Hello dear readers (:

I'm so sorry for the waiting! My muse decided to get into a coma (deep sleep, a state of extreme unresponsiveness …), anyway I'm back and the good news is that I already started to write the next chapter so the next update won't take this long, I promise!

There are some details that you also need to know. As I said in chapter 12 I'm trying to put some of the events that happened in the show in this story as well, however some things will be different. I already mentioned some details and there is another one that you need to know:

Rumpelstiltskin is still the Dark One (in this story Emma became the Dark One but after she released herself from the darkness and the dagger Rumple became the Dark One again … I know that this probably doesn't make any sense but I really need him to be the Dark One, I hope you don't mind)

Happy reading!

And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her — J.R.R. Tolkien

The world slowed down around him and all that Killian could hear were Emma's words and his own heart beating.

I'm pregnant

Killian was almost sure that his heart had never beaten so loudly against his ribs before.

His good hand was still touching Emma's stomach. He could feel her warm skin burning and freezing him at the same time but instead of breaking the contact between Emma's stomach and his hand he caught himself pressing gently his hand on her belly, like she was his own source of light and he a man who had never seen light until that moment.

An image of a little girl running on the beach as the soft wind caressed her blonde hair invaded his mind. He could actually hear the sound of her laugh, the same sound of Emma's laugh.

Flashes of what never happened were now everything that he could see as he looked at Emma's stomach.

A little boy with the ocean in his eyes playing with the helm of a big ship; a little girl sound asleep in the arms of a blonde woman; a boy with the color of the sun in his hair grabbing seashells from the sand as a girl tried to reach a man with dark hair who was teaching her how to swim in the big sea.

The trembling of Emma's body made him take his eyes from her stomach and face her green eyes full of doubt and something else … hope. She closed her eyes instantly, avoiding eye-contact as soon as blue met green.

He was unable to erase the most pure smile that Emma's words had drawn on his face.

He wanted to turn all the flashes of possibility and hope that he had seen moments ago into reality; into memories. How could he not want that?

"You're with child…" – Killian softly said, unable to hide the emotion from his voice as a euphoric grin took over his face.

Emma's eyes were still closed as she tried to find the right words to say.

"I … we … I know we never talked about this, about having kids …" – she managed to say.

"Swan …" – Killian tried to say as if he was reading Emma's thoughts.

" … and I know that you probably think that it's too soon but I …" – Emma continued to say with a trembling voice.

"Swan …" – he whispered again, trying to make her open her eyes and look at him.

"I need to know how you feel about it … this … us …" – she added.

"Emma, look at me" – Killian said, his fingers placed under her chin and his thumb stroking her jaw, making her lift her head and look at him.

"I …" – she anxiously said, starting to panic.

Before she could say one more word Killian closed every inch of space between them, pressing his lips against hers. Emma fell on the soft sand and shock was replaced by a sensation of relief as she returned his passionate kiss.

Suddenly Killian pulled back.

"I'm sorry love" – he nervously said – "Are you alright?" – he asked with concern, quickly moving his body so he was no longer on top of her.

Emma couldn't help but smile at his reaction. He was already being overprotective. She could feel the tears starting to appear in her eyes.

She moved her body to a sitting position and before Killian could ask again if she was alright she threw her arms around his neck, catching him off guard and making him fall on the sand. She was now on top of him.

"I'm more than alright" – she said with a big smile on her face, looking at his worried eyes, trying to reassure him that everything was fine; that she and the baby were fine – "Are you happy?" – she whispered.

Killian gently touched Emma's face with his hand.

"No" – he finally spoke, seeing her deep green eyes changing from happiness to worry – "I'm more than happy" – he said, drawing a smile on Emma's face.

Killian couldn't keep his eyes from the woman in front of him. He always considered Emma a beautiful woman but now … now the woman in front of him looked more beautiful than ever. He couldn't keep his eyes away from her. Emma Swan never ceased to amaze him.

"Are you going to just stare at me?" – Emma said, smiling.

She had pictured in her head so many scenarios but nothing prepared her for the reality she was now living. It was so different from what she had imagined. It was perfect. He was overjoyed and deep down she knew that he would be overjoyed; beneath her deepest fears she knew that he would be more than happy.

"David is going to kill me" – Killian said as a wide smile appeared in his face.

