20.

"Okay Emma, I think that is the last form I need you to fill in," Ashley smiled apologetically as she handed over yet another sheet of paper. Crouching down next to Hope, who was stood holding onto her dad's leg, almost hiding behind him, peering a little shyly at all the kids playing. "Hey," Ashley tapped the little girl's hand to get her attention, "are you going to come and play with us tomorrow?"

"Daddy come too?" she asked innocently, tilting her head up and beaming up at her father.

He smiled in return and stroked his hand over her blonde curls. They had spent the last hour or so looking around the pre-school that Ashley ran in town, all in preparation of Hope's first session the following morning.

"It's not really a place for daddy's," Ashley told her. "Just for little boys and girls to have lots of fun. We do all kinds of things here, we can paint, play in the sand or water, read books or do some colouring. We have lots of toys and playdough, Lego bricks and we get to play outside as well," she told her enticingly, hoping to get the little girl excited to attend pre-school for her first time.

"I paint?" she asked, slightly unsure.

Ashley nodded. "Sure, we can have the paint out tomorrow. Perhaps you can make Mommy and Daddy a picture?"

"I maked you picher!" she told her dad, as though he hadn't heard.

"I'll look forward to it, lass," he smiled and picked her up as she stretched her arms up towards him.

Emma smiled at the pair of them, pulling her daughter's shirt straight as she gave Ashley the completed consent form for any first aid required to be administered. "So, we drop her off at nine am, right?" she checked.

"That's right. And of course you're welcome to hang out for a bit with her until she settles if you want to. Or sometimes it's best to leave once they're busy, it makes it a little easier on them," Ashley explained.

"Anything we need to bring?" Killian asked as Hope fiddled with his necklace.

"Until she starts coming for full days, just a change of clothes, in case of any accidents. Something that brings her comfort if she gets upset and her water bottle."

"Great. Well, we'll see you tomorrow then. Thanks Ashley. Say bye, Hope," Emma encouraged.

"Bye bye!" Hope waved, giving her a huge, happy smile now that they were leaving.

They wandered towards Granny's, intending to get some lunch. Emma was currently rambling on about the pre-school and how nice it looked, the activities they had for the children and how this was going to be good for Hope, totally missing the fact that Killian hadn't uttered a word in reply.

Upon reaching the diner, he watched as Emma got Hope settled into a seat, setting up her crayons and colouring book to keep her entertained as they waited for their food and then Emma finally looked up at him. "Are you all right? You're very quiet." She finally noticed.

He shrugged and then toyed with the straw in the water glass that a waitress had brought over. "I just," he paused as he inhaled deeply and then sat back in his seat, "are we sure about this? Sending her to school? She's so small," he mumbled, watching his little girl happily scribbling in her book as she coloured in the pony in bright colours.

"Killian," she said softly, "we talked about this, we decided it was going to be good for her to socialise with other kids her age, give her a little independence and give you back some time to yourself. You want to set up your ship charter business, right?"

"Aye, but…I can wait. We can keep things as they are for now. She's happy and…" he faded off as he looked up to find Emma smiling at him with a soft look in her eyes. "What?" he asked gruffly.

She reached out and took his hand that rested on the table. "I know, you're going to miss her," she said knowingly. "It's probably going to be hardest on you, since you spend all day with her whilst I'm working."

He shrugged again and looked away, not wanting to admit that she was right. He was going to miss having his daughter all to himself during the day. He'd miss the fun they had, the hilarious things she said and especially the way she still often snuggled up on him and fell asleep for a nap. It had been this way since Hope had been six months old and Emma returned to work.

It was such a big change and would be hard on all of them.

"She's only going three days a week babe, Tuesday through Thursday," Emma pointed out.

Killian dropped her hand to stop the crayon that was rolling away across the table and handed it back to Hope. "'Ook daddy," she said as she proudly held up her bright colouring.

"Fantastic my little cygnet," he told her before turning his gaze back to Emma.

She took his hand again, stroking the back with her thumb. "Look, she's only going in for half day's for the first couple of weeks to get used to it. And, if she really doesn't like it and struggles, we'll pull her out and wait awhile, I promise. We're not forcing her to go if she's miserable."

