Chapter 16
"No."
Killian almost dropped the ring onto the flagstone floor of the patio.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Let me elaborate."
"Please do love." Killian stood up and looked down at her with a smile.
"When I say no, I just mean not right now. Tonight is about Graham and August." Emma looked down at his open hand where the beautiful ruby ring sat and closed his fingers around it. "Hold on to this and surprise me again another time."
"Ok. It'll happen when you least expect it."
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Emma blinked her eyes open in the early morning light. It was one of those mornings where her brain was still foggy enough with sleep that she didn't know where she was so when she felt a hand flex on her belly, she sat up in a shot.
"Love?" Killian, his accent heavy with sleep as well, sat up next to her. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah. I kinda forgot you were here with me for a second."
"I'm a little hurt Swan."
"Shut up." She lightly smacked him on the shoulder, "My brain doesn't always work this early."
"You are forgiven love." He kissed her lightly on the temple and then started scooting down toward her belly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to say good morning to my child."
Emma sat up against the headboard as Killian propped his head up with one hand while the other caressed her belly. He leaned forward and place small kisses on her stomach, his scruff scratching her.
"That tickles!" Emma laughed.
"Shh!" Killian placed his lips near her belly again, "Good morning little love, it's your papa." He spent the rest of their morning in bed speaking to the baby. After a while, Emma's stomach started to grumble.
"Come on, your kid needs food and so do I."
After the wedding, Emma had gone back to her parent's house with Killian and packed a small bag so she could stay with him while he was still in Boston. Emma was glad that her parents understood that she needed this time with Killian so that they could talk. As she pulled on her jeans, she remembered that she had an appointment with Dr. Murphy that day. Emma got excited to tell Killian that he could go to an appointment with her, but then her face dropped because she wasn't sure if he'd want to, despite everything that happened.
She pushed it from her mind and finished getting dressed. She pulled on one of her favorite t-shirts her mother had given her: it was red and had "Never Grow Up" in black script on the front. She put in on and grabbed her black pair of Converse and went back out to the hotel bedroom where Killian was pulling on a slate blue henley.
"I like your shirt Swan", he said as he sat down to tie up the worn pair of grey Converse he wore on the regular.
"Uh, thanks", she said quietly. Emma finished with her shoes and looked up to see Killian staring at her. "What?"
"Everything okay my love?" He looked worried and Emma couldn't blame him. The last time he had asked her that she'd said yes and then ran from him for two months. "And don't say yes, because I can tell something is bothering you."
"I guess I'm just trying to calm my brain down, you know? I need to beat my flight instinct into submission…because I want this, Killian. I want you in our lives. I want this baby to have the family I never did growing up. It's just going to take some time for me to forget the kind of life I used to have, do you understand?"
"'Course I do." Killian walked over and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "Let's just go to brunch and we can talk some more, yeah? Because afterwards, I have a bit of a surprise for you."
Emma grabbed her purse and followed Killian out of the hotel room. They walked hand in hand the two blocks it took them to get to Stephanie's On Newbury and she wouldn't stop bugging him about what the surprise was. Do you not understand the concept of a surprise Swan?
Their food arrived and Killian noticed a fleeting glance of apprehension and sadness on Emma's face, like earlier that morning.
"Are you going to tell me what's still bothering you Emma?" His eyes bored into hers, "As your…well, I thought we were okay now. At least okay enough to tell each other things and-"
"I love you."
"I love you too Swan. I never stopped."
"The past couple of months were some of the worst. Every time I ran to the bathroom because of morning sickness, I missed that it wasn't you there, rubbing my back and holding my hair. Is that weird?"
"Not at all love."
"And every time I went to see Dr. Murphy, I wished you were there holding my hand. I thought about it every single appointment."
"There's not a day went by that I didn't think of you. Every single day for 64 days, I thought of you. And when Tink told me about the baby…"
"I'm sorry Killian. I'm so, so sorry." She felt the tears start falling down her cheeks, "I was so afraid to tell you. I was afraid that you'd be angry that I kept it from you and it's why I didn't ever want to tell you. And I know that it was wrong to think that, I just…I was scared. It was tough to push what happened the last time I was pregnant from my mind. I'll understand if you're still angry with me and don't want to, but I've got an appointment at Dr. Murphy's in an hour and I was wondering if-"
"Of course Swan, I'll be there. How could I not go?"
