Thanks a lot to oncer4life11, Emilee Amethyst and Araya for the reviews!
"I know I've already told you, but this is very strange." Killian started, driving me away from my thoughts.
We were settled on a bench in Central Park, and I was watching with half a smile my sons watering each other with water gun. It was so hot outside, the heatwave was still there, stronger than ever, and Henry had found this pretty good way to cool down and entertain his little brother. I was looking at them running after each other, completely drenched by their battle, and was finding this situation very funny. They were both looking so adorable. I was sitting cross-legged on the bench, and even if the heat was bugging me a little bit, I was very happy to be there with my family. A peaceful afternoon was always good to take in this town where something bad was always happening.
I turned to look at Killian, not really understanding what he was trying to say. He was staring at me with a frown, and was looking quite worried, thing I was a bit surprised to notice. Two minutes ago, he was in a very good mood and we had spent a long time kissing and teasing each other like two teenagers knowing their first love. Wanting to know what had triggered this sudden change, I asked in a soft voice :
"What do you mean?"
"It's weird, it's really not obvious you're 24 weeks pregnant. Seriously, you were showing a lot more for Liam. You only look like you're a few months into your pregnancy."
I placed my hand on my stomach and gently stroked it with my thumb. Killian was right, I had myself wondered several times how it was possible I was still so skinny. I had started to show quite early, but since then, my stomach hadn't grown that much, and it was a bit surprising. As Killian had said, someone who didn't know I was six months pregnant could never have guessed I was that far into the pregnancy.
"Do you think there is a problem?" He resumed, looking a bit worried.
"Aw, babe, if it makes you feel better, we'll ask Whale, but I'm pretty sure everything is okay." I answered with a smile to comfort him. "Things are a lot different from a pregnancy to another, and believe me, it's moving well, so well it keeps me up at night if you remember well." I added with a smile, referring to the fact I couldn't sleep well lately because the baby was definitely training to be a soccer player. "Try not to worry too much, okay?"
He nodded and gently smiled at me, but I could see he was still a bit concerned. Wanting to comfort him, I took his hand and placed it on my stomach, before saying to the baby :
"Hey, Peanut, Daddy is a bit worried because you're not very big yet. Can you show him you're all right for me?"
Reacting to my voice, the baby started to move, and I saw Killian's eyes lightening, as always when he was feeling his child kicking. I smiled, touched by how adorable he looked, and gently ran my hand through his hair. He leaned forward to press a tender kiss on my stomach through my tank top, still smiling in happiness :
"Thanks, little love." He whispered in a very soft voice.
The baby moved again, and I let go of a chuckle. It was always kicking when Killian was talking to it, as if it was trying to answer to its father. Keeping his right hand on my stomach, Killian wrapped his left arm around my shoulder to pull me closer to him and kiss my hair. I cuddled into his arms despite the heat, loving the fact he was beside me, and turned my head to change the subject when a cold water jet hit my breast, making me gasp in surprise. I jumped off the bench and looked down at my drenched tank top, my lips parted in disbelief, before looking up to see Henry standing in front of me. His water gun in his hand, he was staring at us with a huge smile, looking pretty proud of himself.
"What the hell, kid?!" I cried out, turning to look at Killian and realizing he hadn't been spared either and was staring at Henry like he had just betrayed him grandly.
"You were looking like the heat was bothering you." My son answered, smiling at us in his best innocent way.
"Bloody hell..." Killian whispered, looking absolutely outraged. "Are you serious right now?"
"For my defense, it's Liam who's asked me to do it." He said, pointing to his brother who was giggling beside him, his toy in his hand.
"He's two, Henry, listening to him is probably not a good idea." I replied, shaking my head, a bit amused by his comments.
"Very well, now that you're both cooled down..." He resumed, taking a step to walk away from us.
"Oh, because you think we're going to forget about what you've done just like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him before walking to join Liam. "Can you give me your toy for a little while, sweetheart?" I asked, kneeling on the ground in front of him. "Mommy needs it to do something really funny."
My son handed me the item with a big smile, and I thanked him by pressing a kiss on his forehead before getting back on my feet. I turned back to Henry, the water gun barrel pointed in his direction. His eyes widened, as he had probably not expected me to take my revenge, he shook his head as if he wanted to make me change my mind, and I said, chuckling because of his scared expression :
"Who's laughing now?"
