Even after several years living in a relatively peaceful existence Captain Killian Jones could never relax enough to sleep, not after over three hundred years of conditioning. That was of course unless he was either sleeping on his bed on the Jolly or with his wife in his arms and their children down the hall as he had for the past eight years. Tonight was no different. He had neither his wife, his ship nor his home. No, Killian found himself sleeping on one of the rather overstuffed beds of Philip and Aurora's many guest suites. Alone, of course as Emma and her mother had to return home on business which he and David had been told was "none of their damn business" and so the two were left in the strange palace to watch over their children on their visitation. A custom Snow and David had suggested once the children were old enough. The ties between the families had to strengthen, or so they said. Royals, he had muttered. Always trying to pair each other up, trying to make each one of them know each other. David had explained one night that Snow had insisted on Eva meeting with young Stephen and Darek, Aurora and Philip's boys. The former shepherd had admitted that he never understood things like that, the subtle politics and the like. But Snow and even Regina insisted that it was normal, shipping children off to visit others of their own age. If not for potential marriage then at least to strengthen friendships and relations between the kingdoms and in this new age with the rebuilding of their world still in progress it became essential.
Essential or not it seemed stupid to him. At least in this moment it did. Here, alone in the large bed without his wife in this strange palace. But then again his children seemed happy enough to visit the other princes and even made a new friend in the other visiting princess who had already been present, a young princess Olga or something like that if he recalled correctly.
But that was what this was all about wasn't it? His children making life-long friends. Sure, they had their cousins, aunt, uncle and half -brother and his half siblings and adopted and whatever else connection one could think of but one thing they lacked was friends. Something which he had come to realize since his relations with Emma, was very important.
Gods! Killian sighed and rolled over once again. The sun slowly sinking lower in the sky, the red seeping through the thick curtains as the warm summer air bushed them back. He pulled the large goose stuffed pillow over his face, attempting to get comfortable to no avail.
But soon, nearly, very nearly he drifted into sleep.
Until the screaming started.
His heart nearly stopped. He knew that scream. Had heard it only once or twice before but he knew it.
"Mia," he gasped out. In the dark he fumbled for the light only to remember this was the era of candles and fire. Cursing and tripping over the sheets he nearly fell on his way out of the bed. He ripped open the door and ran down the hall to her room but nearly ran over the small elderly nurse standing in his way. The door was closed but the screams and cries of his only daughter still tore him.
"Captain, please wait outside," the elderly nurse laid a hand on his shoulder and gently guided him back away from the door.
"I will not! That's my daughter in there!"
"I am well aware of that but sir, in my years of treating children nothing got done faster with a worried parent hovering. So please, Captain, wait outside."
"I will not." He clenched his jaw to keep his mouth in check.
She huffed and crossed her arms. "If you do not stay outside in this hallway, sir, then I will put you in shackles myself. So sit down and stay out here. I will call for you when I'm done. I swear it on my over forty years' experience that your daughter is perfectly safe, Captain."
He stepped away but looked over her shoulders to the closed door. "You're sure?"
She sighed, realising he was backing down. His gaze still focused on the door behind her. "Yes. Nothing but a broken arm. Poor dear fell from the young princes' playhouse in the tree. The young princes all carried her back. You may want to go and visit with your sons while we care for the princess. They looked a little worried, sir."
She carefully, slowly and cautiously laid a hand on his shoulder. His blue eyes turned on her. Emilie noticed the slight water of them but overlooked it. "Captain, I swear your little girl is perfectly fine. I know it hurts, I've had my own sons come to me like this but your little girl is a strong one. Right now your sons need some help. King David took them to their rooms. Go see to them. I'll come out and get you."
He nodded and silently turned away, turned his back on the sobbing coming from his daughter and headed down the hall to his sons.
It took an only an hour or so before the nurse –Lady Emilie- returned. She knocked lightly on the open door to the boy's room. David and Killian remained sitting silent in the room long after Zarek, James and Liam had fallen asleep.
"The little princess is taken care of and has woken up. She is asking for you, Captain."
David looked over to Killian from his chair and motioned with his head to the door. "Go. I'll let them know she's ok."
He rose and followed the petite nurse maid down the hall. The sobs and cries no longer seeped through the door but rather silence. It was opened only a crack and Killian paused with his hand on the door. Afraid of what he might see. This? A little broken arm? Hell he had seen and felt much worse himself. Had stitched up members of his crew decades before with bone sticking out and blood everywhere. Amputated things here and there, arrows and blades run through men but this? His own daughter with a broken arm terrified him. It shouldn't, it really shouldn't. Children got hurt all the time and thousands had done this before too. He normally would have scoffed them off. Suck it up. But Mia wasn't those thousands of other children. She was his baby girl. His responsibility and he had failed in protecting her.
"Go on in, my lord."
"I can't," he choked out.
Emilie scoffed and crossed her arms. "Your daughter broke an arm. Nothing more. I'm sure you've had worse?"
He let out a dry laugh and waved his hookless arm at her.
"See, worse," she affirmed. "She fell from a tree roughhousing with boys. Children will fall and break things from dawn till dusk of time itself. So go in there and tell your daughter she was foolish and needs to be more careful."
