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“What shall we do today, little love?” Killian murmured into his daughter’s hair. His fingers gently tickled her sides and smiled when she let out a peal of laughter. He couldn’t help but love these mornings...when it was just him and his little pearl cuddled up together in bed.
“Mama!” the girl giggled, clapping her hands together. Her wavy blond hair swung back and forth as she moved her head.
“I’m not Mama,” Killian said, scowling deeply for his daughter. Her giggles intensified at his face and even he couldn’t keep the smile back for long.
“Mama!” Hope repeated brightly. Killian scowled again and Hope fell back with laughter.
“I’m not Mama,” he growled, no menace actually behind it. This was a game he was fairly well used to with his daughter. Besides, it was hard to be menacing when a toddler was shrieking with glee at you.
Hope sat up once her giggles had subsided, her blue eyes sparkling with mirth and mischief.
“Mama!” she repeated.
This time, a pair of hands plucked Hope up from the bed and a new laugh joined them. Emma leaned over Hope to kiss Killian sweetly on the lips before peppering Hope’s face with kisses. She sat back down in the bed beside them and grinned up at Killian.
His wife was the only thing that made these mornings even better. Hope seemed to agree as she linked her arms around her mother’s neck gently.
“So, have you decided what we’re gonna do today?” Emma asked.
“No, not yet,” Killian hummed softly. “Our little lass decided that she would be a trouble maker first thing in the morning.”
“Our Hope?” Emma gasped, making a silly face so Hope would laugh. “Never.” Hope nuzzled closer and Emma smiled, kissing the top of her head. “So what are we gonna do today?”
“Ee-bee!” Hope exclaimed excitedly.
“No, we are not watching tv all day,” Killian laughed.
Hope frowned as if in thought. She almost seemed to be thinking: well if we can’t watch television, what can we do?
Both Emma and Killian looked at each other, smiling softly.
“Fishy?” Hope asked brightly, gently tapping Emma’s hand to try and get her attention.
“Fishy?” Killian asked curiously. “Like the harbor?”
“Fishy!” Hope repeated. She looked up at her mother. “Mama! Mama! Fishy!”
“Fishy...” Emma repeated quietly, brows furrowed in thought. Then her eyes brightened--just like Hope’s had--and she exclaimed, “Oh! The aquarium!” Smiling down at her daughter, she added teasingly, “We were just there, are you sure you want to go again?”
“Fishy!” Hope insisted.
“Yeah you’re definitely your father’s daughter,” Emma murmured affectionately. “Okay, Cygnet. We can go to the aquarium and see the fishies.”
“Ah!” Hope added, tapping her cheek.
“And the otters too?” Emma asked, kissing Hope’s palm. “Well that sounds like a lot for one day, we should ask Papa if he’s up for it.”
“Papa?” Hope asked, turning her bright blue eyes to him. As if he could ever deny her anything.
“What’s an aquarium?” Killian asked slowly. He’d never heard of it before. Where once he’d be bothered by these things, he wasn’t so much anymore. However, it still surprised him that he had been living in Storybrooke as long as he had and hadn’t heard of or been to an aquarium.
“Fishy! Papa! Fishy!” Hope repeated, as if it would be all the explanation in the world.
“An aquarium is like...like a really big fish tank,” Emma explained. “One of Regina’s new initiatives for the United Realms was to like...open a conversation space for injured wildlife across all realms, which is how we got the zoo, and then I guess Henry said--”
“Ry?” Hope interrupted her mother. “Ry, Mama?”
“Yes, little love, we can ask Henry to come,” Killian soothed. “But only if you listen carefully to Mama.” He tapped his ear and put his finger to his lips. Hope copied this gesture with the utmost seriousness and Emma couldn’t refrain from pressing a kiss to the top of Hope’s head. “Continue, love,” Killian said warmly, kissing the tip of Emma’s nose.
Emma blushed a little bit--and to be honest, in warmed Killian to see that he could still make his wife blush after knowing each other for so long--and smiled up at him. “So...I guess Henry said that it might be more helpful and create more jobs if you had like...a zoo and aquarium conversation thing. I’m not really sure where the line blends because like...the zoo has penguins, and the aquarium has like, a desert exhibit?’
“Fishy, Papa!” Hope added, reaching out to tap his hand to make sure he understood.
“And of course, they have fish,” Emma laughed, her giggles only increasing when Killian made a face. “Don’t like fish, do you, pirate?”
“Fish are fine, but the smell is another,” Killian groused.
“The fish are on the inside of the tanks. No smell,” Emma explained, reaching out to tuck some hair behind his ear. There was still a hint of a giggle to her words and he couldn’t help but lean over to kiss her and try to capture this moment.
“Kissy me!” Hope exclaimed. “Kissy me!”
Emma and Killian exchanged a grin before peppering their daughter’s face with kisses, laughing as she laughed.