And without waiting any longer, I thew a water jet that hit him right in the face.
The battle lasted a little while. I could see that Killian, who had taken Liam on his lap when our little boy had joined him to watch us, was regularly glancing at me in a worried way, probably concerned about the fact I was running and could be making too much effort. I smiled at him several times to comfort him, but it didn't really seem to work as he was still staring at me with a worried frown. He seemed to be hesitating between asking me to stop because he thought it was dangerous for the baby or letting me continue because I was having way too much fun. Seeing he wasn't saying anything, I guessed he had finally chosen the second solution, knowing all too well I would stop right away if I felt like something was wrong, because I wanted the baby to be healthy as much as he did.
A long while later, panting, I dropped the water gun, and it fell on the grass. I gestured to Henry to ask him to stop for a few minutes, as I was feeling very tired :
"Okay, time out, kid!" I panted, sitting down on the grass to rest for a little bit.
"So you're giving up?" He bragged, approaching me with a big smile on his face.
"God no!" I answered with a little laugh, taking my hair dripping with cold water in my hands. "If you think I'm going to leave things there, you're dreaming! But you seem to forget you have an advantage, because I have the weight of your little sibling to carry. So let me rest for a few minutes, and then you'll see if I've given up."
He nodded with an amused smile and sat down next to me, panting as well but looking deeply happy by our little battle. I turned back to Killian to wave at him and show him everything was okay, but I stopped when I saw my mom's figure running toward Hook. He hadn't seen her yet as he was back to her, and he frowned seeing my expression changing. Puzzled, I glanced at Henry, who was looking as surprised as I was, and we both got up to go join our family and discover the truth about what was happening.
"Emma! Hook!" My mom shouted from the distance, drawing Killian's attention, and he got up to look at her with concern.
"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing how worried she looked and understanding at her panting that she had run on a pretty long distance.
"You absolutely need to come to Regina's. Now. It's an emergency."
"Don't we have the time to take Liam to Ashley's?" Killian asked as I was beginning to realize things were definitely very bad.
"We need to hurry up." She answered very seriously.
"I'll go, don't worry about it." Henry then decided.
I thanked him with a quick smile, so grateful he wanted to help us. He took his brother in his arms, and I kissed both my sons, waiting for them to have walked away and be sure they couldn't hear us anymore to turn back to my mom :
"Don't you want to tell us what's going on?" I asked, hanging the walkie-talkie I was usually taking with me everywhere at my belt, as I had given it to Killian to avoid wetting it while I was playing with Henry.
"It's Zelena." She said in a deep voice. "We have a problem."
"Why haven't you called me on my cellphone?" I asked, almost running in order not to fall behind my mom.
She was looking very worried, and I had never seen her walk that fast before, or displaying this dark expression. I glanced at Killian, who winced at me and started to walk even faster. We were headed for Regina's, and we were walking so quickly I was feeling like it was a question of life or death. I was still drenched because of my games with Henry, and despite the heat, I shivered when a cold drop of water ran down my spine.
"Because you never answer. Seriously, I sometimes wonder why the hell you have a cellphone if it's to never pick it up."
She had talked very dryly, and, surprised, I stopped for a second as she was carrying on walking without paying attention to me. The situation was very bad if she was talking to me that way, she was usually never using that tone with me. She was always so gentle, and it worried me so much to hear her be that cold.
"Mom, you okay?" I panted, not starting to walk again to catch my breath.
I hadn't had the time to rest after my water battle with my son, and we were almost running since we had left the park. A sudden and acute pain in my ribs made me whimper, and I placed my hand on my side, bending over to escape the pain. The baby gave a furious kick in my stomach, probably protesting against my behavior it didn't seem to like at all.
My mom and Killian finally stopped to look at me, and they suddenly noticed I was aching. Killian rushed over me to wrap his arm around my waist and help me keep my balance. I vaguely smiled at him to show him I was okay and I was just tired, as he his eyes were shinning in worry. He placed his hand on my stomach as if he wanted to make sure the baby was all right, and he helped me walk to join my mom, who was looking at me with concern :
"I'm sorry, honey." She said, placing her hand on my arm once I arrived beside her. "I shouldn't get mad at you, what's happening is not your fault. I'm just nervous."
