.

It takes both of them to calm her down. They sit with her sandwiched between them and hold her while she cries, whispering words of comfort through tears of their own. To say it shakes them up is an understatement.

They thought, they hoped, that it would be a one time occurrence. It wasn't. It starts happening at least a couple of times a week and now it's been two years. Archie's suggestions help a little. But a little isn't nearly enough.

Archie aside, the only other two people who know about the nightmares are Henry and Catalina and that's only because they sleep in the same house. If it were up to Emma and Killian, neither of their other kids would know because it makes them worry about their little sister. Well, if it were up to Emma and Killian, Clara wouldn't be having these nightmares in the first place.

They briefly talked about letting at least David and Mary Margaret know about them, but decided against it. It doesn't seem fair to worry them too. That and they feel like they should be able to handle Clara's night terrors themselves.

They should know better after everything they've been through and on some level they do. But they keep it a secret anyway.