Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

~~~ NEAL’S POV ~~~

Rumour has it, that the Underworld has a new inhabitant. Apparently, Captain Hook finally met his end. It’s what he deserves. That idiot.

He stole my family from me – twice. First my mother and then my dear, sweet Emma. He deserves to rot in hell for all eternity. Now I only need to find a way to throw him into the boiling fire. And then, I can finally move on to a better place. That’s where I belong, unlike that dirty pirate.

So, here I am, at a bar, plotting my revenge, when I hear another rumour. This one is much more unsettling though.

According to quite some people, my family is here in the Underworld. They’re alive. They’re here to save that damn pirate.

That can’t be true, right? Why would they want to save him? He deserves to be here, unlike me. I’m the one they should save. I’m the one Emma is supposed to be with. We have a child together after all. And without me, she would’ve been nothing all those years ago. She was unloved, but I was generous enough to love her, so that somehow gives me a right to her now, doesn’t it?

I cured that broken mess she once was, so I should get to be with her. Not that damn pirate. He didn’t do anything except steal her away as soon as I fixed her.

And our son should have both of his parents in his life – as a family. We are a family. The pirate is just an intruder, who will get bored of Emma on day anyway. She’s not that interesting after all, so she should be grateful I was willing to be her forever.

I’m very charitable as you can see – more proof, that I’m too good for this place.

I’m sure my dear son Harry misses me a lot, too. I’m his father – that’s at least something the pirate can’t take away for once. He wouldn’t care enough. He probably hates the poor kid.

So, all in all, as soon as I hear they’re here in the Underworld, I down the rest of my drink and walk outside.

I then make my way towards my future mother-in-law’s apartment and knock on the door. This should be a great way to start. Even if Emma isn’t here right now, Mary Margret will help me out. She always seemed to love me.

A second after that thought leaves my brain, she opens the door.

“Neal?” She says cheery with a smile on her face. She hugs me and lets me walk inside.

In the living room, I spot Emma and her father.

Where is my son? Does Emma seriously still let him walk around with that witch? That’s something we’ll have to change once we’re back in Storybrooke. He’ll be lucky to have me. I’m apparently the only responsible parent he has.

“It’s nice to see you again, Neal. How are you?” Mary Margret says, while closing the door behind me.

“You, too. I’m fine now, that you’re here to rescue me.” I say with a grin. Now, they’ll probably feel too guilty for leaving me behind, which guarantees my ticket back. I’m so smart.

Emma’s jaw hits the floor then, before it closes and opens repeatedly. She’s obviously at a loss for words. I knew she’d be happy to see me.

I walk to her and lean in to kiss her, but long before our lips can reunite, she pushes me away with force. I open me eyes and see, that she’s glaring at me. She crosses her arms over her chest and steps even further away from me.

What the hell?!

How dare she?!

“Look, Neal. This shouldn’t be a surprise to you, but I’m not actually here to save you. I’m sorry. I’m here for Killian.” She says coldly. At the last part, her face lights up a little.

Disgusting.

How can she seriously think, that that guy is better than me? He can’t even hold her right with that missing hand of his. I don’t even want to guess how often he injures her with that gross hook on a daily basis. He’s not even half the man I am.

“Well just because you came here for him, doesn’t mean you have to save his dirty ass. You can rescue me instead!” I tell her.

Emma sighs. Is she annoyed?

How dare she?! I’m only telling her the truth.

“I love you, Ems.” I say. I take a step towards her and take her hand, but she pulls her hand away and steps away again.

“I love you, too. But I’m not in love with you. And that will never change. I’m in love with Killian.” She yells.

“Just give us a chance Emma. You might think you love him, but I know you don’t. He’s not me and that’ll always bother you.”

She rolls her eyes. That pirate really did a number on my sweet innocent Emma. He must have drugged her or something. But I’ll fix that. I’ll make her see the truth.

“How many times do I have to tell you, that I’m not saving you. I can’t. I only have one half of my heart to offer and that is reserved for Killian – the man that I truly love. So, we can’t actually save you. There’s just no way, okay?” she says.

But wait, if I only need half a heart, I could just take a bit of Harry’s heart, right? Then, I’m back in Storybrooke and sooner or later, I’ll win Emma. She’ll realize what’s good for her one day, after all. She’s not that dumb.

Emma hold up a hand. “And don’t even think about splitting Henry’s heart. I won’t risk his life to bring you back!”

See? We’re soulmates. She gets me.

And who is Henry? I could’ve sworn my son’s name was Harry. Henry is just far too boring. We’ll have to change that once we’re home.

“If you’re so concerned about Henry, then you should always put him first. He’d rather want me back in his life than that dirty, violent pirate with a drinking problem. Get over your midlife crisis – or whatever that thing with Hook is supposed to be – and put your family first! I’m the father of your child for god’s sake.”

Emma glares at me once more and at that something in her seems to snap. She gets all red and begins to really yell at me.

“Well, so is Killian. He is my family. And he’s going to be a better father than you could ever hope to be.”

What the fuck?! She seriously was dumb enough to get pregnant from that pirate.

Her judgment is already off enough for fucking that repulsive guy at all, but without protection? No, my Emma would be smarter than that. He really ruined her completely.

If I would still take her back now, then I’d be a saint. Who knows how many STDs she has, besides from the parasite in her stomach?

Disgusting. Just disgusting.

I think I’m going to be sick.

I faintly hear a voice from the background, then, but I don’t really register much.

“I’m going to be a father, Swan?”

Is that the stupid pirate? I’m going to kill him for taking away and ruining my Emma. Now all that work I did to fix her, is totally wasted. He’s going to pay for that!

I will go to Storybrooke and not him!

I deserve that after all that trauma!

Chapter Text