"You still don't want to tell us what's wrong?" I asked, finally managing to breathe a little bit slower.
"It's going to waste our time, and explaining what's going on with words is actually quite complicated. You'll learn everything when we'll arrive at Regina's" She stated, restarting to walk as I was myself beginning to move again, my hand still glued to my painful ribs.
"You all right, love?" Killian asked with worry, his arm still around me as he didn't want to let go of me, too scared I would fall over.
I gave him a thumb up in order not to alarm him too much. We had obviously no time to lose, and I needed to keep on moving. My state wasn't that bad anyway, I was able to walk, I just needed to be brave. I then gently freed myself from his grip and we joined my mom, who was still almost running a few feet ahead of us.
Finally, after a few long minutes, we arrived at Regina's. My mom violently opened the door without even bothering to make sure we were following her, and I walked into the hallway, taking deep asthmatic breaths to relieve my painful lungs. Killian glanced at me, looking deeply concerned, and he took my hand before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss on my lips and encourage me. This expression of affection made me smile, and we ended up entering Regina's office, where she, my dad and the wizards were already standing and waiting for us.
"It's about time." David mumbled, obviously in a bad mood. "Think about picking up your damn phone next time."
My eyes widened, and I turned to look at Killian, who was looking as surprised as I was. It wasn't like my dad to talk to me like that either, he was always very gentle and understanding with me. I said, still panting, and I had to admit it, a bit mad because of his comment :
"Seriously? We almost raced to get here, I'm exhausted and you're still getting mad at me?"
"Okay, what's happening?" Killian intervened, knowing that the situation was getting out of hand and placing his hand in the small of my back to ease me.
I took a deep breath, aware that getting angry wouldn't solve anything and would only worsen the situation as everyone was very nervous. Once I was calmed down, I took a step into the office, my hands on my hips and wanting to finally understand what was going on, but Regina stopped me by moving her hand up, and dryly barked:
"If you take one more step, I assure you you'll regret it."
"Huh?" I asked, surprised by how violent her comment was as I hadn't done anything wrong.
"You're putting water everywhere, Swan. Seriously, you could have thought about putting on dry clothes before coming here, don't you think?"
"Are you fucking serious right now?" I shouted, my lips parted because I was finding the situation so unfair. "If I had been able to do so, I would have, believe me. But I thought we were dealing with an emergency, here."
"We are, but given how much time you took to get here, we're pretty late anyway." She mumbled, rolling her eyes.
"What the hell do you all have against me today?" I stuttered, not knowing if I should feel offended or angry because of their behavior.
"I thought you all had more important things to do than getting mad at her while she hasn't done anything wrong." Hook intervened, looking very annoyed by my family's behavior.
"He's right." Harry added with a concerned frown. "I think we should tell them everything now."
Regina gave me a contemptuous look that I didn't understand. I knew they were all nervous, but I didn't get why they were all turning their anger at me. I hadn't done anything to deserve that kind of treatment, I just wanted to help them. I forced myself to stay calm and not start yelling at them, and approached her as she was handing me a piece of paper, on which a few words were written down in a tiny handwriting. Puzzled, I took the sheet as Killian was looking behind my shoulder to understand what was happening.
There was only one sentence, lost in the immensity of the blank page, by it made my heart skip a beat.
If you think I'm going to give up, you're wrong, people.
"Where… Where is Robyn?" I stuttered, realizing the situation was really bad.
If Zelena had bothered to come to her sister's and give this threat, it could only be because she was planning something. She wouldn't have taken this risk otherwise, she had to have a very good reason to act that way. And my first thought was that she wanted to distract us while she was kidnapping her biological daughter.
"With her father." Regina coldly answered, but I was getting her anger now that I was aware of what was going on. "They are hiding in the forest."
I nodded, my brows together, only half reassured by this information because I knew that all of this was really bad. I mechanically placed my hand on my stomach, as if I was trying to protect the baby from an invisible danger. The witch's threat was getting more precise, and my fear of the baby being in danger suddenly rushed over me again, as I was realizing I had only managed to push it away for a little while. I took a deep breath, trying to chase away the panic attack that was coming my way. I had to stay strong, I didn't have a choice.
