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They were lucky to get a night off, honestly. Between her work as Sheriff and his work down at the boat yard, and three kids, a night off was as rare as rare things came along. Which wasn’t often. Emma had wanted a quiet night out, maybe just catching a movie and getting dinner together in one of the more low key establishments in town, but Killian had persuaded her to hit the bars with him. He’d argued that they’d not drank together in a long time, and he was in the mood for a little whiskey or rum, and that it’d be a great way for them to relax and let their hair down. So, after an extra layer of eyeliner and a ruffle of hair, they were both heading out while Mary Margaret stayed behind to watch the kids.
Emma and Killian were now seated at the bar, ordering their next round of drinks. “Just a water for me, lots of ice.” Emma said softly as Killian signalled a refill of his rum. “One of us has to be able to wake up for the kids in the morning.” She teased, hinting at Killian’s rapidly declining sobriety. He shot her a lustful look and shifted in his seat, moving his head closer to hers and nibbling on her ear. “Or we could just stay up all night.” He suggested, his words slurred and elongated from drink. Emma pushed him away, a little embarrassed by his public display.
“Love, did you just shove me?” He asked in mock shock. He playfully pouted and tried his best to look offended before he was distracted by the refill in front of him. Emma sighed and smiled at her husband. “Come on pirate, let’s get you home.” She told him gently. “Hopefully your sneaking skills improve with alcohol so we can sneak your drunk ass past my mom.”
Killian stood, and swayed. “What was that about my ass, Swan?” Killian practically yelled. Emma flushed bright red and stood immediately, thanking the bar man. “Okay, we’re going home Captain. Come on.” She told him bossily, gripping his arm and leading him outside. Once they were in the fresh air, Killian rapidly became sillier and sillier. He began singing old sea shanty’s and giggling like a twelve year old girl. At one point he even attempted to skip while holding Emma’s hand. Emma couldn’t help but grin stupidly at her husband’s behaviour. He was drunk. Actually, he was a little past being drunk, but she was enjoying him either way. “Keep your voice down or i’ll have to arrest you for being a public nuisance.” She threatened, though he didn’t hear her at all. He’d be hell in the morning, whining about his head, and needing coffee brought to him every hour. But, she always had fun teasing him the morning after, especially if he’d done something particularly bold the night before.
Killian turned to his wife and gave her a wicked smile. “I love Emma Swan! And her perfect breasts” He yelled out as loud as he could, then staggered away from her before she could grab him to cover his loud mouth. “I love her! And i really, really, really love her as-“ He started to yell before Emma finally caught up to him and closed her hand over his mouth. “One more word about my body Killian Jones and you’re sleeping on the Jolly Roger.” She warned.
“Em…maaaaa Swan has the best wardrobe in Storybrooke.” Killian sang out cheekily, breaking away from her. “She wears clothes that fit her well, and make her look great. But i prefer her with nothing on.” He continued to sing, making his way haphazardly to their front gate.
By this point Emma had given up trying to reprimand him, and submitted to walking quietly behind him, occasionally lending a hand when he started to look as if he really might faceplant into a nearby bush.
She managed to grab him before he knocked too loud on the front door, pinning him up against the wall. He seemed to thing it was an advance on him, and smirked as he snaked his hands round her waist and onto her ass.
“Steps away from your mother, i like it you siren.” He whispered, but not quietly at all. Emma simply rolled her eyes at this and allowed him to remain groping her ass, but pulled her key out to unlock the front door. Obviously, her mother had been listening out for them because no sooner than the key began to turn did Mary Margaret swing the door open. She looked slightly flushed at the sight of Killian gripping her daughter’s ass, for which Emma immediately apologised for. “Sorry mom, he drank way too much. Apparently this pirate doesn’t hold his rum like he used to.” Mary Margaret nodded and gave Emma a sympathetic smile.
