My Little Princess (Ch 12)
Also: FF.net
Chapter 12
Saturday, January 21, 2023
He knew her.
Killian thought as he looked at Emma. He knew her as much as he knew himself, and sometimes he could swear he knew her better.
Killian narrowed his eyes and sighed softly as he rested his arms on the kitchen counter.
Should he go with her, or leave her alone?
When Emma had returned shakily to the loft he had cursed himself for letting her go alone. And although the words had come out clear and determined from her mouth as she told them what had happened with the damned crocodile, he could still see the havoc that had caused in her, not counting the reddened skin that surrounded her eyes.
Emma had remained silent and had sat on her parents' bed while her gaze focused on nothingness. He breathed heavily and, deciding that he had given her enough time to be alone and reprimand herself for whatever was going on in her head, he approached her.
Snow looked at him as he entered the room, without saying anything she got up from the bed, and giving a weak smile to Killian, she left the room to leave them alone.
"Love,-" she looked at him absent-mindedly, "Tell me what's wrong. I know there is something that is bothering you, I can see it." Emma kept silent and Killian swallowed. "What did he say to you?" This time, his voice was a bit tenser.
He just could not help but feel a fit of anger every time he thought about the man that many years ago, too many to continue counting, had destroyed his life, and now he did it again. A damn selfish man who never did anything more than see for himself.
And again, those feelings of revenge that he thought were forgotten, returned. Returned each time he remembered his daughter's face, every time he didn't see her eyes, every time he looked his wife in the eye and saw the loss that was reflected in them.
But those same eyes were the ones that stopped him from doing any madness. Those eyes that Emma shared with Livie.
He was miles away from the man he had once been and didn't plan to take a step back, but no doubt, when he found his daughter and caught that old crocodile, his fists would find their way straight into the old man's face.
Emma sighed heavily and looked down at the floor, annoying that Gold's words had affected her. "Gold asked me if I remembered when I was a kid."
Killian nodded slowly but didn't say anything else, he just moved and sat next to her, intertwining his fingers with Emma's. He knew that even after all those years, even after having found her parents, that was a difficult issue.
"And I do." She whispered, her green eyes looking directly at his. "I remember being scared at night wishing I had a mother and father to hold me until I could go back to sleep. I remember seeing the other children leaving with their new families and the only thing I wanted was for someone to choose me. But that never happened. "
"Emma," Killian said softly, feeling compassion for that little girl.
"No, it's okay," she shook her shoulders dismissing the importance. "I grew up and I just stopped thinking about that, but... I never stopped wondering why my parents had abandoned me, why they had not loved me enough, and-" A tear slipped capriciously down her cheek. "-and I don't want Livie to go through that, I don't want our daughter to think we abandoned her."
Killian squeezed her hand a little more. "She would never think that."
"How do you know?."
"Because she knows us. Livie knows how we are, she knows that we love her and that we would never leave her. "
"But even if she knows, right now she's out there somewhere that is not Sotrybrooke, alone. And we can't protect her and I'm not just referring to Gold, I'm saying it for everything."
"Emma, we can not trust what Rumplestiskin is saying, he's just playing with us, he knows that would hurt you. It's all part of his twisted game. "
"And what happens if it's real?" She said exasperatedly. "What will happen when someone asks her about her family and she tells them that her father is Captain Hook, her mother is the daughter of snow white and the prince charming, and Pinocchio's daughter is her best friend. Everyone will think she's crazy. "
"And Livie will know she is not." He answered slowly. "Maybe she's never been out of Storybrook, but if this is real, she knows there are cities without magic, you taught her and told her stories about all these places, just like Henry did every time he returned home. She knows that there are cities where the people she knows are only fairytale characters, cities where we don't exist, neither magic. She knows."
"And that doesn't make me feel better." Emma squeezed Killian's hands tightly that he had to contain a moan. "The only reason Gold took her was because of me, it's his way of forcing me to do what he wants. And I can't do anything because my hands are tied. If I help him everything we know could change, our history could change and not just our history. If we change the past, the history of many people could be different and we don't know in what way. If I help him to change the past even Livie's life could be in danger, but if I don't, we lose our daughter." She exhaled heavily. "In both cases, we lose."