"I'm an adult Killian and you are a thousand years older than my father" – she teased him – "I think the odds are in our favor"

Killian leaned his head so he could reach her lips and Emma could still feel his smile as his lips pressed delicately to hers. When he finally pulled back, her forehead remained against his. Killian's hand settled on her belly.

"How do you think Henry is going to react?" – she softly asked and as soon as Emma said Henry's name Killian smiled, remembering what the boy had told him – "What?" – Emma asked, noticing the shy smile on Killian's face.

"It's nothing" – Killian said, still smiling.

"Did I ever tell you about this super power that I –" – Emma's sentence was interrupted by Killian's kiss – "Tell me …" – she softly said, cupping his face as their foreheads touched.

"He called me dad" – he finally said.

Emma slowly leaned her head so she could look at him. He called me dad. Dad. Tears started to sting in her green eyes and before she knew it she started to cry. Before Killian could say something to comfort her, Emma spoke:

"You have no idea how much that means to me" – she said, crying tears of happiness.

"Love …" – Killian tried to say, cleaning her tears with his thumb.

"You might not be his biological father but that doesn't mean that he's not your son … that you're not his dad …" – Emma explained. Her speech similar to Henry's – "Just because your blood doesn't run through his veins …"

Suddenly reality hit him.

Emma continued to talk but all he could hear was the sound of his own heart beating.

I'm pregnant. She was pregnant. Emma was pregnant.

Just because your blood doesn't run through his veins …

His world stopped.

No, no, no, no … This isn't happening. This isn't real. This can't be happening.

He had been so happy about the baby that he allowed himself to forget about all the mess that his life had become and as soon as he heard Emma saying that she was pregnant nothing else mattered. He had forgotten about everything because all that mattered was the beautiful woman in front of him but then this beautiful woman also woke him up and brought him back to reality.

… your blood doesn't run through his veins …

His blood didn't run through Henry's blood but the child that was now growing in Emma's stomach did.

Milah's words invaded his mind:

Because the child's mother is the savior and the father has the sea running into his veins, the child's heart will have the power of immortality … You're the father, Killian. Your blood is made of sea …

All he wanted to prevent from happening was already happening.

He had tried so hard to avoid the p word; he had tried to hide the p word from Emma and now another p word was haunting him.

The prophecy. The pregnancy.

His gut twisted at the thought of putting Emma and the baby in danger. He couldn't lose her. He needed her … and there was an actual physical pain every time he imagined his life without her – without them.

He had just found out about the baby and already knew that he would dry the ocean and move the stars in the sky if that meant that nothing bad happened to his child.

It was such a strange feeling and at the same time it was not strange at all.

"… you're already turning him into a pirate, you know that, right?" – Emma's smile fell from her face as soon as she looked at Killian. She had never seen a living man so pale in her entire life – "Killian?" – Emma shook him slightly but he didn't react – "You're kind of scaring me" – she tried to say like she was joking but her voice betrayed her.

Was he having second thoughts about the baby?

"Gods" – Killian whispered, meeting Emma's eyes but immediately avoiding eye contact – "What have I done …" – he said, getting up from the sand, hardly keeping his balance.

"Okay, now you're scaring me" – Emma said, rushing over to him – "What's wrong?" – she asked, trying to hide the nervousness of her voice.

"Emma …" – the way Killian said her name made Emma feel more desperate than ever. She was panicking – "I … there's something you need to know …"

"If this is about the baby …" – she started to say, already preparing herself for the worse.

"The baby is the reason Milah's here" – he interrupted her.

"What?" – Emma breathed – "I don't understand … what does our baby has to do with her?

Our baby. Killian's heart skipped a bit at Emma's words.

"She wants to use the child to perform a spell …" – he began to say – "According to her the baby will have some special powers, powerful magic…"

True love's magic? – Emma immediately thought – No, she didn't even know if Killian was her true love; if she was his true love…

"How does she even know that our child will be born with magic?" – Emma asked. Could they really be true love? Does Milah know that they are true love? Does Killian know?

Killian remained in silence looking at her and Emma quickly realized that he looked concerned like some curse was about to come and change their entire lives forever.

"Because of the prophecy …" – he finally said unable to hide the pain in his voice.

"Prophecy …" – Emma interrupted him. She was prepared to hear Killian say that they were true love and that that was the reason the baby would have magic not to hear the word prophecy. She shook her head, trying to erase the idea of Killian and her being true love – "There is no such thing as prophecies, Killian" – she said, focusing on what Killian was saying.

