Hey all!

Thanks for reading. This chapter is going to have a lot of angst. I seem to do that a lot I'm sorry but it will all work out in the end... Maybe ;)

Aria thinks everything is going to peachy now that her mommy is awake but they have some missing years because the last time Emma saw her daughter was the day she gave birth to her. now she's nearly a teenager. She realizes that her family didn't sleep with her for ten years.

Killian and Emma have a lot more issues to deal with. True love but they didn't leave on a good note, neither stopped loving the other but they have to work things out. Emma doesn't know if she trusts him to stick around this time.

And I have not forgotten in the next couple of chapters we will learn what really happened to Liam. So keep reading to get some Captain Charming moments.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews!

Ang-

"Emma. Luv, it's all right. You're awake." Killian kissed her hand then closed his eyes and thanked whatever Gods had sent her back to him.

"What are you doing here? What am I doing here?" She placed a hand on her flat abdomen, "The baby, My Arabella where is she? Regina!" Emma tried to get up only to feel dizzy and start to fall backwards.

Killian caught her as she fell back and gently on the bed." Arabella is fine. I will get her for you, you stay here and relax."

"I don't want to relax. I feel as though I have been sleeping for a century."

"More like a decade." Killian quipped. Killian led the way to Aria's chambers.

"What do you mean? When did you get here? How do you know about the baby?"

"Emma, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Going into labor with Arabella." Emma stopped. "This is not the way to the Nursery. Where is the baby? Where is Arabella? By the way you never told me why or how you knew to be here."

"I will explain everything after you see our daughter."

"Our daughter? You left me. You said you didn't want to be a father so I told you the baby died."

"Aye, we have some talking to do but first let me say this, I love you Emma. You are my true love and the only one for me. "

Emma smiled but shook her head. "We have a lot to discuss."

Killian opened the door and they crept together toward the bed. Emma looked at the sleeping child tears stained the child's face and Emma couldn't help but think she looked familiar somehow. "Who is this? Did she come with you?"

"You could say that…" Killian smiled at her and said, "Emma meet Aria." He shook the child's shoulder and she opened her eyes to a lazy slit them closed them. But before they could close all the way they popped open and she bolted up from her bed and cried "Mama!"

Emma stepped back in shock. "Killian, How long was I asleep?" She asks staring at the blonde girl with tears in her eyes.

"Nearly eleven years." He answers quietly. He still blames himself for not getting to her sooner for not knowing anything sooner.

Emma stared at the little girl in the bed her eyes rake over every feature the Blonde hair and green eyes that were identical to hers the long blonde hair that was identical to hers. It was a face that Emma had seen in her dreams every night for the last ten years.

Emma rushed out of the room down the hall to the bedchamber her parents shared and slammed the door open causing both the King and the Queen to pop up in bed.

"Emma! You're awake!" Snow jumped out of bed and ran to her daughter, David was right on her heels they folded Emma into a hug then Aria rushed in with Leo and Rachel close behind soon the whole family was in a crying hug. Killian tried to slip out but caught Emma's eyes and instead he stayed.

Emma did not sleep that night swearing she wouldn't sleep for another ten years. She sat in a corner of the library Killian and Aria sat on either side of her. The trio watched the sunrise in silence. Aria slipped her arms around her mother's waist and rested her head on her shoulder. Aria had not seemed to notice that Emma had yet to touch her, but Killian noticed. Aria's eyes dropped closed and she soon fell into the deep sleep of a child. Carefully Killian walked over and scooped Aria up and placed her on the couch and covered her with a wrap that was draped over a chair in the corner. He walked back to Emma and held out his hand. Watching him under her eyelashes Emma took his hand and he led her to the garden beyond the library walls.

"Emma, Luv, tell me what's wrong. " Killian pleaded. Emma shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong. It's all great but everyone is so different. Leo is all grown up. He was just a teenager when I … fell asleep."

"Luv, things are going to be different. You have been asleep for ten years."