"No, we don't." And really he needed to believe that. "Do you know what is the best part of our daughter, Swan? That she is exactly like you." Emma looked at him silently. "She is strong, intelligent, fighter and never gives up, no matter how difficult things may be. She learned all that from her mother, from you. And I'm sure wherever our daughter is, she'll be waiting for you, because you're her hero, Swan. Like mine. "
"In this moment I don't feel like a hero. I don't feel like a savior, I just feel like a mother who lost her daughter." Her voice broke at the end.
Killian's chest contracted painfully as he heard her words. There was nothing he could say to make her feel better, so he swallowed and wrapped his arm around her, tightly. Emma rested her head on his shoulder and Killian breathed the scent of her hair as he placed soft kisses on her forehead. She felt the cold leather from his jacket on her cheek, as well as the warmth of his hand on her waist. "That's what we are, love." He whispered. "Parents who lost their daughter and did not rest until they found her because we will. Together."
They both remained silent until Emma's voice regained strength to speak.
"Maybe... If I make a deal with Gold, he-"
"No." Killian responded quickly.
Emma could feel his body tense before he separated from her.
"We're not going to make any deal with the bloody crocodile."
"It's the only way" She grabbed his arm before he could get out of bed.
"There must be another way-"
"Which?" Emma looked him in the eyes and Killian cursed under his breath when he didn't find an answer.
"We have already tried with every spell that Regina has given us, our options are running out and time is passing." Emma put her hand on his cheek. "It's our only chance, maybe if I make a deal with him, he tells us something about Livie, enough to start looking somewhere."
"He can fool us, that coward has been a liar for years and I doubt he has changed. What if he tells us something just to put us a proof?."
"We've tried everything," Emma repeated.
"Almost everything," Both, Emma and Killian turned around just as they saw Regina walking towards them and Snow a few steps back.
Regina smiled and raised her hand to show them the small vial she held between her fingers.
Killian frowned. "What is that?"
"This," she said proudly. "It's what will help us find your daughter."
Regina saw the surprise in their faces, their eyes widened and their mouths fall and, as if it were a dream they were both having, she saw them approaching slowly, their eyes focused on such a small object that at that moment felt giant between her fingers.
"You-you found a way," Emma said, not sure if that had been a question or an affirmation, and she honestly didn't care.
Regina put the vial on Emma's hand and again, she smiled triumphantly. "It's time to kick Rumple in the ass."
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
He could not stop seeing her.
He was not sure how long he had been in that same position but he knew he could not stop doing it. It was as if his eyes simply could not move away from the small body of the girl he had on his legs.
And even when the little girl was doing something as simple as playing with a few sheets of paper, that action seemed surprising to him.
And when those little green eyes looked at him with total adoration, the words flew from his mind, and it was not that he was surprised, he thought to himself, taking into account that Emma took away his speech every time he saw her, he didn't expect something different from their daughter.
That mere thought made him choke and felt an itch in the pit of his stomach, he had never imagined having a daughter, much less that daughter was with Emma Swan.
Bloody hell, He had not even imagined that those words were someday in the same sentence.
And for the first time in the last half hour, Killian turned his gaze away from the girl just to focus on the woman in front of him.
He saw Emma pacing back and forth while whispering something to the cell phone, then she stopped and he could hear the soft echo of her laughter as her lips curved into the most genuine smile. She turned her head and in that moment their eyes met.
Green against Blue.
Emma moved uncomfortably in her place and, breaking the eye contact, she took a few steps farther as if that would prevent him from continuing to see her. That could have made him smile if it had not been for the fact that at that very moment he felt a small twinge of jealousy.
He knew that Emma was talking to Henry, of course, he was not jealous of the boy, but for a small moment, he wished that Emma's smile was for him. That woman was so stubborn that even when they both knew that she, in fact, felt something towards him, even something as simple as attraction, she tried hard to deny it.
He looked back at the girl. That girl who was the proof of the future that awaited them together, the proof that that kiss would not be a 'one-time-thing', the proof that one day he would have a family, but above all, was the proof that one day he would be able to conquer Emma's heart.
Someday he would be in charge of protecting and loving Emma's heart.