Killian raised his eyebrow and gave her a says-the-daughter-of-snow-white-and-prince-charming look. No matter how many monsters she defeated or how many curses she broke, Emma would always be a skeptical person.

"Okay … so this prophecy" – she said, emphasizing the word prophecy – "What does it say besides the fact that the baby will have magic? What kind of spell does she want to perform? Does she want to steal the baby's magic? Does she –"

"Emma" – Killian suddenly interrupted her, grabbing one of her arms so he could catch Emma's attention. Emma immediately knew that something bad was about to happen by the way Killian said her name – "You need to listen to me and prepare for what I am about to say" – he gently said.

Emma remained in silence waiting for him to continue.

"The prophecy says that one day the savior will have a child and that the child's father will have the sea running into his veins" – he started to say – "The child's heart will have the power to concede an eternal life to anyone capable of ripping its heart out of its chest and perform the undying spell and contrary to most people …" – Killian took a deep breath before continuing to explain, he could feel his heart aching – "and contrary to most people as soon as the heart leaves its body the child will immediately die"

… the child will immediately die

… child will immediately die

… will immediately die

… immediately die

… die

Time and space stopped

No, no, no, no – Emma could hear her own voice yelling in her mind – This can't be happening. Not again.

She suffered from the moment she was born because she was destined to be the Savior; because she was supposed to break the curse and save everyone; because somehow she had the power to bring back all the happy endings.

Then it was Henry's turn to suffer because he was the owner of the heart of the truest believer and Pan wanted to steal it; because his heart had the power to save his life.

After that it was Neal's turn to be in danger. Her little brother almost died so Zelena could perform her time travel spell because he was one of the ingredients with the power that she needed for the spell to work … and now … God, now her child was the next one destined to suffer and die because of some magical power.

It was like her family was cursed.

"She knows …." – Emma murmured – "That's why she didn't kill me" – she added at the same time she remembered her encounter with Milah.

"What?" – Killian immediately asked, fear and rage invading his body – "What do you mean she didn't kill you? Did she threaten you? Did she hurt you?"

Damn it – Emma cursed herself – Why did she have to say that? There was no way he would let this pass.

Suddenly she realized something. She could have killed him. If Milah hadn't blocked her spell she could have killed her and consequently Killian.

"Emma!" – he insisted.

"She made it pretty clear that she didn't want me around but she didn't do anything when I lost control of my magic, she didn't react … I didn't understand it at the time but now, now it makes sense" – Emma explained – "She didn't react because she needs me alive … because that's the only way for the prophecy to happen"

"She wants to kill you …" – Killian said – "She wants to kill you and she wants to kill the baby" – he added, hearing the rushing roar of blood that filled his head – "No … I'm not going to let that happen" – he said shaking his head – "This has to end"

Emma looked at Killian and froze.

"Don't even think about it" – she seriously said, realizing the double meaning of Killian's words – "Don't even think about it" – she repeated.

"She threatened you" – Killian tried to explained – "She wants to kill you" – he said, trying to hide the trembling in his voice

"She won't" – Emma stated – "She can't. She wants this baby to be born which means that she can't touch me. I'm safe" – she explained, she was now on a Savior's mode; she needed to be rational – "We have months to figure it out a way to protect this baby. She can't do anything to me until the baby is born and she can't do anything to the baby either" – she said, touching her stomach – "The only thing we have to worry about right now is to find a way to unlink you from her. That's the priority now"

"No, it's you" – Killian said the same words he had said to her years ago – "The priority is you, Emma. Both of you" – he added, touching Emma's stomach.

"Killian you have to let me do this!" – Emma exclaimed, grabbing Killian's arms – "I can't live like this, I can't … " – she tried to say as a sob wrecked her body – "I can't live with the fear that you can die at any second … that this can be the last time I talk to you … that this can be the last time I see your smile … that I hear your voice …"

"Swan …" – Killian tried to say.

"No Killian, no!" – Emma insisted – "I can't live like this and I'm not going to stop until I find a way to break the linking spell, so don't ask me to stop because I'm not going to stop!" – she said, letting her head rest on his chest – "I can't lose you" – she whispered.