"Why are you here? How did you even know about me? I sent you that letter 10 years ago before Aria was even born and told you that I had lost the baby. I did it to keep my daughter from being around you. I don't want her growing up and having her heartbroken by a vengeful pirate hell-bent on destroying my father's good name. I hated you when you left me, and I hate that I still love you." Emma looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I'm in love with you and you may be my true love but I don't like you very much right now." Emma walked slowly away from him. She stopped when he called her name.

"I'm sorry. I never stopped loving you. Aria showed up on my doorstep a month ago and told me who she was. Damn you for keeping her from me. Damn you. Damn me for being the selfish bastard I was to force you to keep her from me. I was in grief I wasn't thinking straight and I took my grief out on you. I have had many talks with your father since coming here. But I will not keep you."

Killian walked over and gathered the sleeping child in his arms and without looking back at Emma he took Aria to bed and covered her up then went to his own room and shut the door quietly.

Emma picked up the blanket that Aria had been covered with and sniffed she didn't smell the baby she never held. She smelled memories she wasn't a part of.

***Ten years ago***

"One more push Emma, you can do it." Doc encouraged, the baby was determined.

Emma was a few weeks away from her time but Doc had assured her that the baby would be fine. She was strong and the baby was strong, Emma had used magic to check on her daughter. Finding her healthy and strong and ready to meet the world Emma gave one more push and laughed at the sound of indignant cries. "She doesn't sound very happy." Doc passed the baby off to the waiting hands of Snow White, as she moved toward the bed she asked the baby's name and Emma smiled and said. "Arabella, she is Arabella." Snow cooed at the tiny princess and moved to hand her over to Emma's out stretched arms when a cloud of purple smoke appeared and Regina stepped through it.

"Hello, Snow. Emma." Snow white cradled the baby closer to her chest and Emma surged to her feet, weakened by just giving birth. Regina held out her hand and in it appeared a spindle and she reached toward the baby and Emma instinctively moved in front of her and Regina was gone. Snow and Emma looked around but Regina appeared to be gone.

Snow placed the baby in the basket wrapped a tiny blanket with the name of "Emma" embroidered on it. Then she and Emma turned to David who had just entered the room as Doc happily left to announce the birth of the new princess to the waiting dwarves and castle staff.

Emma walked towards the cradle and was stopped in her tracks unable to move. Regina reappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Emma's eyes widened in fear as Regina slowly leaned toward the sleeping infant.

"Wait!" She yelled out. "Don't touch the baby. Take me instead"

"Well where would the fun in that be?" Suddenly Regina was shot across the room in a blast of light. And In the few moments before she regained her feet, Emma pulled all of her magic up inside her and used it to expel a protection charm over the infant no one would ever be able to harm her daughter again. In the next moment Regina surged forward, she looked at Emma and reached for the baby and was again shot against the wall by Emma's protection. Emma watched in horror as Regina used her magic to attempt to break the charm around her daughter as she saw the bubble lower Emma surged forward breaking from whatever kept her in place and stuck her arm in between the needle of the spindle and the newborn. Feeling a prick and hearing Regina's grunt of dismay Emma slid to the floor in a cursed sleep. The baby had never been held by her mother, but little did either of them know in this moment Emma had forged a bond that would reunite mother with daughter in dreams, neither knowing who the other is.

The next morning Emma woke to find two small arms wrapped around her tightly. She looked down and saw a blob of blonde hair sticking out in every direction. She smiled despite herself at the sight, because she too had always been a mess in the mornings.

Emma quietly ran a hand over the hair smoothing it and then she pushed it out of the way to see Arabella's face. Oh how much she looked like Killian Emma thought, sure she had her hair but that stubborn set of the jaw was all Jones. She ran a finger across Aria's brow and sighed the eyebrows, She had Killian's eyebrows. OF all the things to inherit, Emma chuckled silently. She wondered if she did the one raised eyebrow thing that Killian did. Slowly two green eyes so much like her own opened and Emma smiled down at her daughter.

"Hi." Emma whispered. The arms tightened and Aria buried her head in her mother's chest her shoulders shook with sobs. Emma wrapped her arms around Aria and hugged her as tight as she could. It was the first time mother and daughter had embraced and Emma immediately regretted not doing it before.

"I was afraid it was a dream. That you were really not here."