"Daddy, are you going to put your hand again?." Suddenly, Livie's voice sounds.
Killian blinked several times leaving his thoughts aside and, raising his eyebrows, he looked at the girl. "Don't you like the hook, little love?" He asked.
Livie looked at her father confused as a small wrinkle appeared on her forehead and her small eyes opened in surprise. "Of course I like the hook, silly daddy." She laughed as if her father's question was the most ridiculous thing in the world. "I love the hook as much as mommy love it, but you said you love more your hand because you can hold mommy and me at the same time."
Killian swallowed and, carried by the force of an impulse, he kissed the girl's forehead. "That's right, little love." He said completely overwhelmed and cleared his throat. Livie's smile was so kind that he didn't think he deserved that unconditional love.
Slowly, he stroked her hair and passed it behind her ear and although that impulse was something new for him, the little blonde seemed completely accustomed to that caress of his father. "But I think I'll keep the hook a little bit longer because I really miss it. That's okay with you?" He asked.
Livie looked at the hook for a moment and Killian found himself nervous about the answer a 5-year-old could give him.
He saw Livie's small eyes weigh the situation while that little wrinkle she had inherited from Emma appeared on her forehead. Then, she looked up and slowly her lips curved into a completely disinterested half smile.
"Aye." Livie answered with the simplicity of a child and focused again on the storybook in front of her.
Killian didn't know how much he wanted that answer until he felt how his lungs released the air they had been holding. And only when he had thought that the girl could not do anything to make him feel any more relieved, she put her little hand on the hook and held it tightly.
That gesture took him off guard and held back a sigh. The girl didn't even know the effect she had on him and even so, she had him between her fingers.
He was still surprised at how that affection had been born quickly in his guts, even before Emma had finished explaining who the girl was, Livie had captivated him with her eyes.
The mere thought made him smile and he shook his head slightly. Bloody hell! Emma had captivated him in the same way when he met her in the enchanted forest.
"Besides, I think mommy also misses it sometimes," Livie said casually.
Killian frowned and looked at Livie curiously. "Why do you say it, love?"
And as if it were a secret, Livie made a quick glance at her mother who was still on the cell phone, put her little hands around her mouth and Killian approached her ear. "Because the other night I saw mommy," she whispered. "I was supposed to be asleep, but I wasn't, so I went with mommy to see if she was still awake to tell me a bedtime story, but she didn't see me. Mommy had the hook in her hands,-" Livie's little hands rested on her chest following the movement she had seen her mother do a few nights before. "-then she smiles and put it on her chest before putting it in the coffer." Killian's heart stopped and an inexplicable, but completely overwhelming sensation ran through his body.
His gaze quickly searched for Emma. "She do that?" He swallows.
"Uh-hu," Livie nodded. "That's why I think Mommy is going to be very happy when you tell her to keep your hook longer."
And before he could finish processing and understanding that wave of sensations that he was feeling inside his chest, Emma approached.
"Okay, kid. Better not see more chocolate in that mouth of yours or I'll have to-" Emma interrupted herself when she saw the surprised looks of Killian and Livie. She put her cell phone in her trouser bag and narrowed her eyes "What's going on here?"
"Nothing, love." Emma arched her eyebrows in disbelief "Pirates things, rigth Livie?"
The girl nodded quickly. "Yeah, mommy. Pirates things. "
Maybe she was new on being Livie's mother, but she was definitely not new on being a mother, and that look on the girl's face was the same as Henry's when he hid something from her. She narrowed her eyes and stared at them, from Killian to Livie and vice versa.
"So, how was the boy?" Killian asked, making her change the subject.
"He's okay. He will stay with Regina while we solve all this." Emma exhaled. Even though she knew that Livie was no a threat, she wanted to keep Henry out of all this madness.
Killian nodded.
"Thanks for staying with her." Emma said after a moment
He smiled slightly and caressed the girl's hair. "It was a pleasure to do it, Swan."
They both remained silent, none of them sure of the ground they were standing on.
Both feeling awkward in front of each other.
"Well, I uh, I think it's time for me to leave," Killian said as he put Livie on the floor and got up from the chair.
