A/N: This "chapter" covers several requests/prompts. Many people wanted to see Killian and Emma with children/a baby. This has that! I also received two CS prompts on Tumblr for a light-hearted fic based on these lines of dialogue: "Give me a hand," and "Hey, have you seen the...Oh." This has those too! Hope you enjoy this day of kids and dogs and how Killian and Emma manage both. Just another side note, while I am filling prompts, I am keeping them within my vision of this universe so some prompts may not end up exactly the way they were requested, but trust me when I say I have an overall plan for this whole universe and it will all make sense. Thanks again for reading and your feedback. I truly appreciate every single one of you!
"Are you sure about this?" David asked, hedging as Mary Margaret pulled him towards the door.
"Of course! Now go. Have a great time and don't worry about a thing. We got it," Emma assured him, waving him off.
"Bye, daddy! Bye, Mamma!" a sweet voice called out from the little girl clinging to Emma's leg. Emma reached down and twirled a golden ringlet around her finger and smiled as stormy blue eyes looked up at her in return.
David let go of Mary Margaret's hand, turned back again and knelt down in front of his daughter, Charlotte. He gently poked her rounded tummy that pushed up against her purple sundress and said, "Charlie, you be a good helper with your little brother, ok? And don't play cards with Uncle Killian. He cheats. In fact, hide your piggy bank."
"Hey, now, mate! I heard that!" Killian called out from the living room where he was supervising the greeting between Gale, Zen, and the Nolan's black, white, and brown Border Collie mix, Shep. They'd been around each other before, at dog parks and cookouts, but being in Shep's house with the kids he was so protective over toddling about, Emma didn't want to leave anything to chance, so she asked Killian to watch them. None of them so much as showed a tooth in warning, so he stepped toward the door and squatted down next to the little girl.
"Charlotte, love, your father spins quite the tale. I never cheat. He is just jealous because he's rubbish at cards and I always win. If you're good today, I'll teach you how to beat him just like I do, and you'll be able to fill up your piggy bank twice as fast."
David stood up, chuckling at the two of them. "Oh good. Just what I need. A three-year-old card sharp. Mary Margaret will be so proud."
Charlie put her hands on her hips and told him, "Daddy, I'm almost 4."
"Going on 30, I know. Stop reminding me. Just be good, ok? I don't think we can find cheaper babysitters," he said, tipping her chin up with his finger and kissing her on the forehead.
Mary Margaret yelled from the car, "David, let's go! Your brother only gets married once every couple years, you don't want to be late. Again."
Rolling his eyes, the reluctant David sighed and yelled back, "I'll be right there." Meeting the amused looks from Emma and Killian he shrugged and said, "Maybe this one will stick. At least he didn't make me best man again. That was getting old. Well, well see you tonight. Thanks again for staying with the kids."
"No problem, mate. Our pleasure," Killian said.
Walking away and waving his hand over his head, David said loudly, "You say that now..."
Laughing, Emma closed the door and followed Charlie back into the living room. "How hard could it be?" she asked with a shrug.
Charlie clapped in delight as Zen and Gale came over to sniff her all over while Shep watched from close by. Charlie was already a seasoned veteran around animals thanks to David's job at the shelter, so she knew to stand still like a tree while they checked her out. She hummed tunelessly, giggling when Zen licked her hand, and again when Gale investigated what was behind her knee with her cold, wet nose. When they finished their inspection, Charlie scratched each of them under the chin until Shep had seen enough and inserted himself between the two dogs and Charlie, effectively cutting them off from her.
Taking the hint, Gale and Zen began wandering the downstairs to find out what was what. Killian picked up a sheet of paper off the coffee table and immediately his eyebrows came together in concern. He scratched behind his ear and held the sheet out to Emma. It was full, top to bottom, with Mary Margaret's neat and very small handwriting.
"I dunno, love, this looks a bit terrifying if you ask me."
Emma gave it half a glance and then passed it back to Killian. "We'll be fine. Kids and dogs aren't that different," she informed him.
"And you are sure of this, how, exactly?"
Emma shrugged. "Plenty of my students with kids and dogs have mentioned it. I'm not worried." She bent over and ran her hand over Charlie's hair. "Well, Charlie, what would you like to do?"