"You're not mad?"
"I won't lie and say I never was, but then I learned of the little one and then I was happy. Being a father was not something that I thought was in the cards for me. Milah didn't want children, and after her, it wasn't until you that it came back into my head as a possibility."
"I hate to sound so cliché, but we're good then?" Killian reached across the table to wipe tears from Emma's cheeks and then took her hand in his.
"Yes my love, we're good." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "Now let's finish our meal, because I do not want to be late to the first time I get to see our child."
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"Good to see you Emma!" Dr. Murphy greeted Emma with her usual cheerful smile. She noticed Killian sitting next to her patient. "Mr. Jones, it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise doctor. But please, call me Killian." Killian shook Dr. Murphy's hand and sat back down next to Emma, who was up and ready on the exam table.
"Of course, Killian. Am I correct in my assumption that you are the father?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. In that case, I'm going to need you to fill out a form that details your family's medical history to the best of your knowledge so we know if we have to test the baby in utero for anything."
Dr. Murphy asked one of the nurses to bring Killian the form and after accepting it from the shaking hands of the nurse and thanking her for being a big fan, he started filling it out as Dr. Murphy started spreading the gel on Emma's belly.
"Ooh!"
"Sorry about that Emma, this stuff will be a little cold", said Dr. Murphy. When she finished, she picked up the ultrasound wand and turned on the machine. "Okay, before we begin I've got a question for Mommy and Daddy." Killian put down his paperwork and took Emma's hand, looking expectantly at the doctor.
"What that might be Dr. Murphy?"
"Well Killian, Emma…would you two like to know if your baby is a boy or girl?" Killian looked over at Emma.
"If it's okay with you love, I'd very much like to know."
"I would actually really like to know too."
"Ok then, let's find out!"
"Doctor", Killian spoke up, "I was wondering if you could just write it down in an envelope so we could open it later?"
"Killian?" Emma looked at him.
"It's a surprise Swan. Just go with it okay?" Emma just rolled her eyes and sat back. "I love you."
"Can we just…?" Emma asked the doctor and then looked back at Killian. "You're lucky I love you too Jones." The smile on Killian's face couldn't get any wider.
"Okay then." Dr. Murphy placed the wand on Emma's belly and a grainy picture popped up on the screen. She flipped a switch on the monitor and a rapid heartbeat filled the room.
"Is…is that…" Killian could only stammer.
"Yes dad, it is." The doctor continued moving the wand around and then stopped. "Oh. Oh my."
"What's wrong? Is my baby okay?" Emma was worried.
"Your baby is perfect. Just the uh, gender I've discovered, nothing to worry about." She printed out several ultrasound pictures at Killian's request and placed them, along with the paper telling the gender in an envelope. "Congratulations you two. See you for the next appointment."
"It's like she knows something we don't", said Emma after Dr. Murphy left the exam room. "Besides the gender."
"Don't worry about it Swan. I'm sure it's nothing." But Killian couldn't help but agree with her.
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They left the doctor's office and 10 minutes later, Killian pulled into the parking lot of a party store he'd asked the GPS to find. He rushed around to the passenger side of the car (he'd rented a newer version of his Land Rover when he and Tink had arrived in Boston) and helped Emma out.
"I'm not an invalid you know. Just pregnant."
"I know darling, but remember: I'm a gentleman."
"I love you, you know?" she said to him, placing a hand on his cheek and enjoying the feel of his scruff.
"And I you." He leaned down and kissed her chastely. "But now we've got to take care of business here and then head off to your surprise."
"Will you give me a hint at least?" Emma gave him her best puppy dog eyes and batted her lashes.
"Don't even try that with me Swan, I am resistant to that look." He turned away dramatically as the doors to the store slid open and they stepped inside.
"Hmph." Killian let her hand go as he stepped up to the balloon counter, which was surprisingly not as busy as he thought it'd be. The girl at the counter froze when she saw him and the manager who was near noticed. He came over and ushered the girl away and turned back to Killian.
"Welcome to our store. How can I help you Mr. Jones?"
"Call me Killian, please."
"How can I help you Killian?"
"It's very important that you keep this to yourself as best you can."
"Of course."