"Yeah, rigth." Emma replied awkwardly taking a step back.
"Are we going home now?" Livie asked looking to her father.
Killian looked at Emma not sure what he had to answer to the girl.
"Not yet, Livie," Emma said softly as she leaned on her knees. "We're still going to stay here with grandma and grandpa."
"So, where's Daddy going?" Livie asked completely confused.
"Well, I have to go, little love."
"Can I go with you?"
"Uhm, uh. No, I mean, I'm gonna do a lot of boring things, it's better if you stay here with mommy, you'll find more fun with her."
Livie's mouth pouted in childish dislike. "I don't want you to go, daddy. Why can you not stay here more time?"
"it's only for a while, you will not even notice." He said trying to comfort the girl.
"I will notice because I will miss you." Livie crossed her little arms over her chest. "Don't you miss mommy and me?"
"Of course I miss you and mommy." The words just came out of his mouth without thinking twice. And he was not lying, he missed Emma frequently and he was sure he would miss the girl even more.
He saw Emma's look on him, but he didn't care. He swallowed, facing what he had just said.
"Stay, daddy. Please!" Livie begged looking at him with puppy eyes. "Mommy, tell daddy to stay. I don't want him to leave."
"Kill-daddy really has to leave, kiddo." She started. Livie's green eyes looked at her pleadingly. All her hopes placed on her mother. Emma swallowed and she knew she could not do it. So she sighs. "But if he wants, he can stay longer with you so you can show him all those drawings you made him. "
Livie smiled happily. "And can I also show him my new storybook?"
"Of course." Emma smiled
LIvie turned her little body excited towards Killian. "Stay, daddy! Mommy said. "
Killian looked at Emma confused, but she said nothing, she was just waiting for his answer as much as the little girl in front of her. So he looked at his daughter again and smiled uncertainly. "Well, a gentleman should never refuse at the pleas of a beautiful lady."
Livie's smile seemed to divide her face and she gave little jumps of joy. "I'm going to show you all the drawings I made you, the ones I made to grandma, to grandpa, and mommy. And also my new storybook that grandma bought me."
"That sounds like a lot of fun, little love"
"Uh-huh!" she nodded excitedly. "Come on, daddy"
Livie grabbed her hook and pulled him toward the stairs. "You know what, lass? Why do not you go first and in a moment I go with you? I need to talk with mommy."
"But you're not going?"
"You have my word, love"
"Pinky promise?" Livie raised her little finger and Killian frowned.
"Pinky what?"
Emma snorted. He was so old fashion. "Daddy will not go anywhere. I promise, kid. So go upstairs and find all your drawings. Come on!"
Livie nodded and ran off as fast as her small legs allowed. Both parents smiled and Killian saw Emma's gazee following the girl to the second floor.
"Emma," He swallowed. "Are you sure it does not bother you that I stay longer? I can go and talk to Livie."
"It's okay. I mean, If that makes the girl happy, it's okay with me." She smiled slightly but she frowned when she saw the look in Killian's eyes. "What?"
"When you-" Killian paused and rolled her eyes as he shrugged to minimize importance. "Forget it, Swan. It's silly, I'll just stay a moment and then I'll go."
And before he could turn his back to her, Emma took his arm and stopped him. "Killian, what is it?"
He lowered his gaze to the point where Emma's hand touched his arm and sighed heavily. That woman had the ability to make him speak even if he didn't want to. "I don't want to bother you or impose my presence, Emma. I know this is not what you wanted. "
"What do you mean?"
"I saw your face," Killian explained. He looked at his hand that played nervously with his hook. "I saw your face when you told Neal that you thought he was the father."
And even when he had not said anything else, Emma did not need it, she knew what all this was about. She could remember the look in Killian's eyes, a look she had not understood until then.
She tilt her head and exhales. Killian was hurt and part of her understood it completely.
Emma opened her mouth to say something, but Killian spoke.
"I know you're disappointed. I was the last person on this world ... or any other, with whom you would have imagined a family. Neal and you... Well, You already had a story together, it was obvious that he had more opportunities than me." He shook his head and laughed sadly. "I suppose you expected the knight in shining armor and not the pirate. I get it."