"I wanna play dress up. I'll be the purple fairy and you be the sad girl I send to the ball."
Just as Emma was about to answer the aspiring purple fairy, the speaker for the baby monitor lit up as Leo, Charlotte's little brother, began waking from his morning nap. What started as happy babbling quickly escalated to yelling and crying.
Killian and Emma looked at each other a bit wide-eyed before Killian raised his hand and said,
"I'll get him. You go ahead and...be the sad girl," he said with an exaggerated pout.
"Yeah, Auntie Em, lets go! I've got just the ball gown for you," Charlie said with great enthusiasm as she tugged on Emma's hand and began pulling her in the direction of the playroom. Emma shot a helpless look over her shoulder at Killian who just waved at her in response.
With the girls heading off in one direction, Killian turned off the monitor and walked up the stairs in the other, Gale close behind, following the actual sound of the crying baby until he found the lad, standing up in his crib, big tears rolling down very chubby cheeks, making his hazel eyes look greener than normal. His dark, wispy hair was damp around the edges of his temples and the back of his neck, and his cheeks were rosy from the warmth of his bed.
Upon seeing Killian and Gale, though, the toddler gripped the rail of his crib and bounced up and down on his chubby bow-legs giving them a smile around his pacifier instead of more tears. Leo raised his arms to be picked up when Killian got close.
"Hello, lad! I'm happy to see you too!" Killian greeted Leo with a big grin. He snatched a tissue from next to the changing table and wiped the tears from the boys face. "Shall we go downstairs and see what those girls are up to, now?" he asked, picking the boy up and over the edge of his crib. "Come along then, little man."
Gale had been sniffing around the room, stopping at the diaper pail, her nose twitching before she huffed a breath out, clearing it of whatever she'd smelled. Killian could almost see her wheels turning, probably wondering why there was that much shit so close to where the boy slept. When she turned to look up at him, he was sure there was a brief flicker of disgust behind her gaze, and he couldn't really argue. It was kind of gross.
Leo put one arm around Killian's neck and rested his chin on his shoulder, leaning his head against Killian's jaw and sighed. Killian could not have been more pleased at Leo's apparent ease with him. He and Emma spent a fair amount of time with David and Mary Margaret, but this was the first time they'd been asked to babysit for them, and while they agreed immediately, it was in the days after that Killian became apprehensive about the whole thing. He had no idea what to expect or how the kids would be without their parents. So Leo's hug and comfort made him exhale a breath he'd been unconsciously holding the whole time.
Rubbing the boy's back lightly as they made their way to the staircase, he said, "You've done some growing since last I saw you, my boy. Looking more like your mum every day, I might add."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and two waiting dogs. Leo, still gnawing on his pacifier, squealed upon seeing Shep and Zen and tried to dive out of Killian's arms to get to them. Gale skirted around Killian to join the other two dogs.
"Whoa, there, lad! Let's at least get to the bottom step, shall we?" Killian interjected clutching the boy a little tighter to him. Five minutes into babysitting and he's almost dropped the baby. It was going to be a long day after all.
When they got to the living room, Killian put Leo down on the floor to move about, and the 10-month-old made a beeline for Shep. Zen, who hadn't been in close quarters much with small children walked up behind him, sniffing the whole time. She nudged his diaper-clad bottom with her nose, flattening the already unbalanced child before he made it over to his dog. She continued to sniff him, putting a paw on the little boys behind. Leo just giggled.
Emma came out of the playroom that used to be the Nolan's 3-season porch into the living room, a plastic, silver and pink-bejeweled tiara balanced poorly on her head, and a light blue tulle skirt tucked into the waistband of her shorts because it was too small to wrap around completely.
"Highness," Killian greeted her with a bow as he shooed away Zen and picked Leo up off the floor. The dog was persistent and kept her nose at Leo's butt-level the entire way up into Killian's arms.
Emma put her hands on her hips and canted her balance as she rolled her eyes at him. "Watch it, pirate, or you're going to be off to the ball next," she warned. She caught Zen's interest in Leo and narrowed her eyes.
"Did you change him before you brought him down?" she asked.
"Change him? Into what?"
"His diaper. Did you change his diaper? I think Zen is trying to tell you something," she pointed out with a nod of her head.