"What's it all about?" Killian asked with a frown. "Why giving us this message now?"
"You're right." I added, nervously biting my lower lip and trying to keep calm as I was still feeling my heart pounding almost painfully in my chest. "I don't understand. We're searching for her for weeks now. And we know she's not going to give up. She has to have something in mind, and we have to discover what she's planning..."
"Thanks for your extremely relevant statement, Swan." Regina jeered, looking very annoyed. "We've all already wondered this without your precious help. We thought you would be useful, but if things are this way, you should have stayed home, really."
I almost choked because of my indignation. I couldn't believe she was actually talking to me like that – I just wanted to help her and her family, and protect mine. I wasn't to blame for what was happening to her adoptive daughter, and her comments were clearly meaning she wanted to take me as a scapegoat. But I hadn't done anything wrong, and I was certainly not going to let her treat me that way.
"Okay." I then dryly said, stepping away from them, my voice shaky with anger. "You know what? Screw you."
"Emma..." My mom started, trying to approach me, but I lifted my hand up to stop her.
"No" I cut her off, feeling tears of rage starting to fill my eyes. "I'm talking to you too. I get you're all nervous, but I'm afraid too. And I refuse to listen to your blames, because I haven't done anything wrong. If you want to know, I would rather have stayed in the park with my sons. So if you don't need me, I'm very happy to go home, since I bother all of you so much..."
"Emma!"
Hook's scream made me turn to look at him in surprise. I didn't get why he had called my name so loudly. I had expected him to support me on this, as always, and his cry was sounding like a warning. It's only when I saw his eyes staring at something behind my back that I understood something was happening, but it was too late for me to react.
Everything went very fast. I didn't have the time to turn back and face what was behind me, because someone wrapped its arm around my throat, obstructing my breathing. When I placed my hand on my neck to try and free myself, my opponent put a bracelet stopping me from using my magic around my wrist before I could do anything else to defend myself. My parents and Killian were looking absolutely terrified, and the wizards seemed to be really surprised. I saw Regina lifting her hand up to attack the stranger, but a voice I was knowing all too well rang close to my right ear.
"I don't think so." Zelena whispered. "If you want to hurt me, you'll touch Emma and the baby at the same time. And we don't want this to happen, do we?"
I gasped in terror and felt the witch's grip tightening around my neck. So, she knew about the baby. And I was now completely helpless, she could do anything to me while I was in this position. I was feeling my heart painfully pounding in my chest, way too fast. I couldn't do a thing, I didn't have my magic anymore, and if my family was trying something, the baby could get hurt in the process. I wriggled, but she immobilized me, blocking my respiration even more.
"Because the Savior has hidden her secret from me." She resumed, sounding very happy about what was happening, and I shivered, trying to keep my balance because falling over would only make things worse. "She already has a little boy at home, and now she's with child again. I see you've enjoyed yourself, pirate." She added to Killian.
"If you don't let her go..." He barked, steeping forward, his breathing so fast because of his terror he was panting a little bit.
"What are you going to do, tell me? Attack me? Risking to hurt Emma or your baby? I don't think it's going to go this way, you know" She sighted, sounding falsely sorry for us. "And I'm going to play a little bit with her after what she's done to my daughter."
I felt a tear streaming down my face. I had imagined this situation so many times, I had been so terrified it was really going happen, she would make my family suffer, but I had tried to convince myself it was going to be okay. But now, all of my fears were getting real, right before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything to avoid what was going to happen, nor did Killian. I was feeling so powerless. The baby kicked, and a sob shook my shoulder when I realized its future was in Zelena's hand.
"I see you've been fooled by my trick." She chuckled. "Having you all in the same room, I hadn't even imagined it to be possible. Here's the deal." She added in the horrified silence that had filled in the space. "You give me Robyn without arguing, or the Savior and her baby end up six feet under."
I saw Killian's eyes searching for mine. He was looking so panicked, and tears were shinning in his beautiful blue eyes. He was losing two members of his family, and he couldn't even do something to avoid this. I looked at him and barely had the strength to articulate a quiet I love you
Then, in a puff of green smoke, the witch took me to a place I knew nothing about.
Please don't kill me? I swear i'm a nice girl! See you monday for more! :)