"I-I'm not disappointed." Emma frowned. Maybe she was still not sure what she was feeling, but when she heard him speak, she realized how wrong he was. "I'm surprised, overwhelmed and completely confused with all that, I mean, that girl is like a spoiler alert."
"What thats means?"
"Spoiler alert," she repeated, but Killian shook his head, complete loss of what she was trying to say. Emma rolled her eyes. "She is too much. It's been 24 hours since I found her in the back seat of my car and she has already told me everything that will happen in my life in the next ten years. It is not easy to assimilate a whole life that I had not even imagined. And that's driving me crazy, and it scares me, but I'm not disappointed about you being her father.
"You're not?"
“No, I mean, it could have been worse."
They both smiled and Killian nodded. "Right."
"Look, Killian," Emma took a step forward and bit her lip nerviously. "At this moment I don't even know how I feel about all this, or us, and I'm not sure about being able to discover it, but if I'm sure of something, it's that I'm not disappointed. I don't know what could have happened in the future for us to end up together, but I know that something good came out of all that. "
"Yeah." It was the only thing Killian answered as the corner of his lips curved into a small smile just like Emma's. They both remained silent. It was as if their looks had much more to say than what they could express with their words.
And even when they were not doing such a thing as kissing, that moment seemed as private, at least it was what Snow had thought when she had entered the loft.
"Emma, do you want me t- Oh, sorry." She blushed. "I didn't know Hook was still here. I can come back later or,"
"It's okay, mom. We were just talking." Emma took a step back and pressed her lips together. Her eyes still looking at Killian's.
"I have to go with the child" He said and Emma nodded
"Yeah, you should."
And as soon as Killian started up the stairs, Snow shot a glance at her daughter while a mischievous smile showed on her lips. Emma snorted and rolled her eyes "Do not say anything" she shot her mother before turning around.
But still, she can hear the brunette's laugh. "Your father is going to be so mad" She smiled amusedly.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
It was time.
Emma's hands froze when she felt the sudden pain that started in her belly and continued down her entire spine.
It was time.
She thought again. Were the only words that crossed her head over and over again as her breathing accelerated. She straightened slowly in the divan, and when the pain pressed on her belly again, she rested her hands protectively on her stomach.
Her baby was coming to the world. A small smile of happiness, and nerves, drew on her face before turning into a grimace of pain.
"Killian," she said in a choked voice.
He was sitting in the opposite chair while his gaze focused on the book in his lap. "Yeah, love?" He said distractedly. And when he didn't hear her answer back, he looked up.
And as soon as he saw his wife's face, his eyes widened as the book in his hands fell to the floor in an instant.
Emma was sure that she could have laughed at the poor man's reaction if it had not been because at that moment a wave of pain ran down her spine again.
"It's time? Is she coming? Are you sure?" He got up hurriedly and ran towards her putting his hand on her belly. "- Are you okay, is she okay?" His body was sweating like water taps and unable to keep his body still he started walking from one place to another making an imaginary list of all the things that Snow had told him were necessary to carry for the day of the birth. But the truth was that he could not remember anything. "Should I call your mother? Can you walk? Does it hurt a lot, love?"
Emma laughed with a small bit of pain on her face. She took a deep breath. "Well, I'm pretty sure your baby is coming now, but I can answer all your other questions on the way to the hospital because definitely, I do not want to have this baby in our living room."
Killian helped her get up and put on her coat before leaving the house. Each of his movements was slow and controlled because he didn't want to make her feel even worse. And each time a contraction hit Emma's body, he willingly held out her hand so she could squeeze it as hard as she needed it, even though his fingers hurt to hell.
He put on his seatbelt and after turning on the car, he turned his head to look at her.
"She's really here," he said slowly, unable to believe what was happening.
"Yeah, she is." Emma whispered as a smile full of joy appeared on her face, as well as Killian's.
They had waited months for this and finally, the moment arrived.
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles before turning his eyes to the front and starting a new adventure.
Emma screamed so loudly that she felt her throat break into a thousand pieces as her aching body struggled once more. The lights in the room flashed again, just as it had happened many years ago at Henry's birth.