~~~ EMMA’S POV ~~~

Neal is even ruder than I remembered. How did my 16-year-old self ever love him? Oh, well it’s probably because of the fact, that I didn’t necessarily knew what love was. I never had anyone who loved me until then.

He was the first person to ever show me real kindness – until he didn’t and send me to jail for his crime. That scarred me for such a long time and it’s his fault. I was never to blame for any of it.

After he died, I finally accepted that I’m not unfixable. Him leaving me just like that wasn’t my fault. I’m not incapable of being loved.

Once I realized that, I was able to trust Killian with my heart and I must say that was the best decision I ever made. He truly loves me, and I know that he’ll never hurt me – not intentionally.

And now Neal has the audacity to tell me I should save him instead – save the person who shattered my heart into a million pieces and made me second guess every other person, who showed even the slightest bit of kindness towards me, instead of the person I truly love?

He thinks he deserves this just because he’s Henry’s father.

I think not!

Also, I don’t think he actually deserves to call himself Henry’s dad. He didn’t ask once for his well being since he stepped into the apartment. There’s more to being a dad than knocking up the child’s mother. Something Neal clearly never understood.

It’s different with Killian. He loves hanging out with Henry and I think he’s also a great role model for him. Henry doesn’t need the jerk, who let both of us rot in jail.

So, no, I won’t save Neal. I never even considered it for a second.

To be completely honest, I hoped that he wasn’t here in the first place. I never wanted to see him again. But sadly, now I have.

My hate for him right now just grows and grows the more I think, so in the end I can’t help but snap at him. “Well, so is Killian. He is my family. And he’s going to be a greater father than you could ever hope to be.”

I never planned to tell my parents this way or to tell anyone before I told Killian. I’m not even a hundred percent sure, that I’m pregnant. All evidence points to it, but I just wasn’t emotionally able to take a test yet. Too scared of the truth after losing Killian.

But I just couldn’t help saying this.

