A/N: I've finally finished writing this story! The last chapter, the second part of this, will be up in a few days (maybe tomorrow if you guys really want it)! This chapter sets up the next. I quite like the next chapter as it's got a bit of Captain Charming, a bit Captain Believer, and you finally get to meet the baby! Thank you all so much for your support on this, especially over on Tumblr (my tumblr is Slimacwrites!). I'm blown away and so very thankful. Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: All aspects of Once Upon A Time belong to ABC and the show's creators.
Eight months. Emma was eight months along, her belly swollen and her back sore. She'd moved past the hormone filled second trimester to the impatient stage. She couldn't sleep because the belly was so heavy that it got in the way and that meant Killian didn't either. But that didn't matter because the baby was four weeks away. Four weeks.
Killian was practically beside himself, partly terrified that he'd be a terrible father and partly desperate to hold the baby in his arms. They'd found out several months ago that they were having a little boy. Emma hadn't even hesitated, announcing that the baby would be named Liam David Jones. Killian had already been close to crying when he'd heard that he'd be having a son but at the name he'd asked the doctor to leave and let the emotion free. Liam, his headstrong and noble brother would live again in his baby boy. It was just too much to handle.
A lot of the pregnancy was too much to handle because he couldn't do much for Emma. Killian couldn't take the discomfort from his wife, couldn't help her sleep beyond staying up and rubbing her back and feet which was made harder by only having one hand. Killian still hadn't mastered swaddling the teddy bears Mary Margaret made him practice on to make sure he could operate the hook around the baby. Killian knew he was capable but the worry of a new father was enough for him to doubt his abilities.
Killian hated not being able to fix everything. He wanted to provide for Emma more than running to the store to get whatever food she was craving or changing the orientation of the furniture in the nursery around for the millionth time, which was exactly what he was doing now.
The door downstairs opened and Rapi began to bark, scrambling downstairs from where he'd been napping with Emma. A feminine voice greeted the excited dog, letting him know that his mother-in-law had arrived, unexpectedly. Mary Margaret had taken to doing that more and more often as Emma got closer to her due date, helping to decorate the nursery or talk to Emma about what was normal or not during pregnancy. Soft feet padded up the stairs as Mary Margaret followed the dog upwards, Rapi leading her to where the people were.
"Good afternoon, milady," Killian greeted when Mary Margaret entered the nursery, carrying a pack of newborn diapers.
"Hi Killian," she replied, placing the supplies in the drawer under the changing table. "How's Emma?"
"Asleep, thankfully. The babe kept her up all night."
"Good, she'll need as much rest as she can get before Liam arrives," Mary Margaret said with a nod, a warm feeling filling Killian, as it did every time someone said his boy's name. "I've not come to see Emma though. This time I'm here to see you."
"Oh?" Killian asked, putting the toys back on the bookshelf Emma had had him moving.
"You need to learn to drive. When Emma goes into labour she's not going to be able to drive and David may be busy with our truck which leaves you since I'll be working if she goes during the day."
Killian scratched the back of his head. He'd been in this world for quite a while now but he'd still never managed to learn to drive. It wasn't as if he could just pick it up as he had operating the television and it wasn't something he particularly wanted to ask David, both his best mate and father-in-law how to do. Driving had never been a problem before because Emma could take him anywhere or he was never in so much of a rush that his own two feet couldn't carry him to the place he needed to be. But Mary Margaret did raise a good point about Emma's labour.
"What do you suggest then?" Killian asked, leaning down to give Rapi's ear a scratch.
"I'm going to teach you."
"You?" Killian didn't mean for it to come out in such a surprised tone but she was a queen. Queens didn't teach people how to drive an ancient Bug. Mary Margaret just rolled her eyes.
"Yes, me. I do know how to drive and you need to learn before the due date. With David covering Emma's shifts at the station along with his own I'm your only option."
Killian sighed. "Okay. If you do not mind teaching an old pirate a new trick, I shall learn how to drive."
Mary Margaret smiled brightly, bouncing a bit on her toes. "You leave a note for Emma, I'll go get the car started and backed out. You are definitely not reversing the Bug around David's truck."