"I know, love. Doesn't mean it's not going to take some adjusting to, for all of us," he admitted.

"No, it will, I know. But, I love that you're such an amazing, involved daddy that you're going to miss our little girl for a few hours," she smiled. "Makes me love you all the more," she confessed with a secret little smile.

Killian arched one eyebrow in reply, before giving her a subtle little wink just as the waitress brought their lunch.

"'gain, daddy," Hope whispered softly, patting the book that Killian was closing.

"No more little lass. It's bedtime now," he replied, looking down at where she snuggled into the crook of his arm as they nestled in her bed together.

"P'ease daddy?" she looked up at him with big blue eyes, a perfect replica of his own.

"I've already read it twice," he told her and set the book down on the floor. "And you need to get to sleep, it's your first day of school tomorrow."

"School?" she asked him curiously.

"Aye," he nodded. "Tomorrow you'll be going to Miss Ashley's pre-school to play with all the children and the other ladies there," he reminded her.

"Daddy go?" she wondered.

"No, daddy's not going."

"Mommy?" she asked hopefully.

"No, just Hope. Mummy and daddy will take you there in the morning and then I'll pick you up at lunchtime, okay?"

"Granny?" she asked him hopefully.

He smiled and nodded. "Aye, we can get lunch afterwards at Granny's. Are you excited to go to school?"

She shrugged half heartedly.

"I'm sure you'll have fun there, you might make some new friends. You'll get to do all the stuff Miss Ashley showed you this morning. Remember the fun stuff the kids were doing? And don't forget you promised to make me a picture," he finished, trying to make it all sound enticing to her.

"I make you big, big picher," she nodded decidedly, holding her arms out wide.

"I'll love it," he assured her with a kiss to the top of her head. "Now, you need to get to sleep, going to be a big day and you don't want to be tired for your big plans," he told her as he slid from her bed and knelt on the floor. "Goodnight my little cygnet," he murmured as he kissed her forehead and tucked her in.

"Night night daddy," she whispered and rolled over, burying her face in her pink unicorn pillow. "I love you," she added in a mumbled murmur.

He gave her a fond smile, touched just as much as he was the first time she'd said the words. "Love you too, Hope. Sweet dreams," he added as he quietly left her room.

Killian took his time coming down the stairs, gazing at all the memories in photographs that Emma had framed and hung on the wall, moments captured in time of their life together. There were the rare quiet moments back when they were dating and he moved into this house. Grand photos from their wedding and a plethora of selfies and various snaps from their honeymoon. Family group shots including Emma's parents and little brother, photos of Henry at various stages. And then the day Hope had been born catalogued in kodak glory with her besotted parents. He slowly moved down the stairs, taking in all the photos, seeing Hope grow right before his eyes into the wonderful little girl she was now.

For a man who had already lived a couple of centuries, it still amazed him how fast time slipped by and how quickly his baby girl was growing up.

"Babe?" Emma called, hearing him on the stairs.

"Hey," he replied, jumping down the last couple of steps after straightening one of the frames.

"Did she go down okay?" she asked, looking up at him from over the laptop that rested on her stomach where she lay on the couch.

"Aye," he nodded, shooing her feet up so that he could take a seat on the couch. "After she conned me into reading her book twice," he grinned to himself.

"Our daughter is smart," she chuckled and closed the laptop lid. "And that is quite enough of that," she muttered to herself.

"What were you doing?" he asked, taking the laptop from her and setting it down on the coffee table as she swung her legs around and snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder.

Emma pulled a face. "Boring clerical budget that the mayor asked me for. How the hell do I know how many sheets of paper and staples we use at the station?"

"Why don't you just make it up." He shrugged.

"Oh, I am. I'm having great fun doing that. So, did Hope say anything about starting school tomorrow?" she wondered.

"Not really. I talked to her about it a little, but...I'm not sure she really understands what's going to happen tomorrow."

"No, I suppose not."

"She did promise to paint me a big picture again though," he smirked to himself.

"Oh, of course daddy's little girl would remember that part," she scoffed.