“Killian, please take your hands off my daughter’s behind.” She said firmly, giving her son-in-law a warning glance. Killian pouted and stalked into the house, looking put out. Emma almost laughed as she hugged her mom. “Thank you so much for tonight. Were the kids all okay?” She asked, standing on the porch with her mom.
Mary Margaret smiled and nodded. “The girls had me read them Peter Pan about fifty times, and Liam wanted to hear all about Bandit Snow.” She smiled happily. Emma laughed and embraced her mom. “Thank you again. We’re still on for family night at Granny’s tomorrow?” Emma confirmed as she heard Killian clanging and banging around inside the house. Mary Margaret nodded and chuckled lightly as she glanced in towards the noise. “You’d better go sort out that husband of yours before he wakes up those children i tried so hard to get to sleep.”
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Half an hour later and Emma had finally enticed Killian up the stairs successfully and had helped him strip himself of his clothing enough to be comfortable to sleep. She lay him down in only his boxers and he tried his best to grab at her ass. “Let the pirate have his booty!” He demanded. Emma swatted his hands away and mock scolded him. “I’m going to check on the kids again. You’d better be asleep when i get back.” She told him with a grin, leaving him to hopefully fall asleep into a drunken mess. He’d no doubt snore all night, the alcohol stealing away her otherwise pleasantly soft sleeping husband. Emma checked in on the twins, smiling to herself as she tucked Liam back in, for the third time since she’d gotten home. Her boy really was a messy sleeper, kicking everything and everyone in his way. She’d always called him her little gymnast, his energy levels never fully lulling, not even in his sleep. She never needed to sort out his twins bedding however, the little girl having always been the quiet to his energy. Emma bent down and kissed the top of Amelia's head, stroking back a few wisps of hair that had dropped into the eyes of her little one. Leaving the twins to sleep peacefully, Emma dropped in on her youngest’s bedroom. Little Lydia. She was still a baby in Emma’s eyes, even though the toddler firmly told everyone that she was in fact, a big girl. Readjusting the teddy that had slept by Lydia’s side since her birth, Emma then kissed her baby on the head and left to go back to Killian.
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Killian was not asleep as she’d hoped. Rather, he was laying on their bed, waiting for her, and had somehow rid himself of all clothing. She couldn’t help but laugh at him as she closed the door to their bedroom. “I’m not sleeping with you tonight.” She told him as she walked to her own side of the bed. “So if you’re going to sleep naked, i hope to God that you’re not going to get cold because i don’t think you’re sober enough to dress yourself at this point.” She mused, sitting on the edge of the bed to remove her earrings.
“But love!” Killian objected, pouting at her back. “I’m your husband! And i’m naked. You’re s’posed to love me.”
“I know you’re my husband, and i see that you’re naked.” Emma grinned, turning her head to look at him. “I do love you- and if you were sober and not a sloppy mess like you currently are, things may have gone a little differently tonight. But i guess we’ll have to wait until the morning, won’t we?”
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Usually, Killian was the first to rise, but when Emma woke before her previously drunk husband, she wasn’t overly surprised. He smelt a lot like rum, not that she minded. He’d been working hard recently and they both enjoyed a drink or two in the evenings- things had just gotten a little carried away, and he clearly wasn’t as good with alcohol as he’d used to be. Emma made sure not to wake him as she snuck out of bed that morning, wanting to give him as much of a rest as possible before the kids were up and screaming for attention from their favourite captain.
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Not surprisingly, Lydia was already awake when Emma went to go check on her. The little girl was just lying content in her toddler sized bed, teddy tucked under one arm. When she saw her Mama however, she sat up, big smile on her face, arms raised to signal that she wanted to be lifted into Emma’s arms. “Good morning my love.” Emma whispered softly, lifting the little girl into her arms and cradling her against her chest. “I missed you last night. Did you have fun with Grandma?” She asked softly, carrying Lydia downstairs to start breakfast. Her twins wouldn’t be awake for another hour or so, and if they did wake earlier than usual, they would race downstairs immediately, wanting to start the day with games and adventures and maybe a bit of television. Lydia liked to start a little slower. The little girl nodded at her Mom’s questions, small arms wrapped around Emma’s neck as she rested her chin on her shoulder. “Grandma Peter Pan.” She mumbled and Emma nodded with a smile.