"Emma's okay to leave? She really could have her baby any time now." Killian glanced out the door, as if he could see through the walls to see Emma sleeping.
"Emma's fine. She'll call if she needs you. It's best we do this now this now before she's even closer. The dog will keep her company while we're gone."
Killian sighed because his mother-in-law was right. With a quiet whistle Rapi followed him out of the nursery and into Emma's room. Grabbing the top sheet of paper from the pad on the dresser Killian scrawled a note and left it on Emma's pillow, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "Stay here and watch, Swan, yeah? Be a good boy." The dog sat, as if understanding and with a nod Killian shut the bedroom door and followed Mary Margaret downstairs.
By the time Killian had his coat and boots on Mary Margaret had already turned the car around so the front was facing the road. Killian scratched behind his ear. He'd never driven but he'd commanded a full rigged pirate ship for nearly three centuries. How bad could Emma's little metal vessel be?
Killian let him out of the house and met Mary Margaret in the driveway who was jingling Emma's keys in front of her.
"Okay, so first thing's first," she trilled. "You need to learn how to turn on the car." She gestured to the open car door and Killian got in, letting out a grunt when he ended up squished against the wheel. "Oh, and adjust your seat," Mary Margaret added sheepishly. "I forgot I was shorter than you." Mary Margaret pointed at a bar just under the seat. "Give that a tug and push backwards."
Killian did as he was told and the seat slid back, opening up room for his legs. With a little shimmying he got the seat far enough away from the wheel that he wasn't resting his chin on his knees but close enough that he could press the pedals that were sitting rather ominously under his feet.
With a satisfied nod Mary Margaret hurried around the front of the car and got in the passenger seat. She buckled herself in and Killian copied the movement, using his hook around the belt to pull it over himself and his hand to snap it in place.
"Okay, next, this is what you need to remember." Mary Margaret leaned over the center console and pointed to a slot behind the wheel. "This is where the key goes. You put it in and turn it until the engine comes on then let go. Turn it back towards you until the engine shuts off to turn the car off." Killian put the key in the ignition and turned it forward, grinning to himself when the car rumbled to life beneath them. He turned the key the other way and the engine cut.
"Good. Now this is your rear-view mirror. Adjust it so you can see behind you." Killian reached up and moved it around until he could see the grill of David's truck. "The mirrors on the side don't really adjust in this thing anymore but you can use them too to see behind you and the sides of your car." Killian nodded, glancing towards them. He went over it in his head- ignition, turn it towards the bow of the car and it turns on, towards the stern and the vessel shuts off, rear-view mirror to see the stern of the car and the road behind, side mirrors don't move. That wasn't too much right now. But he hadn't actually started moving yet.
"Beneath your feet are the pedals. Do not get them mixed up. On the left side is the brake, on the right side is the gas. The brake pedal is larger. The tiniest one is the clutch. Gas means go. Break means stop. The farther you press the gas pedal in, the faster the car will go, so for you, don't press too much. The clutch is for changing gears but for how slow you're going to go you won't need to worry too much about changing gears. You hit the gas and break with your right foot and the clutch with your left."
Killian pressed the pedals with the feet Mary Margaret instructed. The heel of his boot caught on the edge of the gas pedal as he tried to move his foot. Mary Margaret leaned over at the noise and Killian sighed. Killian could only imagine what trying to combine that with steering would be like. "Don't lift your foot, just pivot. Try again." Killian tried again, this time doing it right. "Good. Now we figure out the gear shift."
What followed was a half an hour of further instructions as she explained the gear shift and when to move it and how, making Killian pull the shifter while pressing the clutch at the same time. Once Mary Margaret was satisfied that he wouldn't completely destroy the car trying to control it she pushed back into her seat.
"Okay, turn it on."
"What? Now?" Killian asked, ringing his hand around the wheel. Killian would rather sail The Jolly through miles of reefs and shallow waters than try and move this garishly yellow vessel.
"You get the mechanisms enough to drive. We've already been out here for forty-five minutes. Emma will be up soon. Come on, just up and down the road a few times, okay?"