"No, I didn't change his diaper, but now that you mention it, something does smell a bit...off," he admitted, sniffing the boy who giggled again and tried to squirm away to get back to the dogs.
"We better go find the diapers," Emma said, as she looked around the room.
"Ah, I think they were in the nursery. You want to do the honors?" Killian asked, holding Leo out at arms length. The little boy gave Emma a near toothless grin and threw his pacifier to the ground. Zen went right over to investigate and gave it a curious lick.
"Oh, for chrissake, Zen," Emma sighed as she snatched the pacifier away. "I'm on princess duty. You can do it," she continued, sounding so magnanimous Killian couldn't help but laugh.
Right when he was about to tease her for avoiding the dirty work, Leo let loose a sound that began as a gurgle in his belly to a roar from his behind that made them both blanch and then turn away from the stench that followed. Leo apparently, feeling much lighter now, kicked his legs and squealed in delight.
"Bloody hell!" Killian groaned, holding Leo out as far as he could and turned his head away. It was his turn to look helplessly at Emma, who hadn't quite hidden the distaste on her face at what was now lurking in Leo's diaper. She managed to turn it into something silly so that Leo would laugh, though, and he had to give her credit for that. He was still cringing. Killian sighed and adjusted his hands for a better grip around Leo lest something come loose and hit the floor. No doubt Zen would find that infinitely interesting as well.
"Give me a hand," he implored to Emma as he tipped his head toward the stairs.
"Ugh. Ok. Let me go tell Charlie I'll be right back," she said.
"Do not leave me alone up there!" Killian warned her as he headed upstairs. This time all three dogs stayed right where they were. Not for the first time, Killian wished he could be a dog too.
"I promise. I'll be right up."
Killian did not enjoy the walk up the stairs one bit, being that he was now downwind of Leo's aromatic diaper. He jogged up the rest of the way just to get it over with and the jiggling made Leo giggle even harder. Killian made airplane noises and swung the boy around a bit before depositing him on his changing table. He tickled Leo for a few moments until Emma came up to join them.
"I see you found us ok, love," Killian said as she entered the room.
"The nose knows," Emma quipped as she waved her hand in front of her face.
"Have you done this before?" Killian asked.
"Uh, no. Not once," Emma confessed. She looked around the room, searching, and continued, "We probably should gather up what we need before we do anything. So...clean diaper, wipes, and probably a change of clothes just in case. You entertain Leo and I'll get everything."
"Aye. Diapers and wipes are right here. You might want to bring over that trash can over there. I think that's where the diapers go, although you might need to be a locksmith to get it open," Killian said with a happy voice to Leo, but his words aimed at Emma.
"Got it. Found some clothes too. Are you ready?" Emma asked, a bit of fear hidden under her simple question.
"Is one ever ready for something like this?" Killian asked with a frown.
Emma shook her head. "I guess at some point you get used to it. Ok, I'll get the wipes ready and you take his diaper off."
"Aye."
Keeping Leo's attention on her, Emma made some faces while Killian unbuttoned the snaps on the legs of the baby's overalls. It didn't take long to notice Leo would need a complete change of clothes. The poop was already crusting on the back of his legs, and when Killian sat the boy up to try to pull the tops of his overalls down, he noticed the wet spot that reached practically to Leo's shoulder blades.
"Shite."
"And a lot of it from where I'm standing," Emma added as Leo put his fingers in his mouth in lieu of his pacifier, which was in Emma's pocket covered in dog germs.
"What in bloody hell are they feeding this child?" Killian asked in awe of just how much crap had leaked out of the diaper and spread over the poor kid. What's the point of diapers if they can't contain a toxic spill like this? "I think we are going to need a hose, maybe a bio hazard suit, too."
"Drama queen," Emma mumbled.
Killian stopped what he was doing and looked over at her. He gestured with his free hand at Leo, "You are more than welcome, darling."
Emma glanced up at him and must have realized he wasn't joking because she quickly said, "Oh, no, you have it under control. I wouldn't want you to think I was micromanaging or anything."
"Mmm."
Killian turned back to Leo and did his best to shuck the shirt from his squirming body without causing further "spillage" or getting any on himself. He could feel Emma's gaze, intent on his every move, as he managed to divest the baby of all his soiled clothing and wipe all the offending substance off Leo's soft skin.