Killian laughed. "Jealous?" he asked her teasingly.

"Of course," Emma poked her tongue out at him. "I carried her for nine months and pushed her out of me, she could show me a little favouritism sometimes!" She nudged his chest with her elbow. "Of course I'm not jealous. I love the close relationship you two have, it's adorable. And I know she loves me too."

"She does," he said, pressing his lips to her temple, "just as much. And sometimes you're the favourite."

Emma chuckled. "Yeah, when I sneak her pop tarts and candy!"

"I don't even want to know the rubbish you feed our kid," he grumbled with a shake of his head. They were quiet for a few moments, the clock ticking on the mantel piece in the silence of the house. "Do you really think she'll be all right tomorrow?" he asked suddenly.

Emma smiled and rubbed her hand across his chest. "I honestly think she's going to be fine. We're raising a smart, confident little girl, right?"

"Right," he nodded his head once in agreement.

Emma turned her head and kissed his lips softly. "You have nothing to worry about," she assured him as she changed her position on the sofa, moving to sit astride his lap. She kissed him again, a little hungrier as he returned the kiss eagerly, his hand slid around her waist as she cupped his face between her hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked on a moan as she pulled her lips back. Her fingers were fumbling with the buttons on his shirt as her lips were at his throat and over his jawline.

"Distracting you," she whispered, pulling his shirt apart and sliding her hands down his warm skin.

He cocked one eyebrow at her in question before her lips were back on his and the kissing grew deeper, grasping one another as she moved over him.

"I thought we could head up to bed early, maybe take a bath together and you'll forget all your worries," she whispered against his ear before nibbling at his lobe.

Killian moaned in appreciation and agreement, pulling her shirt from her jeans and finding her smooth, creamy skin beneath. Emma slowly pulled back and got to her feet, holding out her hand to him. His eyes met hers as he took it and allowed her to pull him up, leading him towards the stairs.

As it turned out, it was Emma who struggled to hold back the tears as Hope happily skipped away at pre-school the following morning. Not even giving them a glance back as she held onto the hand of another play-worker.

"Well," she gasped, swallowing a sob and clutching Killian's hand, "that hurt more than I thought."

"Aye," he agreed as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"She will be just fine, Emma." Ashley smiled at them both, watching them as they watched their daughter walk away from them. "I promise if she's really upset, we'll call you."

"Right," Emma nodded and sniffed before handing out the little fairy back pack. "Well, here's her stuff. Two changes of clothes and her bunny if she's upset."

"Thank you. I'll put it in her cubby and we'll see you back at 12.30," she smiled.

"Yeah," Emma sighed and turned to see where her daughter was now. She was in the playhouse, handing plates of plastic food to the play-worker and eyeing up another child curiously as they systematically emptied the dressing up box.

"Erm, me," Killian muttered and cleared his voice as he turned his attention back to Ashley. "I mean I'll be picking her up."

Ashley smiled patiently. "Then I will see you in a few hours. I'm sure you both have a busy morning planned."

"Oh, yeah, I should get to work," Emma suddenly realised.

"Don't worry about a thing, she's going to do fine. And I promise to call if not," Ashley assured them as she walked them to the door, ready to lock them out for the safety of the children.

"Thanks," Emma smiled at her and took Killian's hand again as they both reluctantly left.

After walking Emma to work, Killian headed on down towards the docks and to his ship. He spent the morning pottering about on the Jolly Roger, carrying out routine maintenance in preparation of launching his chartering business soon. But his mind wasn't in it at all, his thoughts kept drifting to their little girl whom they'd left at pre-school and wondering how she was getting on. He must have checked his phone a dozen times already to be sure that he hadn't missed any calls or messages.

Finally at around 11.30, he gave up and called Emma. "Have you heard anything?" he asked when she answered.

"No, nothing."

"I suppose that means she's okay then?" he sighed and sat down on the stairs of the lower deck.

"Well...I might have called Ashley about half an hour ago, just to check. She's fine, perfectly content, covered in paint and having fun."

"Right," he nodded and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, that's good. I mean...I'd hate to think...is it okay if that stings a bit? You know, that she's not missing us?" he confessed.