She could hear Whale's voice asking her to push one last time, but she shook her head. She was so tired that she didn't think her body could take it, and only when fear and exhaustion began to take hold of her, she felt Killian's hand tighten hers even stronger.
"You can do it, Emma. Just one more time, I'm here with you." He whispered as he caressed her forehead and brushed her hair back from her face.
"I'm not sure I can do it." Emma said exhausted.
"Yes you can, love. I know you can. Only one last time and we can meet our girl."
"That's easy to say. Do you want to try it next time?" Killian snorted and Emma was about to laugh when a sharp pain went through her body again and she moaned loudly. "Oh my god!"
"Push, Emma!" Whale said. "I need you to push as hard as you can. Now!" But he had not even finished saying it when a deafening scream came from Emma's mouth.
Her face was painted completely red while she leaned forward and pushed, one of her hands was held tightly from the bed, while the other squeezed Killian's hand.
Killian could feel his fingers clenching, but he didn't care.
"She is here!" Whale announced by taking the baby in his arms at the same time that Emma was dropped on the bed exhausted. Killian kissed her on the forehead and then on the lips.
"I told you you could do it, Swan," he said against her lips and Emma laughed.
She took a deep breath and straightened slowly on the bed. "Whale, how is she?" Emma asked happily.
But he didn't respond.
None of the people who were around their baby responded. They simply walked from one side to the other.
An alarm sounded in Emma's head and she instinctively squeezed her husband's hand.
"Whale?" Killian called him.
Slowly his smile started to get a little tense when he started seeing more medical personnel enter the room. Nobody said anything, they just looked at them and returned their attention to the baby again.
Killian and Emma shared a confused look and fear began to grow inside them.
"Whale, what's wrong? Why she isn't crying?" Emma asked with her heart in her throat.
Her eyes looked from one place to another following the confusion that had suddenly formed in the room. Everyone moved in a fast camera, but at the same time, it seemed that everything was in slow motion.
Killian's heart was beating so fast that he felt it would come out of his chest. He wanted to move, run to where his baby was and take her in his arms, but his legs were completely frozen. Frozen of fear.
He looked at Emma and could see how those green eyes trembled with fear as she stared at the place where their daughter was.
"WHALE!" He screams.
"She is not breathing." It was the only thing the doctor said before turning his back and concentrating on their daughter again.
Killian took a step back as if that words had been a direct blow to the stomach. His blue eyes suddenly stood out because of the red around them. Emma let out a moan and tears fell frantically on her cheeks.
Killian let go of Emma's hand only to surround her with both arms and squeeze her in his chest. Emma covered her mouth with one hand, while the other clung to Killian's shirt. Both remained petrified, their eyes focused on a single point.
For a few seconds everything had been frantic. Nurses who came and went, numbers, names, medical terms that neither Emma, or Killian, could understand, and suddenly, only a few seconds later, everything had stopped when the echo of a cry crossed the entire room.
The baby cried again, so loud it looked like her little lungs would burst.
"She is okay, she is completely okay." A completely excited Whale screamed.
"Oh my god!" Was the only thing that Killian managed to say at the same time that a euphoric laugh came out of Emma's mouth when she heard again another scream from their daughter. Both hugged tightly while fear made way for happiness, and tears of happiness replaced those of sadness.
An overwhelming wave of love crossed their bodies, while a smile appeared on their faces that made their cheeks ache.
"You have a beautiful baby girl." One of the nurses told Emma, and she simply nodded as her gaze focused on the small human body that Whale had in his arms. She could see her little nose, her arms that moved incessantly as she cried and that mop of blond hair that shone with the light.
Emma extended her arms to hold her baby, and as soon as her daughter recognized her mother's smell the crying stopped.
For the first time Emma felt her daughter's hand tighten one of her fingers, she could see how the girl's chest rose and fell, how her legs moved incessantly and suddenly, a pair of green eyes looked at her.
"She is perfect." Emma said in wonder as her baby tried to keep her little eyes open.
"Absolutely perfect." Killian smiled and caressed her daughter's cheek as if it were made of glass. "Thank you, Emma." He kissed her forehead and Emma smiled, resting her head on Killian's shoulder. "Hi there, little love." he said and the baby slid her gaze following the sound of the voice that also she recognized.