"Impressive," Emma said, patting Killian on the back. "Let's see how you do with the diaper change," she added.
"What, is this some sort of horrible television game show where each round is a little harder than the one before? Like Ninja Warrior but with a big lake of shit I have to crawl through? What's my incentive to win, hmmm, Swan?"
"A case of turtle wax or a year's supply of Rice-a-Roni," she deadpanned.
"I can think of something far more pleasurable I'd rather have," he said, giving her a hip check and a wink.
"Just finish up will you?" she rolled her eyes at him trying to contain her own smirk.
"Aye, love. Get that clean diaper ready."
Killian pulled the tape fastener from each side of the diaper while Leo attempted to squirm away. Putting his hand gently over the boy's chest to keep him in place, Killian removed the diaper completely and handed it off to Emma to dispose of, both of them doing their best not to breathe in the noxious fumes. As soon as Leo was free of the cover of the diaper, he let loose a stream of pee into the air and across Killian's shirt.
"Bloody hell, boy!" he cried.
Emma snorted and immediately covered her mouth with her free hand, trying not to laugh out loud at the fiasco Killian was currently trying to manage. He shot her a glare and just stood back with a sigh, letting Leo finish his business.
"Oh, wow. That was unexpected," Emma said between her snickering.
"You think?" Killian shot back, pulling his pee-streaked shirt away from his body. "Would you go find me a new shirt in David's room, please, while I finish up here with our resident geyser?" he asked, smiling down at the baby who grabbed at Killian's hand and tried to put a finger in his mouth.
"Sure. Be right back," Emma said as she left the room.
By the time she returned with a clean, black t-shirt in hand, Killian had cleaned up Leo, re-diapered him (perhaps a little more snugly than before), and was dressing him in a new, royal blue shorts onesie with a castle appliqué on the chest, and a dragon curled up, napping, on one leg.
He handed Leo off to Emma then pulled his own shirt off and balled it up. Emma gave the shirtless Killian the once over, which always sent a wave of heat through him.
"Maybe you should just walk around like that for a while. Might improve my day exponentially," she suggested with a leer and waggle of her brows.
Killian sidled up to her, slowly pulling on David's shirt in a reverse strip-tease, and said, "Not a chance in hell, darling. I need some protection from the elements."
He tapped Leo on the nose as he said that and kissed Emma on the side of the head. She sighed in mock disappointment and returned the kiss.
"Another time?" she asked, hopefully.
"Perhaps. When there aren't small children about."
On the way back downstairs, Killian detoured into the bathroom and tossed his shirt in with the rest of David and Mary Margaret's laundry then washed his hands. He'd barely gotten halfway down when he heard Emma yell, "Oh my God, Charlie, what did you do?!"
He jumped down the last few steps and took off at a run across the living room, urging the three dogs blocking the doorway (out of their own curiosity) to get the hell out of his way, and came to a skidding halt in the playroom where Charlotte sat on the floor, marker in hand and her bare legs out in front of her, now a shade of grape to match her sundress.
Emma, with a drooling Leo perched on her hip, looked mortified, mouth agape and the lines between her eyebrows reaching depths he had never seen before. Killian had to turn away for a moment so she couldn't see him laughing. He knew he didn't move fast enough when her arm shot out and smacked him across the chest.
"Oof!"
"It's not funny! Look at her legs!," Emma cried, pointing at Charlie who, in spite of Emma's obvious irritation looked quite proud of herself.
Killian squatted down next to the girl and put his hand atop her head. She looked up at him with a big grin.
"Charlotte, my dear, why did you color your legs purple?"
"Because I'm the purple fairy."
"Oh, I see," he said with a nod.
Emma, exasperated and still horrified asked, "Wouldn't tights have been better? You must have some purple tights."
Charlie shrugged and searched around for the cap to the marker. "It's too hot for tights and the marker was right here."
"Your mother is going to kill me, then you, then me again," Emma groaned.
Killian held out a hand to Charlie as he stood up. "Well, darling, striking shade though that is, we've got to wash it off, ok? What do you say to a bath?"
"Do I have to? I love being purple," she said in a dreamy voice.
"Tell you what, lass, if you go with your Auntie Em and have your bath now, after lunch I will teach you how to play cards just as I promised. Deal?"