"In here is the gender of my child." Killian pulled out the envelope and handed it to the man. He turned around to make sure Emma was occupied with something so she wasn't paying attention to him. "We're having family over at our new home and I wanted to surprise them with finding out at the same time as them. Could you put something together for us?"
"Of course I can. Let me just take a look at what balloons I'll need." He opened the envelope and Killian watched his eyes move back and forth. "First of all, congratulations. Second, I'll have this ready quickly." He handed the envelope back to Killian, who tucked it back into the side pocket of his jacket. Killian went over to Emma, who'd wandered into the Halloween costume aisle that had already popped up despite it only being August and wrapped his arms around her, letting his hands settle on the baby and feeling soft kicks against his hand.
"I won't be able to dress up for Halloween this year", she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"I'm sure we'll be able to find you something Swan." They wandered up and down the aisle and stopped when she saw a costume for the Eleventh Doctor.
"I've got it! And you can blame Tink for this one."
"What is that love?"
"I can dress up as Amy Pond and you can be Eleven."
"I always thought David would be more appropriate. He's such a nice man too."
"What did you just say?"
"David is a nice man?"
"YOU KNOW DAVID TENNANT?!" she whisper screamed.
"Yeah. We met a couple times."
"Thanks to Tink, and Swine flu, I've seen every single episode of the new series of Doctor Who and I became obsessed; it's so easy to do you know. Ten is my favorite Doctor. You need to introduce me at some point!"
"Well, your birthday is in October. I'll see what I can do."
"Really?!" Killian nodded. "I love you so much!"
"You can just be the Rose to my Tentwo. How 'bout it Swan?"
"Yes!" Just then, the manager who'd been working on their balloons found them.
"Your order is ready. I've got it up at the counter."
They followed him up to the front counter and saw a big plain cardboard box sitting there. Nothing about its appearance hinted at what may lay inside, but Emma couldn't help but poke around.
Killian thanked the man and paid for their purchase. He put the box in the trunk and they left. Emma was humming along with the radio when she looked out the window and noticed they were in a very affluent neighborhood in Beacon Hill.
"This isn't the way to the hotel Killian. Where are we?"
"Part of the surprise darling. Don't worry, we're almost there." The brownstones got more and more ostentatious in Emma's eyes as they drove. Finally, they pulled up in front of a decent sized place and were met outside by none other than Smee.
"Miss Swan! It's so good to see you again."
"Likewise Mr. Smee." Emma pulled the pudgy man into a hug. "Could you tell me what's going on because this one over here won't say a word." Killian just scoffed as he popped the trunk.
"That's low Swan. Asking Smee to spoil the surprise."
"I'm afraid I can't say anything Miss Swan. It would defy the purpose of the surprise." He pointed to her belly, "Congratulations are due. I'm very happy for you two."
"Thank you Mr. Smee." Killian handed Smee the box from the trunk.
"Take this to the room we discussed and do not allow it to be opened. Do you understand?"
"Of course sir. See you up there." Emma watched as Smee disappeared into the house and up the stairs.
"Okay, what the hell is going on?" she asked with hands on her hips. "Whose house is this anyways?"
The house in question was a three floor brick faced townhome with a tall tree out front. None of the windows had curtains, allowing Emma to see into the empty home. Killian took her hand, intertwining their fingers and pulled her up the steps of the front stoop and inside. The entire first floor (from what she could see) had wooden floors and the big room to the right of the front door had what looked like an old fireplace.
Killian looked over at Emma as she surveyed the empty space and saw that she was still a bit agitated. He figured he needed to tell her soon because an angry Swan was not a happy Swan…and in this moment, he wanted her to be very happy.
"I know you've questions, love."
"Damn right I do. Are we breaking in to someone's house right now?"
"No Emma. This house, this home…it's ours."
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A week and a half ago…
He was going to be a father. He couldn't believe what Tink told him. Emma, his Swan, was pregnant…and based on the fact that she was now gone home, she had no intention of telling him. He felt the anger start to build in him, but calmed when he heard his heart rate start to climb. Killian hated the hospital. Ever since his mother's and his brother's deaths, he avoided hated being in them at all costs. The last time being Swan's stay for those couple of days.
He shook himself to calm down and was staring at the ceiling when Tink returned from her sojourn in the cafeteria for "a decent up of coffee Killian. The swill up here is just that…swill."
"How are you feeling?" she asked him.
"How do you thinkI'm feeling?"