"As the lady commands," Killian replied, somewhat reluctantly. With a deep breath Killian turned the key and pressed the clutch, easing the car into neutral. They idled for a few moments, giving the engine a chance to heat up a bit.
"Okay, now into first gear," Mary Margaret instructed. As taught Killian pressed in the clutch and shifted the gear behind the wheel upwards into the first slot. He then let go of the clutch and tapped the gas with his other foot and the car lurched forwards. Emma definitely did that smoother. "It's okay," Mary Margaret said, grabbing onto the handle on the roof, the oh shit bar as Emma called it, the action belaying her calm tone. "Try again. Easier this time."
Killian pressed the gas pedal slowly, the car easing forward out of the driveway. Killian used his hand and hook to turn the car onto the road, thankful not for the first time that they lived on such a quiet and out of the way road.
Steering the car was easy. It was like a more responsive Jolly but essentially it worked the same. Shifting as Mary Margaret asked was not as easy. They stalled twice, Killian cursing violently each time then apologizing profusely to the queen.
"It's okay, Killian," Mary Margaret said as they started forward again. "You're doing great for your first time."
"I need to be able to get Emma to the hospital, not stop in the middle of the road," Killian replied, thoroughly annoyed at himself for not being able to control the car as well as he would The Jolly. If only he could sail his ship to the hospital.
"You can get Emma there. It doesn't matter how rough the ride is. You just need to get there." Killian sighed, squeezing the wheel until his knuckles went white. "How about we stop. I think you've got the idea." Killian nodded and pulled into the driveway, following Mary Margaret's instructions on how to stop and park, shoulders sagging with relief now that the car was off. He was just so frustrated and exhausted from trying to drive and failing miserably at times.
"It's going to be okay, Killian," Mary Margaret said softly, laying a hand on his shoulder, as if sensing the change of atmosphere in the car. "You don't have to have all the answers in this situation. All new parents get scared and bumble around."
"Emma's not a new parent. She's going to know what to do."
"Killian, this is your nerves talking and making you forget. Emma never raised Henry. Yes, she's a mother, but Emma became a mother to a ten year old, not a newborn. She's scared too. It's normal to be afraid of holding the baby, or changing it. David and I were terrified when we had Neal because we never raised Emma. We were essentially, as horrible as it was, new parents. Just like you. I was terrified to let Neal out of my sight and it took us weeks to figure out how to set up the stroller without nearly breaking it every time we took it out of the car. But we made it through and look at Neal now- a toddler who doesn't know what sleep is."
Killian raked a hand through his hair, pulling it up at the ends. It was strange to be talking to his mother in law, who was younger than him, about his fears of being a father. But it wasn't something he wanted to tell Emma. To Emma he wanted to seem calm and excited, not more terrified than he had been any other time in his life. Emma had been so brave about everything, even though Killian knew see panicked at times when she didn't think he could see. How could he be anything less that prepared for his beautiful Swan?
"Killian, you're going to be a wonderful father. David and I, we have no doubt of that. I hope that by now we've convinced you that we care about you and want you to be a part of our family for good. You're not the pirate we first met and judged you on. You make our daughter so happy."
Killian glanced down at his lap to hide the blush that was rising. These few months had shaken his confidence because he was so scared about having the baby so it was nice to hear that Mary Margaret still believed in him.
"Thank you, milady. It's hard when one doesn't know what to expect."
Mary Margaret laughed. "Now you know exactly how it feels to be a parent to be. I'll let you in on some hints though- Emma will shout horrible things at you during birth. This happens and she means nothing she says. Birth, even with all the drugs, is very painful. You'll both be upset about it. But when the baby arrives and you hear that first cry, well, it all goes away. It's beautiful and peaceful and you'll probably both cry too."
"You've not exactly reassured me," Killian replied. Emma had enough of a temper on a regular day. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit scared about what Emma would come up with during birth. But Mary Margaret was right- just thinking about holding his baby boy- it did reduce the fear a bit, the emotion swallowed up by a growing excitement.
Mary Margaret laughed and got out of the car. "At least now you know."