Charlie put her small hand in his and stood up. "Deal!"
Emma passed Leo to Killian, and the two boys took the dogs out to the fenced-in back yard so they could run around a bit instead of just being cooped up inside dodging kids. Killian plopped Leo into the baby swing on the jungle gym and gave him a gentle push. The look on Leo's face reminded him of the times either of the dogs put their head out the window of the Jeep while he drove, wind streaming through their fur, their eyes squinting against the rush of air, but a smile on their faces. Leo would have fit right in. Maybe Emma was right, kids and dogs weren't so different. Although, Killian was quite happy to not have to change dog diapers about as much as he wished to change another toxic event of Leo's.
He watched the dogs as they roamed around the yard, Zen sniffing the flower beds and Gale tracking something — probably a squirrel or some other, nocturnal, animal — while Shep did his best to try to herd them closer to each other. Zen kept slipping away and Gale shot him a low growl when he tried too often to move her in one direction or another.
"They're not sheep, you know, Shep. You're wasting your time," Killian called out to the dog.
David must have loved having Shep around to herd the kids. Probably kept his own chasing to a minimum. His friend was no dummy, that was for sure.
Tired of swinging, Leo began to fuss, so Killian pulled him out of the seat and brought him back inside, leaving the dogs to hang out in the fresh air before the day got too hot. On the way back into the playroom, Killian grabbed the sheet of paper Mary Margaret had left for them. He let Leo crawl around on the floor until he pulled himself up on a light-up piano and began banging away at the keys, setting off random notes and laughing away.
"You go, Elton," Killian encouraged Leo as he began to run down the list of things they needed to know about the kids.
"Hey, have you seen the?...Oh," a slightly damp Emma said as she and the now faded-to-a-bruised-shade-of-bluish fairy came in to join them.
Killian rustled the paper at Emma and said, "I thought it was about time we consulted the owner's manual."
Emma chuckled as she scanned the floor for any more purple markers while Charlie had a seat at the blocks and began building something with purpose. Emma reached out and Killian handed her the paper to look over as well.
Checking her watch and then the list, Emma said to him, "You stay here and supervise the troublemakers and I'll go get lunch ready. Maybe we can salvage this day yet."
"As you wish," Killian answered.
Without even looking at him, a reflexive, fleeting smile crossed her lips — the same one she always gave when he said that. They both had seen Princess Bride and the meaning was not lost on him or her, but he did use it sparingly, not wanting to wear out that particular smile. He watched her walk out of the room, biting her bottom lip as she concentrated on what she was reading.
He looked over at Charlotte who was busy at work, adding different objects to her large, squarish structure—a Nerf sword, a teacup, a stuffed lion.
"What are you building over there, love?" Killian asked, watching her carefully decide where to place her blocks and special items.
"A time machine," Charlie answered.
"Hmm. And which direction will you be traveling in?"
"Oh, it's not for me. It's for Leo. He needs to be older so we can play together. Sometimes I miss him," she stated.
"Sometimes I miss my brother, too," Killian commiserated.
"You have a brother?" Charlie asked as she looked at Killian with wide eyes.
"Aye, love, I did have a brother. He's gone now."
Charlie looked at Killian with a sad expression on her pixie-like face and shuffled over to him on her now lavender knees and threw her arms around him, almost knocking him over. "Well, Uncle Killian, I'll make my time machine bigger so you can go back and visit with him. OK?"
"That would be wonderful, love. Thank you for thinking of me," he said into her hair, then kissed the soft mop. There were days he thoroughly wished he could do just that — visit with his brother and just catch up.
Giving him a pat on the back, she sighed as she pulled away. "Back to the drawing board!" she declared.
Killian smiled after the little girl and turned his attention to Leo who was now sitting on the ground gnawing on a plastic spatula from the play kitchen, drool running down his chin.
"Oy, lad, that's no good. Gimme that," Killian ordered, gently tugging the spatula out of Leo's slippery hands. Needless to say, losing his chew toy set of a round of wailing.
Over the din, Charlie yelled, "His teething ring is in the freezer, you know. Didn't mama put that on the list?"
"No idea, love. I'll go check," Killian yelled back as he picked up Leo who was pushing to get back down again. Before he left the playroom, Killian said to Charlie, "No more coloring on your legs, eh?"