"Oh, Honey. I am here now. Nothing is ever going to take you away from me again. I'm so sorry." Emma soothed.

"I love you." Aria said. Emma's heart swelled with Love for the daughter she never knew but was now holding. "I love you too." Emma tightened her arms around Aria's waist." So tell me how did your father get here?"

"I found him. Grandma and Grandpa always told me who he was and one day I ran away to find him so he could break the curse. I knew he was your true love. Grandma told me how he saved Uncle Leo and then you guys met at your ball and she caught you kissing." Aria giggled. "How did you fall in love?"

"I guess you could say he swept me off my feet." Emma replied. She started to move out from under the covers when something purple caught her eye, She pulled back the blankets and there were two baby blankets hanging from the edge of the bed. She lifted the top one and ran her fingers over the purple ribbon that wrapped around the edge of the blanket. In the corner it read "Emma". She looked at Aria "This is my baby blanket. We used it to wrap you in because Granny had not finished one for you yet. I didn't tell anyone that you were a girl or that I was naming you Arabella."

Aria pulled the other one out. It had a ribbon also but unlike Emma's this blanket was not just one color. It had nearly every color of yarn Emma had ever seen. And in the corner in red was the name "Arabella".

"Granny said I was too special to have one color on my blanket."

"I see. That must make you pretty special." Emma looked at the blanket her vision blurring with tears. I never got to hold you. I never got to kiss you. I missed so much."

" Well you can hold me and kiss me now. I won't mind." Aria's own voice broke a little.

Emma wrapped the blanket around Aria and hugged her and they lay back down in the bed and Emma pulled the covers over their heads and they giggled. "So tell me everything."

"Uncle Leo is in love." Aria told her mother with a grin.

"Really? With who? "Emma inquired laughing at the smug grin on Aria's face.

"Her name is Danielle. She is the daughter of Princess Katherine and Prince Frederick, He met her when her parents visited last year and they have written letters back and forth. She visits all the time."

"Well now I have something to torment him about." Emma decided. "What about you, any prospective beaus lined up?"

"Aria giggled "Mama, I'm almost eleven. I won't have any suitors for at least two more years." She told her, and I think Dad might kill them if I did. He nearly beat up Uncle Leo because he saw us hugging. He didn't know who Leo was at the time."

"Hmm. So tell em about your father."

"I found him I followed his ship then I followed him to a tavern and pounded on his door until he opened it for me. Then I refused to leave. But he didn't believe me at first."

"Hmm," Emma said. "Well I suppose we had better get dressed and meet the family for breakfast." Aria jumped up and rushed over to the wardrobe and pulled a blue velvet gown that was hanging inside. Emma had never seen this gown before.

"Wear this one." Aria said innocently.

Emma caught a gleam of mischief in her eye and decided not to press her intentions at the moment. She smiled and slipped behind the screen to change into her gown. She stepped out and turned her back to Aria."Can you tighten the laces for me honey? I guess ten years in a sleeping curse has made me forget a few things like how to tighten my own gown."

"No problem, honey"

Emma gasped as a large calloused finger ran down the length of her back in a familiar manner. She whipped her head around to meet Killian's gaze.

"Aria let me in. She said she needed to go get dressed. "He said by way of explanation as he tightened the strings on her gown innocently but expertly. Emma raised her eyebrows at his expertise but didn't say a word.

"Aria? Arabella?" Emma asked turning her head around and looking at him. She didn't know why suddenly she was so shy. Her body had changed in the nine months she was pregnant and changed again after giving birth apparently though she wasn't sure how. Probably some cure-all, that Doc mixed up. But Killian had obviously seen her body at 17 but he hadn't seen the 28 year old version of her body and suddenly she felt like that fourteen year old girl who met the most handsome man in all the lands again. His fingers worked nimbly on the laces of her dress not too tight not too loose she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and she could hear him grin when it came out shaky.

"I can hear you smiling." She tried to keep the amusement out of her voice but couldn't help the slight upturn of her lips. "You're awfully good at this, must have been lots of broken hearts over the last ten years."

"There have been a few, but none that mattered. None of them came close to you." He leaned in and breathed the words to her placing a whisper of a kiss on the shell of her ear. Emma shivered.