--
An hour and one tantrum about not being able to bring a chair into the car (he was sure he would never understand toddler logic as long as he lived), they strolled into the aquarium entrance. It seemed like an ordinary building, and he was automatically disappointed that he couldn’t see fish right away.
“Let me get the tickets, and can you just have her like...make a turtle or something while we wait?” Emma asked, kissing his cheek. “Thanks, babe.”
“Make a turtle?” Killian asked confusedly, looking around. It was then he spotted a series of benches with screens on them. A family was sitting by the screen, putting colors on a digital turtle. When they pressed a button, the turtle appeared on a larger screen.
Killian carried Hope over to the screen and sat down on the bench with her on one knee. Hope stared at the screen confusedly before looking around. She watched another kid for a minute and then began pressing buttons. She let out a cry of delight when she would add colors.
“Aye, that’s right, you smart lass,” Killian praised.
He tried to add colors himself, but Hope gave him a very stern, “I do.” So he let her continue on with her work. She finally slid off, deciding that she had to be closer to the screen in order to make better art.
Again, toddler logic.
He was so engrossed by the process, however, that he was nearly thrown off balance when Emma sat on his other knee. “Oof!”
“Getting too old for this?” Emma teased, resettling her weight. She leaned over to kiss him and he quickly pecked her back.
“Hardly, love,” he explained. “I was just so captivated by our little lass’s artwork…” Emma rest her head on top of Killian’s, just watching their daughter for a moment. His arm curved around Emma and held her there for a moment. “She’s really something, isn’t she?” he whispered.
“Yeah,” Emma whispered, her hand sliding to its usual perch over his heart. She gently nudged his head with her own and added, “She must get that from her Papa.”
“I’m not sure, I bet her Mama had something to do with it,” Killian hummed, bringing his wife’s hand to his lips so he could kiss it. “That’s probably why she has such an incredible brother.”
“We forgot to call Henry,” Emma groaned, burying her face in his scalp. “Ugh, let me do that now.” She opened her phone and clicked on Henry’s picture in her contacts, and Killian’s heart clenched a little bit at his contact photo. It was a picture of Henry, fully grown, helping Hope take her first steps.
Emma put the phone up to her ear.
“Hello?” Henry’s voice was loud and clear. “Mom? What’s up?”
“Hey, kid,” Emma said, putting it on speaker. “I’m here with Killian and Hope.”
“Hello, m’boy,” Killian greeted.
“Ry!” Hope immediately stopped what she was doing and turned around. She looked around for a minute and frowned when she didn’t see him. “Ry?”
“I’m right here, squirt,” Henry soothed, and Hope toddled closer to the phone. “What are you guys up to today?”
“We’re at the aquarium,” Emma explained. “We were hoping you had some free time…”
“I wish I could,” Henry said sincerely. “Lucy’s got like a...United Realms cultural thing at school later today since it’s their first day back from winter break. I’m trying to make lasagna.” He paused for a minute and then added sheepishly, “It’s not going well…”
Killian and Emma exchanged a worried look, and quickly Killian asked, “Do you need us to come and rescue your dish?”
“No, no,” Henry chuckled. “Ella has Tiana on speed-dial for this exact reason.”
“I’d trust the actual chef in the kitchen,” Emma answered, an easygoing smile on her face. “Well, it sounds like your morning and afternoon are swamped. But you could meet us at Granny’s for dinner?”
“Ry?” Hope piped up sadly. “No fishy?”
“No fishy for me today, squirt,” Henry said sadly. “But I’ll see you later. We’re going to have dinner at Granny’s. Is that okay?”
Hope put her finger on her chin and pursed her lips in thought for a minute. Killian very discreetly took a picture of her to send to Henry later.
“Otay,” she told Henry. “My ry?”
“Yeah, squirt,” Henry promised. “I’m your brother and no one else’s. I’ll see you at dinner.” The smoke alarm began blaring in the background. “I gotta go! Love you!”
“Love you!” Emma was able to get in quickly before the line went dead. She looked at her husband one more time, trying to figure out if it was worth going over to Henry’s to help him out or not.
“He’s fine,” Killian soothed, gently squeezing Emma’s hand. He gently extracted his hand from Emma’s to cup Hope’s face. “Now, I was promised some fishies, was I not?” he asked his daughter, gently wiping away a few tears that rolled down her cheek.
Killian scooped Hope up into his arms and stood up. “C’mon, little love,” he murmured into her hair. “Let’s go.”
The first thing in the aquarium was a touch tank. There were small rays flapping about in the tank as people gently stroked the top of their bodies. Killian’s eyes widened. “Can they just do that?” he asked, a little bit of excitement entering his voice.
“Yeah, babe,” Emma chuckled. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have it. Go on, let’s go pet the baby rays.”