"No more coloring on my legs."
"Brilliant. I'll be right back."
~.~
Lunch with the kids was long, messy, and a bit bland, and Killian and Emma just picked at what the kids didn't finish from their own plates. The dogs, now back inside, hovered under the table scrabbling for whatever fell out of small hands to the floor which made the cleanup process somewhat faster. After that they all headed back outside again and Charlie played with Leo in the sandbox until he started to try to eat the sand and the dogs stumbled across Mary Margaret's cat, Bandit, and chased her up a tree. One tree climb to capture the cat, a hosing off of sandy children, and another diaper change later, it was just about time for Leo's afternoon nap. The dogs came in too, exhausted from their exploits herding and stalking the cat, and settled in various cool spots in the living room, passed out, and in some cases chased rabbits in their sleep.
Emma took Leo upstairs to rock him to sleep, while Killian sat with Charlie and a deck of Scooby-Doo playing cards at the coffee table in the living room. He taught her to play "Go Fish" once she was able to show him she knew her numbers and which suit was which. They played a few rounds until a visibly sleepy Emma came down and then the three of them snuggled on the couch to watch Ponyo.
Killian must have dozed off because the next thing he heard was the sound of Leo through the monitor as he woke up from his nap. Emma was lightly snoring with the very much awake Charlie nestled into her side, enjoying the adventures of Ponyo and Sosuke as they made their way through the flood Ponyo's father started in trying to return her to the sea. Turning off the monitor, Killian put his finger to his lips to let Charlotte know not to wake up Emma. He pointed upstairs and Charlie nodded at him then turned her eyes back to the movie.
Feeling far more confident in his ability to change a diaper, Killian took care of task by himself and without any major catastrophes. He found another pacifier jammed into the corner of Leo's crib and rinsed it off in the bathroom sink before giving it back to him. Leo held it to the side of his mouth and chewed where he seemed to be cutting more teeth. They returned to the couch, only disturbing the dogs a little on the return trip, and sat quietly, Leo draped over Killian, until the movie finished.
Emma finally woke just in time to watch the credits roll. She looked at the quiet kids on the couch and gave Killian an impressed smile.
"What now?" Emma asked.
Charlie sat up and raised her hand. "Can we go for a walk?"
At the word "walk," all three dogs sat up to attention.
"Aye. We can do that." He looked at the dogs in turn and said, "Not you guys. Too many of you and not enough of us. We'll take you to the park another time."
He could almost see the disappointment on Gale's face as she lay back down again. He'd definitely take her out someplace special tomorrow. Maybe a boat ride if the weather held, because he knew after this experience they were going to need a relaxing day at sea. No doubt David and Mary Margaret could, too, if this was any indication of how exhausting a regular day was for them — and he suspected he and Emma had it much easier out of courtesy for agreeing to sit with the kids for free. How to arrange for his friends to have a quiet day at sea with them was a puzzle for another day though. Right now it was time to get out the door without bringing everything and the kitchen sink for the ride.
So the four of them set out, the kids in a double stroller (Leo with all manner of appropriate things to chew on stuffed in the seat with him, and Charlie with her favorite purple fairy doll who just so happened to have purple legs, too), with Killian pushing them around the block while Emma checked every 2 seconds to make sure neither of them were falling out. When they returned to the house, it was almost time for dinner, so this time Emma stayed with the kids in the playroom while Killian prepared their food, as well as the dogs' dinners. Killian was starting to flag and they still had a couple more hours to go. He looked at the coffee maker on the counter wistfully and considered brewing a pot just to make it that last little bit, but he wasn't sure he wouldn't be wired later. Luckily after dinner, the kids seemed to be winding down as well, so there was no need to be energetic.
With both kids jammied, and Emma sitting on the couch with Leo reading him a story from a stack of books at her side, Killian and Charlie played another few rounds of "Go Fish," this time with real money — in spite of the number of times Emma looked at him askance between pages of her book. Charlie was a quick study and before long, she'd taken Killian for several dollars. She ran up to her room and brought down her piggy bank and put it on the coffee table with a triumphant thump.
Just as she began counting her winnings to deposit them in her bank, the dogs all began barking and rushing toward the door, startling Leo from the onset of sleep.