Killian stepped back and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'm staying Emma. I'm staying in your life and I'm staying in Aria's life. I love her and I love you. I have some ghosts to chase soon but I will be here for you." He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him pressing his lips against hers. Her hands came up and tangled in the hair at the back of his neck. When they broke apart she sighed and rested her forehead against his.

"I love you too, but I have ghosts of my own to chase and I just want to take things slow."

He kissed her forehead and smiled, "I can do slow." They left the room hand in hand. Together they strolled down the hallway toward the large breakfast room.

Emma turned to him, "Arabella, you call her Aria?." Emma asked.

"Aye, that's what she told me, said only her mother called her Arabella.'

"I like Aria. It's spunky like her." Emma decided. "Aria wears trousers and uses a bow and arrow and climbs trees and Arabella is the princess my mother insisted I try to act like every once in awhile. Arabella would have dancing lessons and Royal balls and etiquette classes."

"I don't recall any of them doing you any good." Remembering the poor prince she stepped all over the night they met. They shared a smile and she paused outside the doors to the breakfast room.

"Despite everything I'm glad you are here." She smiled at him then entered the room and gasped. The entire family sat around the large table. She counted three young ladies that were most likely her sister's at least two small children, Nieces? Her parents and six of the dwarves her mother befriended. Two young men one she recognized as Leo and another she didn't recognize the girls looked to range from age twenty-five down to twelve or maybe thirteen. The younger boy looked to be about eight. She glanced up at Killian and he squeezed her hand lightly then led her to a chair next to Aria and took the one across from her.

Aria grinned at her mom. "I can write their name on their face if it would help you. "

"It might. " Emma grinned, "But I don't recommend it. Leo looks fierce."

"Nah, he's a big baby. I can get anything I want from him." Aria smiled at him and his whole face lit up and he smiled back. Emma decided Aria must be an obvious favorite. She glanced around at several of the other people in the room. The dwarves obviously had not changed. She smiled at grumpy who gave her a grumpy version of a smile right back. Then she glanced at the girl on Aria's right, "Who is this?" Emma asked.

Aria smiled broadly." This is Rachel she is your younger sister, she was adopted by your parents when Regina attacked her home and killed her family, and she was my best friend and still is."

"It's very nice to meet you, Rachel."

"As it is to meet you, your highness."

"Please I'm your sister. You girls will have to tell me the story sometime soon."

Both girls giggled and Emma laughed at their joy. She smiled at her youngest brother; her parents were engaged in their own little conversation with Happy and Bashful at the other end of the long table. He didn't smile back. Leo scuffed a hand over the boys head. "Emma, this is David Jr. We call him DJ. He's an ugly little thing. I tried to convince our mother to throw him back but for some reason she seemed attached to the homely fellow," the boy glared at Leo. Emma laughed

"I seem to recall telling Mother the same thing when you were born ," Dj laughed. Both of her brothers were anything but homely given their mother's natural beauty and their father's good looks, and at least Leo had inherited his father's charms.

"And as I told you both, I love all my children despite how much they resemble an ogre." Snow teased from the head of the table, Obvious love gleamed in her eyes and Emma felt that love extend to her.

Leo winked at Aria and Rachel then told Emma,"Wanna watch mother flip her lid?"

Emma pretended to consider it for a while but nodded in agreement.

Leo stood up and looked over at tone the young ladies Emma had thought to be sisters. "I have an announcement-"

"Leo, you promised." The young lady said.

"Yeah well I lied. I asked Danielle to marry me last night and she accepted-'

"Assuming you all agree. We haven't told my parents yet."

There were cheers all around and Aria was practically beaming. She turned to Emma. "I introduced them. Danielle is five years younger than Leo but I knew it was true love. I think I have a gift, I can tell who someone's true love is."

"Very nice gift, you could open a match maker shop." Aria took in the idea and turned to Rachel and the girls began giggling, Emma stole a glance at Killian and he smiled across the table at her.

The breakfast went on with talk of wedding plans and dresses and the men talked war and battle strategy and Emma just sat and watched them all then tears formed in her eyes and she couldn't control them she stood abruptly and left the room without a word.