“Yeah? Did you make Grandma read you lots and lots of Peter Pan?” She asked, shifting Lydia to one hip so she could set the coffee machine to start brewing. Lydia nodded and giggled. “Papa.”
“That’s right. Papa has a hook too. Like in Peter Pan.” Emma agreed, enjoying the small conversation she was having with her two and a half year old.
“Papa good boy.” Lydia added, a small frown crossing her forehead.
“Your daddy is a good boy. Not like the Hook in Peter Pan.” Emma said, understanding exactly what her daughter meant. The only way Killian had allowed their children to be read the Disney version of Peter Pan was if everyone made it clear that he was not the Captain Hook portrayed. That he was good. And even their youngest understood that.
“Would you like pancakes for breakfast, or some oats?” Emma asked Lydia, pulling down a bowl from the cupboard.
“Pancakes love.” Came Killian’s tired sounding reply, making Emma jump a little. “Although with the lass around, i’m not sure how much i’m going to get.” He added with a wink, moving over to kiss the top of Emma’s head, then Lydia’s.
“Papa!” Lydia said with a wide grin, holding her arms out to be taken by him. He took her with a tired sigh, cuddling her small frame close. As she got closer to him, she gave a sniff and scrunched up her nose, turning back to Emma, leaning away from Killian. Emma laughed and took Lydia back from Killian’s arms.
“You scared me. And i was asking the baby, who also thinks you smell, by the way. Go jump in the shower and i’ll think about pancakes for later.” She promised with a smile. Killian groaned and nodded, wiping sleep from his eyes.
“Remind me not to drink so much next time Swan. And can you make one of those miracle drinks you made last time i did this awful thing to my body?” He requested.
Emma had known he’d be like this, but she still felt a little sorry for him, so nodded. “Go clean yourself up and there will be a hangover cure waiting for you when you’re done.”
“Your Mama is a bloody godsend.” Killian told Lydia, who giggled into Emma’s neck as her Papa left the room.
“And your Papa is lucky he’s so handsome.” Came Emma’s whispered reply, though Killian was far too gone to hear her.
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Half an hour later, and the twins were both downstairs -both arguing over who had eaten the most pancakes and who should be allowed the last one- when Killian finally emerged from his shower. “One day, you two will realise how lucky you are to have one another.” He commented upon hearing them bickering, deciding to pick up the last pancake and eat it himself. The twins pouted, and half glared at their father, then went back to arguing with one another about something else trivial. Lydia was seated in her own chair, bits of cut up pancake and fruit still on her plate as she slowly made her way through her meal.
“One hang over cure.” Emma said with a smile, holding out a glass of gross looking -far too thick to be liquid- liquid. “Enjoy.” She added with a small smile, knowing he’d do anything but.
“You look far too happy about this drink, love.” Killian grumbled, taking the glass from his wife. Emma simply shrugged and gave him a smirk. “I would say that i told you so, but you wouldn’t remember it anyway, since you were so drunk.” She sassed back, making sure to whisper so the kids couldn’t hear.
Killian simply rolled his eyes playfully and took the brave step of gulping down the drink. He was watched carefully by Lydia, her mouth stuffed full with pancakes, which almost came bursting out of her small mouth as her papa put on a dramatic show of drinking from his glass. The little girl giggled, then spluttered and spat all her food out back onto her plate.
“Yucky.” She commented softly, looking down at the half chewed food sitting on top of her fruit cubes. Emma sighed, it was a struggle to get her young one to eat anyway, with all the distractions she had going on in the Swan-Jones household, and it looked like the few bites of fruit and pancakes she had managed to get down, was all it was going to be until her mid-morning snack. Luckily, her older two would be spending the day out with Daddy, which would give Emma the time and focus she needed to help Lydia concentrate on eating more.