Whale smiled and, giving them the privacy they needed, ordered the medical staff to leave the room. "I'll go and give the good news to everyone." He said softly.
Emma nodded her thanks and Killian stood up offering him a hand. "Thank you, mate. For everything. "
Whale nodded and shook his hand. "It's my job." As he left the room.
Killian returned his attention to his wife and daughter, who at that moment was about to fall asleep in the arms of her mother. Gently, he sat on the bed and Emma leaned back against his chest while rhythmically caressing her baby's back.
"She is so tinny," Emma whispered in amazement.
"Yeah," Killian replied softly. "And beautiful. She looks like you."
Emma laughs "Nah, she is more beautiful."
Both stayed admiring and enjoying their baby. Her little chest rose and fell and they could not thanks more for that.
"What are we gonna call her?" Killian asked after a few minutes.
Emma touched her daughter's cheek and denied softly. "I can't imagine a name that goes well with her, there are too many."
"Well, we can start with your mother's name and after that, we have a handful of many more"
Emma huffed. "As much as I love my mother, I can not imagine calling our daughter Snow White or Cinderella in the park. It would be strange." She frowned. "I don't want her to take any name from a storybook, it has to be something for her. Something unique."
Killian thought for a moment and then took her daughter's small hand in his. "You know, the other time I was reading one of those books that your mother gave us where a list of names came from, and there was one that caught my attention. Olivia." He said softly. "In the book said it was a name with an admirable balance between strength and femininity. Just like our daughter."
Emma looked at her daughter, who rested comfortably on her chest. "Olivia," she repeated the name slowly and smiled. "Welcome to the world, Olivia," Emma whispered gently.
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Emma stopped before entering the vault of Regina remembering that day with total clarity. She could still smell the scent of the hospital, she could feel her body tremble after each contraction and she could remember the relief she felt when her baby had let out her first scream. She could remember how small Livie's body had been when Whale had put her in her arms.
How small and helpless Livie was, and that had not changed.
All the memories crowded in her head and she realized that she could not imagine a world where her daughter didn't exist, she could not even believe that almost six years ago her baby didn't even exist. It was crazy, she thought, but even more was to think that she had had her, only to lose her again.
She could remember the bitter taste she had felt in her mouth when she thought she had lost her before she could even know her. That feeling had torn her apart for a few seconds, but then it had disappeared and she had never felt it again, not until that moment.
"I hope this works." She hears Killian say as he approaches her with Quack in his hands.
"Regina said we only had to bring in some item that belonged to Livie and the potion would show us the place where she was."
"Well," Killian handed the stuffed duck to Emma. "I hope the potion does not hurt him too much or Livie will be really sad when she sees it."
Emma fixed her eyes on the stuffed duck and squeezed it tightly in her hands. "Do you remember the day you gave it to her?" She smiled.
And in effect, he did it. "Aye." He smiled with joy, clearly recalling that day. "God! She carried that duck everywhere. "
"At least that served to make him stop insisting on a bow-woow." They chuckled. Then, Emma sighed. "It's been two days, she may miss it."
Killian took her hand. "She will not miss it for much longer."
Emma nodded and they both went down to the vault.
As soon as they arrived, both, Regina and Snow turned around. "You brought it?" Regina asked as she approached Emma.
Emma extended her hand and handed her the stuffed duck. "Yeah, what's next?"
"Now, let's have this little friend help us find your daughter." Regina took the stuffed animal and before spraying the contents, she turned around. "Remember that the potion will only last a few seconds and will only show us where Livie is, but just as can show us where she was today, can show us where she was yesterday, or where she were a year ago." Emma nodded and Regina continued. She sprayed the contents of the jar on the duck and everyone waited, each one with their eyes on the stuffed animal.
After a few seconds, Killian moved nervously and impatiently. "Will not you say some magic words or something?" While taking Emma's hand.
"Don't wait to hear me say bibbidi bobbidi boo, I'm not the fairy godmother." Regina heard David's laughter before being silenced by Snow's elbow. And when Killian rolled his eyes amused, a mist began to form around the toy.
"There!" Emma said as the mist grew thicker and denser. She squeezed Killian's hand as small dots of light and colors began to form in the center.