"Son of a bitch," Emma muttered, looking at the dogs with aggravation.
They only quieted down when the door opened and David and Mary Margaret walked through the door, laughing at some private joke.
Both children looked up and smiled brightly, then Charlie jumped from her spot on the floor and raced over, hugging her parents' legs.
"I see you survived," David said to the room at large.
Mary Margaret walked over and dropped onto the couch next to Emma just in time to have Leo dive at her. She gave him a big hug and several kisses as he clung to her neck.
Charlie jumped up and down, gripping David's hand. "Daddy, Daddy! I won playing cards with Uncle Killian!"
David reached down and picked his little girl up and hugged her. "You did? How much did you take from that cheater?"
"Eight dollars," she said.
"And fifty cents," Killian finished.
David looked impressed. "Well," he said to his daughter, "that's more than I've ever gotten out of him. Good job. Maybe I'll start sending you to our council meetings instead."
"No, thank you. I've almost got enough put away for our honeymoon. If you start sending the lady Charlotte, Emma and I will have to give up our dream of going to New Zealand and wind up down the road at the local B&B instead," Killian teased.
"Speaking of weddings," Emma interrupted. "How was James & Jack's wedding?"
Mary Margaret rolled her eyes. "Ostentatious. As usual. This time they rented that old castle looking place just outside of town. Jack's gown looked like a cross between a meringue and a disco ball, and James got drunk during the reception and fell off the balcony. Luckily, it was on the first floor so he only rolled down a hill a bit."
Emma laughed. "So it was an improvement over last time."
David set Charlie down and said, "If by 'improvement' you mean neither the police nor fire department showed up, then yes. It was an improvement."
Emma and Killian both stood up, Killian patting his leg to call Gale and Zen to his side, so they could prepare to go.
Killian caught David's curious stare and asked, "What?"
Tilting his head, David said, "Is that my shirt?"
"Aye. 'Tis. Your boy has quite the aim for one so young," Killian said, raising his eyebrow and folding his arms over his chest.
David laughed deeply. "Yeah, he's gotten me once or twice," he admitted.
Emma scrunched her nose, shut her eyes, and ducked her head as she said, "And Charlie colored her legs purple. I'm so sorry. It looks like I beat the crap out of her, but I swear it's the marker," she said in a rush.
This time Mary Margaret laughed. "Oh, it's not the first time she's done that, is it, young lady?" she asked, looking pointedly at Charlotte.
"No, mamma."
"The first time she did it, I couldn't get the marker off either and I thought for sure Child and Family Services were going to come find me and take her away. Don't worry about it," she told Emma. "I know a few tricks now to get it off before she goes back to daycare on Monday. Looks like I'm going to need to do another sweep of the playroom though to find your secret stash of purple markers, won't I?"
Charlie smiled sheepishly then yawned. "I think it's time for me to go to bed now," she said.
Emma shook her head. "That is some serious deflection, kiddo. Nice job. Come here and give me a hug." Emma kneeled down and Charlie flung herself into Emma's arms. Emma gave her a loud kiss on her head and asked, "We had fun today, didn't we?"
Charlie nodded and then broke away to stand in front of Killian, who picked her up for his hug. She whispered in his ear, "When I finish the time machine you'll come back, right? So you can go see your brother?"
"Of course, lass. How could I say no to such a generous gift?" he whispered back giving her a squeeze and a kiss on her freckled cheek. "I'll see you soon."
He set her on the floor and stroked her hair from her face.
"Night, Uncle Killian."
"Night, love."
~.~
Walking through the door of their own house, Killian was grateful for the quiet and the obvious lack of plastic toys underfoot. He'd had grueling days at work before that physically wore him out, and situations that made him mentally exhausted, but rarely did he experience both at the same time like he felt just then. Being around Charlotte and Leo was eye-opening for him, and if his observations of Emma were correct, for her, too. She hadn't said much yet, but from how distracted she was the whole ride home, he could tell something was on her mind besides how fast she could get to bed.
Even Gale and Zen didn't try to play their usual game of keep away when they came through the door. Instead, they silently dragged themselves to the bedroom and collapsed on their beds, not bothering to scam a snuggle on Killian and Emma's bed as they did each night with varying degrees of success. That alone was a bit astonishing. Killian hadn't realized how stressful being in someone else's house would be for his dogs, and he was a bit sorry for putting them in that situation.