Killian caressed her hair gently, trying to calm her down. He never thought that someone could care about him so much; that someone could be so worry about his safety. He didn't deserve her but somehow Emma wanted him in her life. She loved him and he loved her.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Swan?" – Killian softly said – "I'm a survivor"

"Mom, I'm home!" – Henry said as soon as he entered in the house.

"Living room!" – he heard his mother's voice.

He took off his coat and let his school bag fall on the floor before heading to the living room. He immediately saw Emma seated on the couch with legs crossed, reading some papers.

"Hi, kid!" – Emma said, taking her eyes from the papers and smiling at her son.

"Hi" – he said, sitting next to her.

"So, how was school?" – Emma asked.

"Is everything alright?" – Henry asked, not answering Emma's question. Noticing the confused look on Emma's face Henry added – "I've spent the night at Regina's and I didn't even see you yesterday … Did something happen?"

"Sorry kid, there was just some things that Killian and I had to solve" – Emma said – "He's in the kitchen" – she answered the question Henry was about to ask – "We have to tell you something"

"Bad news or good news?" – Henry asked.

Both – Emma thought.

"I think –" – Emma started to say but Killian's voice interrupted her.

"Yes Regina I know that I ate the rest of the pie" – he said, entering in the living room. Emma and Henry couldn't help but smile at the way Killian kept rolling his eyes and almost took out his cellphone from his ear (the new cellphone Emma bought him) – "Can you not use your Evil Queen voice, please?" – he said emphasizing the word evil – "Yes 8pm" – Killian said before ending the call.

Killian made his way to the couch where Emma and Henry were and sat next to them. Emma and Killian exchanged a look.

"So …" – Henry said. He was seated between them and he had no idea why his parents were acting so strange – "Bad news or good news?"

Emma looked at Killian again. He nodded at her and she took a deep breath. C'mon Emma, just tell him.

"Seriously guys what is going on?" – Henry insisted.

"How would you feel if I told you that …" – Emma started to say and then paused. Killian's arm was resting on the back of the coach and she felt his hand caressing her shoulder, giving her the confidence that she needed to continue – "that we're going to have a baby?"

"What?" – Henry said as his eyes widened – "You're pregnant?"

"Yeah" – Emma softly said, biting her lower lip – "Are you … are you happy?"

"Of course I'm happy mom!" – Henry said with a big smile – "This is awesome!"

Emma could feel the tears starting to appear in her eyes. The damn hormones were starting to show up again. Seeing Henry's reaction warmed Emma's heart.

"Are you ready to be a big brother, lad?" – Killian said, making Henry turn his attention to him.

"I'm more than ready" – he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I know you are" – Killian said, ruffling his hair – "Besides, there is no way your mother and I can handle this without you"

You couldn't handle it. Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it – Emma remembered their words before their first kiss.

"We're going to tell the rest of the family tonight at dinner …" – she said – "but we wanted to tell you first"

"So, I'm going to have a little brother or a little sister?" – Henry enthusiastically asked.

Emma looked at Killian remembering what had happened hours ago.

They had come home to take a quick shower and eat something when Killian mentioned that they needed to go to see Whale and dragged her till the hospital, despite Emma's protests.

"Killian we have to schedule an appointment first" – Emma said as they entered in the hospital.

"Why do we have to schedule an appointment if we are already here?" – Killian asked.

"Because that's how things work in this world" – Emma tried to explain – "This is not an emergency we can't expect for the doctor to just –"– she saw Whale drinking coffee with two nurses and didn't finished her sentence.

"You were saying …" – Killian said, raising his eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and was ready to protest when Killian spoke again – "Swan, I remember your mother coming quite frequently to the hospital when she was pregnant with your brother"

"God, you sound like Regina" – Emma said quickly realizing what she had just said.

"She knows?" – Killian asked.

"And my mom" – Emma said, biting her lower lip – "I found out that I was pregnant a day before your boat trip with David and Robin" – she quickly said – "Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, Swan" – Killian said, looking right into her eyes. After a few seconds of silence he asked – "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I was going to but then I … I was afraid of your reaction…" – she started to explain. Killian opened his mouth to speak but Emma continued to talk – "… and then the accident happened and all I could think about was that I had lost you and that I didn't even have the courage to tell you about the baby" – she added – "… and when you came back you were acting so strange that I … I thought …"

"It's okay, love, I understand" – Killian said, caressing her hair – "And you don't ever have to worry about my reaction. You can tell me anything. We're a team, remember?"