She simply lifted Lydia’s plate away from her along with the twin’s plates and then kissed Killian on the cheek. “You ready for their soccer match?” She asked her husband. “Don’t forget that you’re on taking the team to Granny’s afterwards.” She added as she placed the dirty plates into the sink.
Killian groaned as the twins ran away from the dinner table to play in front of the TV. “Swan, don’t leave me with hundreds of children. Can’t you come too? You’re much better with the team than i am.” He complained quietly, standing beside her as she did the dishes.
“It’s not hundreds, it’s fifteen. And there are going to be other parents there. But like we’ve discussed before, it’s good for her to spend time with us one on one. She needs our attention and i have her today, and then you get to have her on Monday’s.” Emma explained, even though he knew all this, he was simply complaining for the sake of it. Lydia was still young, but needed one on one time with her parents to get over some of the hurdles she’d already faced in her young life. Food was one of the struggles she faced, mainly just the fact that she struggled to eat a lot. Then there was the worrying. Emma had noticed that Lydia had been a clingy baby and while she had initially assumed it had something to do with being born into a hectic family, they’d soon come to realise that it was in their child’s nature to simply, worry. She still cried most nights at bedtime, and often ended up in bed with Killian and Emma. She asked hundreds of questions in her tiny baby voice, which Emma and Killian tried their best to answer. Dr. Hopper had eventually told them that what Lydia needed right now, was their time, attention and patience. That eventually she’d become more and more secure, needing them to reassure her less and less.
“Fine.” Killian mumbled, picking Lydia up from her toddler chair. “But i’m taking my baby girl out for ice cream later today then. I’ll need a break from the hooligans.”
Emma chuckled to herself. “Those hooligans are your children too, and would love ice cream with their Daddy. If they can stop arguing for two seconds to tell you what flavour they want.”
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Killian had sent her several texts, updating her on the twins’ soccer match, to which Emma smiled at, but didn’t reply to. She wanted to focus on Lydia, who was sat in her lap, slowly munching on some grapes and blueberries.
“Yummy?” Emma asked quietly, stroking her little girls’ blonde hair. Lydia nodded in reply and held a grape up to Emma’s mouth, shoving it in. Emma laughed and allowed her daughter to stuff a grape in her mouth, chewing it with a smile. She wasn’t a huge fan of grapes, but she knew that eating it set a good example for her daughter, so she was more than happy to eat whatever food made Lydia feel more encouraged to eat.
“Mama, where’s Dada?” Lydia asked, mouth full of grapes and blueberries. Emma smiled, knowing that her daughter was likely to start asking her string of usual nervous questions.
“Remember? Daddy is with the twins at soccer? He’ll be back really, really soon though, i promise.” Emma told her daughter, hoping that her answer would put the little one at ease. Lydia nodded and then looked back at her Mom.
“Why Dada not here?” She asked curiously, sounding a little worried.
“Because Mama wanted to spend time with her little princess, and the big kids needed to go to their game. So he had to take them.”
“Lydia big kid too!” Came the small one’s objection, which made the corners of Emma’s mouth turn up into a smile.
“I know. You’re a very big kid.” Emma was about to give her daughter a more in depth answer, when the front door to the house opened, and her own Mom walked in. Lydia stood up from Emma’s lap and grinned widely at her Grandma, clapping her hands excitedly.
“Hey Mom?” Emma said, looking a little confused. Snow came and joined her daughter and Grand-daughter on the floor, accepting Lydia into her arms when the little one went bounding over.
“So i hope you don’t mind me interrupting, i just thought that a little chat would be nice after last night and i knew Killian would be with the twins at their match.” Snow explained. Emma nodded, understanding, and passed Lydia her small bowl of food now she was settled in Snow’s arms.