"I don't know how David and Mary Margaret do it," Emma said to Killian as they got ready for bed about an hour earlier than normal. They were both moving slowly and Killian was actually feeling an ache in the muscles of his upper arms and shoulders from carrying the children off and on throughout the day. Standing next to him at the sink loading up her toothbrush, Emma rolled her head and shoulders trying to loosen up her own stiff joints.
"Me neither," he said. "I wonder if it's always chaos and mayhem there? Did you know they had a cat too?" Killian asked, rinsing off his toothbrush.
Emma laughed in disbelief. "No! Not that it surprises me knowing the two of them, but I had no idea," she said around a mouthful of toothpaste foam. "It's a good thing Gale and Zen didn't actually want to kill her. Not that that was a shining example of their generally good behavior, but…"
Killian held back Emma's hair as she spit and rinsed again. "Well, all things considered, I thought all the dogs did well. Gale was not impressed with the kids, I think," he commented.
"That's because they weren't covered in neon green fuzz or being catapulted across the yard for her to retrieve. Zen was pretty happy at meal times though," Emma observed.
"That's because she's a food whore, darling. If we spend any more time with small children who have not mastered cutlery, she's going to need a wheelbarrow to get around," Killian teased.
He could tell Emma was off on some tangle of thoughts because her only response was, "Umhmm."
They walked down the hall to their room to find Zen snoring and Gale occasionally twitching and kicking the baseboard with her paws. Killian turned down Emma's side of the bed and went over to check the air conditioner thermostat to make sure the room was on the chilly side the way they both liked it. Stripping out of his (and David's) clothes, Killian slid under the covers and held out his arm for Emma to tuck herself into his side as she liked to do before falling asleep. He had no complaints about that particular habit of hers since it afforded him the opportunity to play with her hair, which he did as soon as she settled.
Emma rested her head on his chest and sighed.
"Kids are a shit ton of work, aren't they?" she mumbled.
"Aye. That they are, love."
"You were really great with them though," Emma said with a bit of awe in her voice. "You're a natural."
Killian shrugged. "I don't know about that, darling. It didn't feel as natural as it may have looked, I promise you. I never felt like I had enough eyes or arms to keep them from doing something harmful to themselves. Especially with little Leo. I had no idea the number of objects one child could attempt to jam in his mouth. He had no regard whatsoever for what it was he was about to put in there — sand, blocks, fingers...I caught him about to gnaw on the edge of the coffee table at one point. I was sure one of the dogs would be next."
Emma chuckled, but it was half-hearted.
"I don't know if I can do all that," Emma said, sounding small and more than a little scared.
"Well, you wouldn't be doing it all alone...but is there something I need to know that makes you say that?" Killian stilled his hand in her hair and asked hesitantly. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, but the raw fear in her voice set him on edge.
She sat up, resting her hands on his bare chest to balance herself, and looked him in the eyes.
"No. I'm not pregnant if that's what you mean. I haven't stopped taking birth control since we started sleeping together."
"Well, love, if it's any consolation, I'm not sure I'm up for that amount of work and responsibility either. Some days the two dogs are more than I can handle. I do love those two rug rats of David and Mary Margaret's, but I rather enjoyed handing them back at the end of the day, to be quite honest."
At one point in his life, when he was with Milah, children were part of their plan – something that was expected at the time that he didn't really question. And it wasn't that he didn't love Emma enough to want to have children with her, it was more that he had changed and so had his priorities. He still wasn't absolutely sure what his position was on children, but he was certain that he and Emma would figure it out together.
He could see the relief on her face when he didn't seem to be jumping on the "let's have kids right now" wagon as he tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear.
She smiled at him and said, "So, we're good with recreation, not procreation?"
"I do like the sound of that," he said right before a huge yawn overtook him. "Just not tonight. I don't think I've ever been so bloody tired in all my life."
Emma collapsed back down on his chest and his hands immediately returned to her hair, twining it around his index finger. "Me neither," she said through her own yawn. "Killian?" she asked, as sleep was obviously seeping in to her body.
"Aye?"
"I love you."
"And I, you."