“What kind of rays are they?” he asked, his eagerness only growing. Hope’s head perked up when she heard the splashing.
“I’m not a ray expert, but why don’t you go check it out?” Emma encouraged. “Hope, baby, show Papa how to pet these fishies.”
“Down, Papa,” Hope requested gently. Killian put her down and Hope immediately slipped her hand into his, guiding him to the touch tank. She gently laid his hand on the top of the water and then put hers beside it. When a ray came closer she submerged her hand a little-- “Gentle, Cygnet,” Emma encouraged from beside her--to pet its top and making sure to avoid the stinger.
“It’s so smooth,” Killian replied breathlessly, his eyes wide as he looked to his wife. “When we would sail foreign waters, we saw rays that were wider than the Jolly herself, and far larger than any man. I’d always wanted to pet them, but the ship was too far up and they didn’t care for shallow waters. But this world’s ones are so small...they’re wonderful.”
Emma couldn’t help but smile at Killian’s glee. Watching her husband live out a lifelong dream--something that was mundane to her and she’d done a few times with Henry in New York--was something that she was privileged to get to see.
She kissed his cheek and added, “You know, there’s still a whole aquarium. We get to see.”
“Fishy!” Hope exclaimed, starting to race off.
“Ah ah ah!” Emma called after her. “We have to wash our hands first.”
--
“I’m surprised at how many children there are here, given that all should be back in school around Storybrooke,” Killian noted, watching Hope tumble around the play area with some strange children.
“Well, I guess when they’re too little for school, this is what you do with ‘em,” Emma replied, resting her head on Killian’s shoulder. “After all, we can’t just watch ‘ee-bee’ all day.” She threaded her fingers with Killian’s and squeezed his hand gently. “Do you think it’s bad that one of the words Hope knows so young is TV?”
“Well, to be fair, we do watch a lot of television,” Killian hummed. “But she knows other words. Like Mama and Papa and--”
“Jolly!” Hope bellowed, pointing at something further down the way. “Papa! Jolly!”
Killian looked up and saw the model of a ship in a glass case. “Do you want to see the ship, my dear?”
Hope nodded brightly and raced down the way with him. He lifted her up again and cradled her to his chest closely as they looked at the ship. “Aye, you love the Jolly, don’t you, my lass?” he murmured, kissing her head.
“Jolly!” Hope said seriously. All ships were the Jolly to her, that much Killian knew.
“Aye, love, that’s a nice ship, isn’t it?” Killian hummed, kissing her temple softly.
In the reflection of the glass, he could see Emma taking a picture of the two of them. Still, he did not pose much but rather rest his cheek on top of Hope’s head and closed his eyes for the briefest of movements.
When he opened them again, he set Hope down. “Do you want to go see more of the fishies, lass?” he asked gently, holding her little hand in his one.
“Fishy!” Hope said excitedly. Then, as if she realized something exciting, she added, “Ah!”
“Ah?” Killian asked.
“Oh, wait until you see this,” Emma said eagerly, wrapping her hand gently around Killian’s prosthetic. “Let’s go.” The three of them walked down to the otter enclosure, where two or three otters were swimming around.
Hope immediately chased them with a squeal of delight, which only intensified when the otters swam after her when she ran in the other direction.
“She did this for hours the other day,” Emma laughed. “Just running after the otters and letting them swim after her.”
“Oh...ah,” he realized himself, guessing that the only part of ‘otter’ she retained was the first syllable. It was fascinating, watching a whole person learn the intricacies of a language, and it was something he was eager to learn more and more of every day.
But still, he found himself entranced by the little furry creatures and saw why Hope was so entranced by them. There were toys in the enclosure as well and some of the otters were gathered together and playing.
He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.
And that caused Emma to smile too.
--
The last thing that Emma and Hope so desperately wanted to show him was something called a jellyfish tank. While he was familiar with the creatures, he still excited to see how they existed in this world. He had seen all sorts of magical creatures--which were in the aquarium as well--but none were as entrancing as the ones he’d never seen before.
Moreover, they were exciting to his daughter and wasn’t that what it was all about?
“I’m glad that Regina decided to do this,” Emma murmured as Hope all but ran from exhibit to exhibit. “And not because she’ll tire herself out and sleep through the night. I’ve...it’s nice to see you learning new things. She looks just like you when her eyes light up.”
“Does she now?” Killian asked. “There are so many things that I see about her that are the same of you. She’s assertive and vivacious and wonderful…”
Emma stopped him in front of jellyfish tank.
At first, all he saw were the white blobs, but then he gasped when the lights of the tank changed colors, the jellyfish did too. Emma took advantage of this moment to kiss him sweetly, squeezing his hands tightly.
“I love you, Killian,” Emma whispered softly against his lips.
“I love you too, Emma,” Killian responded against hers.