I’m not sure whether I said it because I just needed to tell someone – it has been driving me insane ever since I figured it out the day Killian told me he used to love me on his ship – or because I just wanted to rub it into Neal’s face that I moved on and couldn’t be happier.

Neal’s facial expression does almost make it worth it, that others knew before Killian. He seems totally disgusted, which is how I’ve been feeling about him since he entered the room and opened his mouth.

Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?

Little did I know, that I did tell Killian first though. I know this when I hear his voice saying, “I’m going to be a father, Swan?”

He sounds totally soft and I couldn’t be happier.

I turn into his direction. He’s standing in the doorway with Henry in his shadow. His eyes shine like diamonds and so does his smile. But there’s also a lot of blood, which seems to be his. He has lots of wounds. My poor pirate. I better heal him.

I nod softly, not being able to form words. Seeing him again is the most amazing feeling in the world. But knowing he’s hurt makes me very sad. It reminds me of killing him. He’s going through this because I did that to him.

He quickly walks towards me and hugs me softly, wincing a little from the pain. I pull away and use my magic to heal him.

“Thanks, Swan.” He smiles and goes back in for another hug. This time it’s tight He’s soon lifting me up into the air as I giggle into his neck. Tears begin to stream down my face. I’m just so happy to be back in his arms and also about the fact that he seems happy about our baby.

He sets me down again and kisses me quickly.

Then Henry walks over to us and cuddles himself between us, embracing us tight. “That’s great, mom. I’m so happy for you two.”

Should I tell them, that I haven’t exactly taken a test, yet? Probably.

I sigh.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure. I mean…all signs point to it, but I haven’t taken a test yet, so it might not be the case. I might be wrong…” I let my voice trail off, realizing for the first time how unhappy that would make me.

I actually want this a lot. I want a future with Killian. A future that includes a mini version of us running around.

Then, suddenly, I hear my mother’s voice. She stands in front of a kitchen drawer. “I was wondering why these are here. Must be for you.” She shrugs.

I walk over to her and notice how my dad is tightly grabbing the kitchen surface. I see he’s taking the news well. I put my hand on his and smile lightly, before going to mom and looking into the drawer.

Holy shit!

There must be at least fifty pregnancy tests in there. What the hell?!

The Underworld really does know all of our secrets, doesn’t it?

Well anyway, I grab three tests and walk back to Killian. I take his hand, while balancing the three boxes weirdly between my arm and stomach.

I drag him with me to the bathroom and close the door behind us.

I unpack the boxes and put them on the edge of the bathtub.

“So, these weird sticks are going to tell us, whether you’re with child?” Killian raises his eyebrow, while inspecting them critically.

“Exactly.” I say. I kiss his cheek lightly. “You pee on them and then they will display the results.”

I pull down my pants and panties to my knees and sit on the toilet. Killian gives me the sticks. I pee on them.

This is once again something I never imagined I’d be comfortable with – peeing when someone else is in the room. But with Killian, I honestly don’t care.

Once I’m done, I set the timer on my phone.

Then, Killian and I sit on the edge of the bathtub. I lean my head on his shoulder. He puts his arms tightly around me.

The tension is unbearable. We are just so anxious to know. So, I decide to break the silence to get both our minds off things.

“How did you get here? You were hurt, so how did you escape Hades?” I ask.

“Your lad found me. He got back his author’s pen and then he instantly went to my location.” He answers. He can probably see my worried glace for Henry running into danger. “Henry’s fine, love. Don’t worry. And I might have told him not to do that again, too, running into danger that is. He said, that he only did it because he was scared Hades might notice and move me, before you were able to save me. He won’t do it again, Swan.”

I breathe out in relief right as the timer goes off. Has it really been that long? Wow.

I grab the tests and look at Killian. “Together?”

He nods and we both look down on three, finding all three tests positive.

The tests crash to the floor as I throw my arms around Killian. I kiss him passionately as if both our lives depend on it. And for a moment all our problems are forgotten. For a moment everything is perfect.