Before Emma could say something in response someone approached them.

"What's my favorite couple doing here?" – Whale asked.

Favorite couple? – Emma said to herself before looking at Killian. The pirate was smirking and she forced herself not to roll her eyes.

Emma had just explained to Whale what his favorite couple was doing there when he immediately dragged them to one of the exam rooms.

The room was large and well lit and Emma couldn't stop thinking how different this situation was from when she had been pregnant with Henry.

Whale wanted to confirm if she was indeed pregnant so he suggested that Emma did a urine test. She went to a smaller room while Killian waited in the exam room. As soon as the door was closed he started pacing the room.

Emma told him that she had already done it a pregnancy test, regardless he couldn't help but being nervous.

Gods, he didn't know anything about this modern technology that he was looking at. Could these machines really allow him to see his child? Would the test Emma was doing really confirm that she was with child? What if the answer was no? What if Emma was not pregnant? Would they try again despite the danger of the prophecy? What if the answer was yes? Could he really do this? Could he really be a father?

He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Emma entering in the room. It was only when she sat on the edge of the exam table and the paper underneath her crinkled that he noticed the concerned look on her face.

"Are you okay?" – Emma asked.

"Aye" – he said, forcing a smile but Emma gave him the liar detector look – "I don't know … I'm just…"

"Killian Jones … you're nervous" – she said, not able to hide her smile as Killian scratched the back of his ear – "It's okay, I'm nervous too" – Emma added.

Suddenly a sharp knock on the door caught their attention. Doctor Whale walked in, peering between a file folder and the anxious couple.

"So, are you two ready to see the little one?" – he said, after a few seconds of silence.

"Does that mean …" – Killian murmured with his eyes widened.

"Yes, Captain, it's official" – Whale said – "You two are going to have a baby"

Almost unconsciously Killian sighed in relief and Emma touched her stomach.

Whale asked Emma to lie back on the table and lift her shirt so he could rub the gel on her stomach. He started to ask her questions about the symptoms she was having. Killian watched every move Whale made with curiosity and anxiety. His eyes widened when Whale told them that they're going to try to see the baby and figure it out how many weeks pregnant Emma was.

"Hook, please have a seat" – Whale suddenly said – "You have the look" – he emphasized the word "look", implying that it was for the best if they didn't have to scrap him up off the floor as soon as the baby appeared in the monitor.

Instead of seating, Killian approached the exam table and grabbed Emma's hand gently. A few moments later they were both staring at the small screen in front of them as a grey picture with the outline of a baby on it appeared on the screen.

Emma gasped as soon as she saw the little one kicking around inside of her. Killian increased the hold on Emma's hand, releasing the air he didn't know he was holding in his lungs.

"There we are …" – Doctor Whale said, continuing to move the wand over Emma's belly – "The baby is still small and according to the information that you gave me I'd say that you're eleven weeks pregnant" – Whale explained – "1 1/2 inches long from head to bottom. You won't feel the baby's acrobatics for another month or two"

Emma couldn't believe in her own eyes. The baby was still so small and even if she couldn't feel it yet it looked so human. She lifted her head a bit to look at the man beside her and her heart skipped a bit when she saw the look on Killian's face. His shinning eyes didn't leave the monitor and he had a broad grin on his face.

"Do you know if …" – Emma softly said, catching Doctor Whale's attention.

"I might be able to tell you the sex next month if you want to" – Whale gently said, reading Emma's mind.

"Are you sure you didn't feel that, love?" – Killian asked in awe as the baby moved its tiny arms and legs.

Emma just shook her head no. Killian couldn't take his eyes from the monitor as Whale explained to them the baby's anatomy.

They watched the baby for a few more minutes before the doctor printed off multiples copies of the sonogram images for them, after that they scheduled the next appointment.

"So you don't know if it's a boy or a girl …" – Henry said, after hearing about the appointment.

"Nope" – Emma said – "Unless you can see something in this picture that the doctor couldn't" – she added, giving him one of the baby's pictures.

"Wow" – Henry said, looking at the picture with his big brown eyes – "I can't believe I was once like this" – he added without taking his eyes from the picture. Emma noticed that Killian was also looking at the picture as if it was the first time he was looking at it – "Grandpa and grandma are going to freak out"

"Speaking of … I think we have a dinner to prepare" – Emma said, starting to get up from the couch, catching Killian's attention.