“So….?” Snow asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
Emma sighed and then chuckled. “I don’t know how much you expect me to be able to talk about in front of my three year old who repeats everything, especially since my husband last night was so intoxicated that he fell asleep butt naked on top of the bedsheets after several failed attempts at seducing me.”
Snow blushed, but also laughed, hiding her grin in the top of Lydia’s hair.
“I wasn’t actually meaning that part, i was meaning the date! It’s the first time you two have been out alone in a long time. Was it nice?”
Emma shrugged. “It’s always nice spending time with him. But it would have been nicer if we’d made it to the movies and been able to come home to a romantic bath or something. But it is what it is. And seeing him that playful again was a nice reminder of what first attracted me to him.” She admitted. “I never was able to keep a straight face around a pirate with rum, that’s for sure.”
Snow gave her daughter a grin and then helped Lydia by handing her another grape. “And how’s this one?” Snow asked, eyes gesturing down towards the toddler sitting in her arms. Emma bit her lip and watched Lydia carefully, the toddler blissfully bored and unaware of the adult conversation going on around her.
“Honestly, getting better. But slowly. She still won’t eat much, so i’m feeding her constantly though out the day just to get her calories up. And there’s still the worrying thing. Some days i think she’s just curious, and then others i think she’s living in a permanent state of anxiety. I just don’t understand why she’s so young and already anxious?” Emma said quietly. “Killian likes to act as if nothing’s wrong- that if we just…..love her enough, that it’ll all get better and maybe he’s right? But i don’t want to risk that it’s not enough. I just want to make her feel better.”
Snow reached out and took her daughter’s hand. “She’s going to be just fine Emma. She has the best Mama in the world. One who loves her, and is looking out for her, and will fight for her when need be. And she’s a tough cookie. She’ll catch up soon enough.”
Emma knew her Mom was right, that maybe part of the reason Lydia was so small and struggled to put any decent amount of weight on her was because of the early birth she’d had. Emma had gone into labour a couple of months early with Lydia after a truck slammed into the side of Emma’s sheriff car, and they’d both spent well over a month in hospital, trying to recover from the trauma they’d both gone though. Killian had been amazing through out it all, always seeming to find a way to spend all his time by Emma’s side when she was awake, yet always with Lydia too. And he still found time to go home and put the twins to bed too. It was a miracle that Lydia had made it, and that Emma had been able to survive the multiple operations she also went under.
Emma squeezed her Mom’s hand, grateful for her words of wise advice. “I wouldn’t mind so much if she stayed my little baby forever, to be honest.” Emma smiled. “And i may try the date thing again with Killian in a couple of weeks, if the man can agree to no alcohol this time. Because i’m in need of some loving from my man and he gets rather….incapable ….when drunk.”
Snow looked as if she was going to speak for a moment, before deciding against it. Emma watched her carefully, head tilting to one side curiously.
“Mom? What are you thinking?” She asked softly.
“It’s nothing- i just….it’s probably not a good time for it anyway, but i can’t help but think that maybe you’d want a weekend away with Killian? He could take you and the Jolly Roger out to sea for the weekend, your Dad and i can watch the kids, we have more than enough space.”
Emma listened to her Mom talk, and for a moment, she really did think that it was a great idea. And then her eyes fell on little Lydia, who was still sitting in her Mom’s lap, eating away at the grapes and blueberries in her bowl.
“I’ve never been away from her for longer than a night out with Killian.” She said quietly. “Do you think she’d be okay?” Emma asked softly, already thinking about how scared her daughter could be, how anxious she may get.
“Emma, there’s only one way to find out. And she loves spending time with Charming, and Neal. She wouldn’t be staying with strangers. We know how to make her feel safe.”
Emma nodded, she knew that what her Mom was saying was true. And there was only one way to find out.
“I’ll bring it up with Killian and see what he thinks.”