The colors were combined and, as if it were a blurring of a camera, slowly the image began to clear up. Emma felt her heart clench when at last Livie's face began to take shape.
She was laughing, it was her first thought.
"Mommy, can i wear my princess dress?. Where's daddy? You still mommy. I missed you so much, daddy. My mommy is Emma Swan."
Livie's voice was heard as a distant echo and the phrases were combined, it was as if the potion was choosing the moment it would show them. Killian and Emma took a step forward and when their lips began to curve into a smile, they both looked at each other confused when the image finally cleared.
It was the loft.
Emma frowned and Killian sighed in defeat when he saw that it had not worked.
Livie was sitting on the kitchen counter laughing with her grandmother. Emma saw herself rolling her eyes amusingly as she caught her daughter trying to eat the cake.
"Daddy, are you coming?" They had heard again the echo of their daughter's voice
"I hope you like chocolate, Captain." Emma recognized her voice.
Killian saw himself taking the plate of cake that Emma offered him. He whispered something to the girl that made her laugh out loud and, without warning, Livie jumped into his arms. Killian had dropped the plate of food so he could hold the girl's body while quickly moved the hook to not hurt her.
Then, the image suddenly went out of focus again and in the blink of an eye, the fog had disappeared as well as the image of their daughter.
Emma's heart skipped a beat and she felt Killian's surprised look on her.
The initial smile on Regina's face disappeared and she swallowed hard. "I really thought that this would work." She mumbled turning to look at both, Emma and Killian, in apology.
"We'll keep looking for a way to find her." This time it was Snow's voice.
"Yes, maybe I can find a way to make the spell work better or-" Regina dropped her arms as she exhaling frustrated. And frowning at the blonde's face, she said "Are you okay?" Passing her gaze from Emma to Killian.
"It worked," Emma said in a barely audible whisper, her eyes wide open. She looked at Killian hoping he had seen it too.
He nodded, looking at her with the same bewilderment as she did.
"That's can't be- he..." Killian opened her mouth and closed it again when none of the phrases he said ended.
"Emma?" Snow looked at them confused, waiting for her daughter to explain what the others could not understand.
Emma broke eye contact with Killian and turned her head "It worked." She repeated it again loudly.
Regina frowned. "It worked? The only thing we saw was both of you with Livie. That does not tell us anything "
"No, the only thing we saw was our past versions with Livie." Emma explained.
And finally, after several hours, she felt the pressure of her chest decreased while Regina blinked in surprise, at the same time that Snow and David straightened.
"Is she in the past?" David asked.
"Aye, surely the crocodile did it to force us to make the time travel."
"But how are you so sure?"
Emma looked at Snow and then, with her eyes, she pointed toward Killian's hand.
"The hook." She answered simply.
"After Livie's birth, it was when I asked Emma to put my hand back."
"Yeah, we remember," David said.
"Well, the Killian of that image still had the hook." Killian held his hand and looked at it carefully. "I never put it back on, less with Livie close by."
"That explains why none of the spells worked." Regina approached. "She was not even in this time."
"We would never have found her, that's why Gold was so confident," Snow said reproachfully, thinking in the only man who could have such a twisted mind to do something like that.
"But now we know where she is." David took her hand. "And there's no better place for Livie than her parents," David looked at Emma and Killian and smiled softly "no matter what year they are."
They smiled back and for the first time in days, he could see how her daughter's body relaxed a bit.
"What now?" Snow asked.
"Now," Emma looked at Killian. "It's time to go for the person that caused all this."
He nodded with the same determined look in his eyes. "Aye."
A/N: I'm such an asshole! i know, SORRY! Life happens.
As usual: My first language is not English so I apologize for my grammatical mistakes. Hopes there are not many, but corrections are completely welcome, (btw, I want to thank all those who have offered to help me with that. I have not contacted you because I don't want to bother you guys! LOL).
Anyways, thank you so much! And tell me what you think! I hope not to disappoint you with this chapter. Originally this chapter would be a bit shorter, but I thought it was fair and that you deserved it to be longer. The bad, the longest chapter, wait longer, LOL! Soooorry!