"You're not going anywhere, Swan" – he suddenly said – "Henry and I can handle things, right my boy?"

"Of course" – Henry said, getting up from the couch so he could follow Killian to the kitchen. Emma was ready to protest when Henry spoke again – "Dad and I can handle things"

Dad. It was the first time she heard Henry calling Killian like that. She never thought that a small word could warm her heart the way it did and in that moment she knew that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with the father of her children. She was more than happy.

Emma wasn't sure how they made it through dinner. Henry and Killian couldn't hide the grin on their faces but thankfully David was distracted talking with Robin about work. Mary Margaret was focused on Neal and didn't seem to notice the way Regina was looking at Emma and Killian. The former Evil Queen was more than aware that something was happening but every time she tried to bring it up the subject Roland interrupted her with some question or Henry started to talk about school.

They were almost finishing the dessert when David spoke:

"Honey, you didn't touch your glass" – he said, noticing that Emma's glass was still full of wine – "I bought your favorite"

Emma and Killian exchanged a look. Regina and Mary Margaret did the same. David noticed the strange behavior of Emma and turned his attention to Killian, giving him the what-did-you-do look. The grin on Killian's face immediately disappeared.

"There's something we need to tell you" – Emma said, grabbing Killian's hand.

The image of Killian asking for his blessing invaded David's mind. He took a deep breath preparing himself for the big announcement, not noticing the big smile on Mary Margaret's face.

"I … I'm pregnant" – Emma said after a few seconds of silence.

Mary Margaret immediately jumped off the chair and ran towards Emma and Killian.

"Finally!" – Regina said, throwing her arms in the air.

"You knew?" – both David and Robin asked, making Regina roll her eyes.

Mary Margaret's reaction caught Emma by surprise. Her mother already knew about the pregnancy but by the way she was holding Killian it was like she didn't know anything about it. She reacted even more enthusiastically than she had reacted when she found out the first time. When Mary Margaret finally released Killian from the crushing hug the pirate found himself face to face with David. The prince was looking at him with a serious look. Killian opened his mouth and was about to speak when David placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Congratulations!" – David said smiling.

"For a second I thought you were going to kill me" – Killian joked as David gave him a brotherly hug.

"Too many witnesses" – David whispered in Killian's ear before approaching his daughter.

Emma was still wrapped in Mary Margaret's crushing hug when she met David's eyes. She slowly released herself from her mother's embrace and as soon as she said the word dad, she found herself in her father's arms.

She immediately felt the familiar hand cradling the back of her head, caressing her hair gently. She didn't know how long she stood in David's arms all she knew was that she didn't need to say anything; it was like David and her didn't need words to communicate and Emma caught herself thinking that maybe she was a daddy's girl after all.

After Robin and Regina congratulated the happy couple the people in the room started to throw questions at Killian and Emma. Regina immediately asked if she had already scheduled an appointment. Mary Margaret and David started to discuss if the baby was going to be a girl or a boy; David even suggested that they could have been expecting twins, since he once had a twin brother. Emma showed them the multiples baby's pictures and repeated what Whale had told her and Killian during the appointment.

The whole family couldn't stop smiling and making plans for the future and Emma realized how different the situation was from the time she had been pregnant with Henry; she realized that this was what meant to have a family. Unfortunately, the family part was not the only difference from her first pregnancy.

"There's something else you need to know" – Emma said, exchanging a look with Killian before sitting again on her chair.

The rest of the family did the same, except Roland who was now seated on the couch watching TV.

Regina grabbed Robin's hand preparing herself to hear the rest of the story, more specifically to hear again about the prophecy.

The serious tone of Killian's voice made all the smiles disappeared from the room. Killian continued to explain how Milah managed to survive and how the boat accident was her doing. After a deep breath he started to explain why Milah decided to appear just now; he revealed the prophecy.

"Milah?" – Henry interrupted him, realizing who this Milah person really was – "My grandmother?"

Killian just nodded.

This family tree is so messed up – Henry thought – And as usual the other side of the family had to be made of villains, first Rumpelstiltskin, then Peter Pan and Zelena and now Milah.

A death silence invaded the room as soon as Killian ended the tale. Emma could see in her parents' faces not only the memories of the time when they had to put her in a magic wardrobe and send her away but also the time when Zelena kidnapped Neal.