"I think it makes you a parent," Emma smiled through the phone. "A parent who loves his daughter and misses her."

"And you don't?" he asked.

Emma paused before she answered him. "There might have been a little...pang when she told me that she's perfectly happy," she admitted to him.

"Thought so," he chuckled. "Okay, well I'll see you at Granny's after I pick her up?" he checked.

"I'll see you both soon."

"Bye love," he hung up the phone and tried to find something to distract himself with for another hour.

Killian could barely hide the smirk on his face when he saw who was approaching the pre-school building. He was stood in the foyer, listening to the sounds of little kids singing, just waiting for Ashley or one of her other workers to open the inside door and turn the kids loose on their parents at the end of the session.

Emma pushed open the door and stepped inside, a blast of wind following her in before she closed it. She looked up and caught the grin on Killian's face growing. "Don't!" she warned, holding up her hand to stop him.

He chuckled. "Couldn't wait, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, says the man that was here ten minutes early," she rolled her eyes and glanced at her phone to check the time.

He shrugged. "Didn't want to be late," he muttered, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Stop," she grumbled as she elbowed him when he began chuckling at her again. He nudged her back with his hip, making her giggle too and totally oblivious to the fact that Ashley had opened the door and was inviting parents inside to collect their children.

Hope, however, couldn't wait and darted through the legs of the adults. "Daddeeeee…." she squealed as she spotted Killian.

He turned his head just as she barrelled into him and let out an exaggerated 'oof' as she wrapped her arms tightly around his thigh. He grinned down at her and ran his hand over one of her now messy pigtails.

"Hi," she gazed up at him with a beatific smile.

"Hello my little cygnet," he replied, completely smitten with his little girl as he reached down to peal her from his leg and scooped her up, holding her on his hip before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She wound her arms around his neck, almost smacking him in the face with the bright sheets of paper she had grasped in her hand and gave him a slobbery kiss on his cheek as he chuckled. "Mommy!" she shrieked then when she noticed her mother standing alongside them.

She lunged for her and Emma caught her just as Killian let her go. "Hey baby," she smiled, kissing her daughter's face repeatedly, making her giggle. "Did you have a good day?"

Hope nodded, a happy little grin on her cute face. "I maked pichers!" she announced, thrusting them in Emma's face.

"For me?" she asked, taking them from her to view them better.

Hope nodded and grinned. "And daddy!" she pointed to him.

"She has at least half a dozen more, but the paint is still wet on those," Ashley explained as she approached them.

"Was she good?" Emma asked as Hope squirmed in her arms. She set her down and watched as Killian crouched beside her to examine her paintings, declaring them wonderful.

"She was. There were a few tears once she realised you'd gone, but it only lasted seconds," she told them with an airy wave of her hand. "She's been fine, seems to have had loads of fun," she smiled at the little girl. "Are you going to come back and play tomorrow, Hope?" she asked her. "You can get your other paintings then."

Hope nodded and then turned to her dad. "I git 'em 'morrow!" she told him, twirling on the spot.

"And I'm sure we'll have a few dozen more," Killian grinned at her dancing.

"She certainly seems to enjoy her art," Ashley commented.

"Aye, that she does," Killian said with a groan as he got to his feet again.

"Le's go Daddy! Go, go...we go Granny's now…" Hope whined, pulling on his hand, suddenly remembering the promise from last night.

"I guess that's our cue to go," Emma chuckled. "Thanks again Ashley, we'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye guys," Ashley smiled, watching them go. Hope clung on to her mother's hand and her father's hook as she skipped along between them.

"So, love," Killian began, "I guess you were right and our little lass is going to enjoy pre-school."

"I usually am," she smirked.

Killian rolled his eyes dramatically. "I should know better than to admit that," he groaned at himself.

"Sometimes you simply state facts," she turned and patted his cheek sarcastically.

Without missing a step, Killian leant forwards and claimed her lips in a tender kiss as Hope beamed up at them. "You's kissin' 'gain!" she sang loudly.

The pair parted and chuckled at their little girl as they glanced at one another and then swung her between them.