"There's no need to be an ass."
"It's the perfect time."
"You're an idiot."
"Sod off."
"FINE." Tink grabbed her purse and was about to rush out the door.
"Wait. I'm sorry. I just…I don't know what to do. Emma…I love her more than anything Tink. She left me and now you tell me that she's having a child…my child. A child she had no intention of ever telling me about and I'd have never known if you hadn't seen. Right now, I don't care if she doesn't want to see me, but I have a right to that baby. I will do everything in my power to show her that I won't leave her like the rest. I have to do something Tink." His sister smiled at him and walked back over to the hospital bed, reaching up to brush his hair off his forehead and smiled as she placed her hand on his cheek.
"Just stop being an ass then." Killian rolled his eyes with a smirk. "I have just the thing that might help you win her back or, at the very least, present a situation to win her back."
"What is it?" Tink pulled the invitation to August and Graham's wedding from her purse and handed it to him. When he saw it, the plan began to form.
When he was allowed home, he shut himself up in her room and spoke to no one. He spent hours in front of his computers, scouring real estate websites for a house. He would continue with his plan to move to Boston, because no force in this world or another would keep him from his love.
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"What?"
"This is our house. I bought it."
"When?"
"About a week ago? It became official when I picked up the keys two days ago." Killian pulled Emma into his arms. "I want us to have our family here. It's near enough to your parents and I believe the new Humberts or Humbert-Booths will be taking up residence nearby as well."
Emma was about to say something when she heard a thump from upstairs and her head shot up to look at the ceiling.
"Who's up there?"
"Let's go see, shall we darling?" Killian took her hand again and led Emma up to the top most floor. Two of the three bedroom doors were open, revealing spacious rooms with their own fireplaces. Emma heard more thumping from the only room with a closed door at the end of the hall. Killian pulled her over to it and stood in front of the door, with a mischievous look on his face.
"Killian…"
"Are you ready for the second part of your surprise love?"
"You bet your ass, now open that door."
"Close your eyes first." Eager to get to the surprise, Emma acquiesced. She heard Killian open the door to the room and there was some shuffling sounds. Killian placed a hand low at her back and led her into the room. "You ready love?"
"You have no idea."
"Open." Emma's green eyes snapped open and it took them a second to adjust to the brightness of the room. When she was okay, she saw her mother, her father, Tink, Ruby and even Smee standing in front of her. In front of them was the box that Smee had brought up earlier.
"Surprise!"
"You all knew about this?"
"Of course princess. Had to make sure this one-" David jerked his chin in Killian's direction. "-was going to put you up in a decent place. Nothing but the very best for my little girl."
"Of course Dave."
Emma looked over at her mother who seemed to be vibrating with excitement.
"You okay mom?" Mary Margaret scooted forward and pulled Emma and then Killian into hugs.
"I just can't wait to find out about my grandchild." She started crying and Emma pulled her back into a hug. "I'm sorry. It's just that I thought I'd never have this. I was sure that you would have children one day, I just didn't think that I'd be here to share in it. I'm just so happy for you two."
"Thank you mom."
"My turn!" called Tink, diffusing the tension. Tink squeezed Emma tight, whispering in her ear. "I've missed you so much. I'm still a little mad at you for doing what you did, but I understand. Just don't do it again."
"I don't plan on it."
"Good." Ruby came next as Tink moved to her brother.
"You're looking good Em. I know it's only been a couple of months, but it looks like it's been longer. You look big."
"I hate you", Emma said with a smile. Killian clapped his hands together, breaking everyone out of their thoughts.
"Well, I think it's time we got to why we're here, in this room." Mary Margaret, Tink, and Ruby pulled their phones out, getting ready to record the announcement. "You ready love?"
"Let's do this." Killian took her hand and stood behind the box with her and everyone else got ready. With their free hands, Emma and Killian each grabbed a part of the top of the box and counted down while everyone else watched with anticipation.
"3, 2, 1!" They pulled back the box flaps and a dozen pink and blue balloons popped out.
"I don't get it." David was the first to speak. "Which is it?"
"David! Isn't it obvious?" Mary Margaret smacked her husband on the shoulder. Killian pulled the envelope with the sonogram pictures from his coat pocket and pulled one out. In the top right corner it said: IT'S TWINS! BOY AND GIRL JONES.