"She's not going to win" – Henry's voice broke the silence – "She can't win"

"Henry …" – Emma softly said.

"Mom, how many curses did we defeat? How many villains?" – Henry said – "She's not going to win" – he repeated.

"Henry is right" – Mary Margaret said, trying to hide the trembling in her voice with a smile – "We're going to find a way like we always do"

"Of course we are" – David said, looking at his daughter – "No one is going to touch this baby"

"It's not that simple!" – Emma said, raising her voice – "Killian's life is linked to hers!"

"Emma we've already talked about this" – Killian said, caressing Emma's hand.

"I did a research on some of my spell books and unfortunately I didn't find anything about unlinking spells" – Regina said before Emma could protest – "So as far as we know the only way to break the spell is …" – it was obvious to everyone at the table what Regina was trying to say so she didn't have to finish her sentence.

"Can't you perform some sort of protective spell to block the linking spell?" – Robin asked, trying to figure it out a way to help his friend.

"I'm afraid that the linking spell is stronger than any kind of protective spell ever invented" – Regina explained – "That's why there isn't any way to undo the spell, at least not according to any book that I read"

"I don't care what those books say" – Emma spoke – "I'm going to break this spell"

"No you won't, dearie" – a familiar voice immediately invaded the room. Everyone turned their heads and saw Rumpelstiltskin appearing from a purple smoke, his eyes immediately meeting Killian's – "I believe someone forgot to invite me for this family reunion, especially when we're dealing with such a delicate subject"

Emma quickly told Henry to go check on Roland and when the boy opened his mouth to protest Emma gave him a look that didn't leave room for discussion. Henry rose from his chair and sat on the couch next to Roland.

"Get out of my house, crocodile" – Killian said through his tightly clenched teeth.

"You kept information from me" – the Dark One said with a serious voice – "I specifically asked you what was the motive that made my ex-wife decide to appear just now and you said you didn't know"

"What do you want, Gold?" – Emma asked before Killian could protest.

"My ex-wife is in town trying to perform some ritual so she can become immortal and destroy me and the key ingredient for that to happen lies inside of you, Miss Swan" – he started to say – "I think I have the right to know what kind of plan are you –"

"How did you know about the prophecy?" – Emma interrupted him.

"Did you know this all time?" – Regina immediately asked, facing Rumpelstiltskin.

The Dark One took out of his pocket a scarf and approached the table.

"Do you know what this is?" – he asked, looking at Emma.

"A dirty scarf with blue ink" – Emma simply said.

"This is your blood, Miss Swan" – Rumpelstiltskin corrected her. Everyone at the table tensed, looking at Mr. Gold with a confuse look.

"What do you mean is her blood?" – Killian asked, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Does blood made of sea ring a bell to you?" – Rumpelstiltskin asked, turning his attention to Killian – "When we performed the spell that showed us that the men in this room were alive" – he said, looking at Regina and Emma as he pointed at David, Robin and Killian – "I felt a different kind of power invading the room as soon as Emma cut her hand and her blood started to flow so I cleaned some of her blood from the table with this scarf. When I got home and analyzed the scarf everything seemed normal but then the blood started to change its color" – he explained.

"I did some research about the relation between blood and magic and I didn't find anything about blue blood until my wife appeared and saw the books that I was reading and mentioned that the pirate was doing some research on his own about prophecies related to the sea and involving blood. I started to put all the pieces of the puzzle together (Milah's appearance, Emma's pregnancy, the pirate's research) and I eventually found out about the prophecy" – he said looking right into Emma's eyes – "If she succeeds she will become more powerful than the three of us together. I'm sure you already feel the extra power running into your veins"

The memory of her encounter with Milah and how she lost control of her magic invaded Emma's mind.

"I don't understand …" – Emma said confused – "I saw the color of my blood when I cut my hand and it was red … how can it be blue now?"

"Well, when I said that this was your blood" – Rumpelstiltskin said, showing the scarf – "I didn't exactly mean your blood. It's a mix of your blood and the baby's blood, more specifically the baby's power" – he explained – "It can only be detected minutes later. I believe that when the baby is born its blood will be blue and not red"

"Why did you say that she will become more powerful than the three of us?" – Regina asked.

"Because she will be immortal" – the Dark One said.

"Aren't you immortal?" – she asked again.