He turned to dispute the woman but she stared up at him with a near growl. Instead he opened the door and walked in.
The room was silent but for the crickets chirping away outside in the summers eve. Killian looked around the lightly lit room and soon rested on Mia half sitting up in bed. Her arm was out and bound in splints of wood, the best that could be done in this world. Her cuts and scrapes all cleaned and even had a few stitches here and there to heal the deeper wounds. But she was alive and safe. The nurse had been right. Mia would be fine.
"Papa?" she whispered.
Oh there went his heart again.
"Oh, Mia." He quickly strode over to her bed and sat down gently next to her. Gently he leaned over and kissed her forehead, bushed back her long dark blonde hair and assessed the damage closer.
"How do you feel, baby girl?"
She sighed and shrugged and winced in pain. "Fine, I guess. But Papa…"
Killian leaned back and rested against the large headboard. "Yes?"
"I hate boys."
"Excuse me?"
She sighed and made to cross her arms but stopped herself. "I hate boys. That's what I was thinking about all day. I know that I hate boys."
He fought the urge to laugh. It was hard. That strong determined look on her face she took from Emma, those hard blue eyes she had inherited from him. She was quite serious at the moment.
"Oh really?"
She nodded. "Yep."
"And what has brought you to this revelation?"
Mia scowled. "They wouldn't let me into the playhouse so I tried to get in another way." She paused and glanced down at her arm. "I guess it didn't go as planned."
He let out a chuckle. "So it seems."
"Well it's their fault! If they just let me up and took off that stupid 'no girls' sign then I wouldn't have climbed the tree."
"I believe, my dear that the boys are not entirely at fault here. You could have easily had gone and visited with Eva and what's her name…"
"Odette…and Papa you know that I don't like playing with the other girls. They're all….girly."
"Well Mia you are a girl." Killian paused and ran his hand through her long blonde hair. "My little girl."
Mia smiled and leaned in against him. She didn't answer but instead turned to look out the window. The late summer breeze brought in the sweet smelling air.
"I know, Papa. I love you, too."
With that he gathered her up as gently as he could and rested her close to him. Wrapping his arms around her and then feeling her release a deep sigh, let the tension drift away. He had done this for years for his children, always refusing to let them go whenever anything ailed them. As very young children they had all taken comfort with their over protective father but as they grew older Killian noticed his boys pulling away but Mia….never his little Mia. Generally it took Emma to extract them from his arm, telling him they needed to suck it up, dry their tears and keep going. He had said those things himself to too many young men and boys over his centuries and he was not going to do that to his own children. No, he was going to do his best to offer any and all forms of comfort for them.
They sat in silence like that for a few moments before Mia shifted and whimpered.
"I hate boys," she muttered again.
"You don't hate them."
"No, no I do."
"Well you don't hate Henry, do you?"
She sighed and pulled back. "Well no. He's my brother."
"And a boy. And you don't hate Zarek and Liam?"
Her face scrunched up in debate but finally she shook her head. "No I don't hate them…all the time."
Killian sighed and ruffled her hair. "And I hope you don't hate me."
That earned him a giggle. "Never."
"Well then I guess don't hate all boys."
She sighed, realising what he was doing. "Fine. I just hate a few of them."
"Well that makes my job easier later on," he muttered. "Anyone in particular?"
Mia shook her head. "I guess not."
"Well good. Now how about I try my hand at fixing your arm there, baby girl."
She sat back and held out her arm just as they all had done for him since they were old enough to crawl. Gently he leaned forward and kissed her forehead once then placed several kisses over the bandaged arm -thinking in the back of his mind to have Whale place a proper cast on her once they returned in a couple days- then a last once again on the top of her head.
"All better, Papa."
He chuckled. "No sure about all better but it should help a bit."
Mia looked up at him, her blue eyes bright and a wide tired smile on her face. "It always does."
With that Killian sat and waited till she fell asleep then gently positioned the pillows just right, making sure she wouldn't jostle and hurt herself in her sleep. Then quietly he tip toed out of her room…and nearly stumbled on the boy that had been laying against her door.
Up popped a young boy, no older than ten…just a bit older then the twins.
"I'm sorry, sir." The boy wiped off his clothes and tried to pear behind him.
"Any reason why you're camped out outside my daughter's door?"
He looked at his feet and shuffled his foot in the ground. "I just wanted to make sure Mia…I mean Princess Mia is okay."
"She'll be fine…Prince?"
"Darek, sir…Captain sir. And thank you, sir. I'm very pleased to hear Mia is going to be alright." The lad turned and walked back down the hallway, nearly sprinting to get away from him. Killian smiled, he knew exactly what he needed to say.
"Prince Darek," he called. The boy stopped on a dime and turned back around. "Just a reminder, young man, if anything like this happens again to my little girl…" he paused and let his reputation and the boy's imagination take hold. Darek's eyes widened, he slowly nodded his head before turning around and running to his room.
Well at least he had made his point for now…
And there here is the second chapter for tonight! So please again continue to read and review this and 'Welcome to the Family' along with my other OUAT one-shots from this collection. Thanks for all those who have read and reviewed and continue to do so! I'll hopefully have some more posted soon but I have my one last and final essay of my undergrad career to write them I'm going to plunge into the rest of these! So again thanks everyone!