"There's a difference between immortality and eternity" – Rumpelstiltskin started to explain – "You can have an eternal life but that doesn't mean that you're immortal; that there isn't a way to kill you"

"The dagger can kill you" – Robin stated.

"Precisely" – Rumpelstiltskin said –"The undying spell will allow her to be immortal which means that whatever happens she can never die and there's no way to defeat something or someone that can't be killed" – he added.

The child's heart will have the power of immortality; the power to save and cure; the power to concede an eternal life to anyone capable of ripping its heart out of its chest and perform the undying spell – Milah's words invaded Killian's mind. He was almost one hundred per cent sure that she had mentioned eternal life, not immortal life.

"Fortunately we don't have to worry about that because that woman is not going to perform any kind of undying spell" – David said, trying to remain optimistic.

"What did the books that you read say about the prophecy?" – Killian asked, remembering his talk with the Dark One's wife – "Belle told me that prophecies can be misunderstood; that sometimes a prophecy can have different versions with different information"

"That's correct" – Rumpelstiltskin said.

Killian could still hear Milah's voice in his head.

Contrary to most people, as soon as the heart leaves its body the child will immediately die, like a wave that dies on the sand every time it tries to abandon the sea

"You said that the undying spell will allow her to be immortal but when she revealed the prophecy to me she said that the child's heart will have the power to concede an eternal life" – he said, emphasizing the words immortal and eternal life– "Do you think that she doesn't know about the immortality part or –"

"Milah is smart" – Rumpelstiltskin interrupted him – "She had more than enough time to analyze this prophecy in detail, besides there's a reason for the spell to be called the undying spell. My guess is that she probably didn't tell you about the immortality part so we would think that we could stand a chance against her once the prophecy was fulfilled … at least that's what I would do if I was her. It's always more fun to let people think that they can win when you already know that they can't"

Killian remained in silence processing Rumpelstiltskin's words and as much as he hated to admit it the Dark One was probably right.

"What do you know about the child's heart?" – Killian continued to ask.

"Besides the obvious?" – Rumpelstiltskin said.

"She said that as soon as the heart leaves its body the baby will die" – Killian explained.

"Interesting…" – Rumpelstiltskin said, caressing his chin. None of his sources said anything about that little detail.

"Interesting?" – David said, raising his voice more than he intended to.

"I didn't find anything about that but it makes sense" – the Dark One said, ignoring the prince's words – "The heart usually is the source of power of the most people who are born with magic. I thought that Milah was just going to take away the baby's magic but I guess this explains the sacrifice part that I've read about" – he explained – "My theory is that the child will be bond to this magic … stripping away the baby from its source of magic is like stripping away the baby from its life, which means that the connection between the baby and the magic will be very strong, not only because the source of its magic is the same as the source of its life but also because the magic that we're talking about is not an ordinary magic, it's rare…" – he continued to explain.

"It changes the most basic laws of magic. Everything is finite, that's why magic can't bring back the dead. Which begins must end; which is born must die. This magic will allow people to live not only forever but also to be immortal… It must always be a balance and I believe that the baby's sacrifice was the way that Nature found to assure that balance: a mortal life for an immortal life, I suppose" – Rumpelstiltskin said.

After his explanation Rumpelstiltskin noticed the pale faces of the people seated at the table. He realized that they were all waiting for him to tell them that the information that the pirate had shared was not real but instead of that he did not only confirmed it but also said that there was absolutely no way to solve this problem.

He always knew that Milah was an ambitious woman, that's why she had left him in the first place but he never thought that she would be capable of killing an innocent person; a baby.

Milah's craving for power could only mean that she was willing to do anything at all to destroy him and suddenly Killian's words about Belle being in danger invaded his mind.

"Now that we're all in the same boat there's just one more important detail – a not negotiable detail" – he said, breaking the silence in the room – "My wife can't know about this"

"Don't you think that she should know…." – Mary Margaret tried to say before Rumpelstiltskin interrupted her.

"As I said this is not negotiable" – he repeated, looking directly at Killian – "I look forward for the next family reunion" – he said before disappearing in a purple smoke.

So, it was about time for the prophecy and the pregnancy to be revealed, don't you think? It only took me 15 chapters to end all your suffering … but don't get to comfortable I have BIG plans for this story and don't forget Belle's words: Prophecies are a complicated thing.

Love you guys! (: