The Life We Left Behind

Let's make a baby!

With a song in his heart he opened the door to his home after his shift at the bar... their home. Somehow it still felt odd seeing it this way. But this elegant mansion was really where he now lived with his girlfriend, the mayor. And where they would hopefully soon live as a family. He... Captain Hook! He had to chuckle to himself. A part of him was almost embarrassed how soft he had become, even though... no, actually, not at all. He was just too happy, and he didn't care what others thought of him, nor did he care about his reputation. The only two people that mattered to him were his starfish and Regina, the fact that she trusted him and knew how much he loved her.

And since she had drunk the water from Lake Nostos on Christmas Day a week ago, he could feel the change inside her. She was smiling again. She had hope. Hope in a future. And she was definitely serious about her wish for them to make a baby. They had been working towards their goal very diligently every night, and he was hoping that this night would be no different either. After all, such an endeavor needed a lot of practice!

„Love? I'm home!", he yelled as he stepped inside from the cold, taking off his coat, scarf and shoes.

„Hey, honey! I'm in the living room."

He walked in, finding her seated on the couch, cozily wrapped in a blanket in front of the crackling fireplace. He couldn't help but smile broadly when his eyes met hers, he leaned over her to greet her with a long kiss, barely wanting to let go of her lips again. Even though they had been all over each other recently, he still couldn't get enough of her.

„What are you reading?", he asked pointing at the book she was holding as he sat down next to her, gently pulling her into his arms so she could rest her head against his chest.

„Oh... just something Snow gave me. I'm still debating with myself whether it's appropriate for my stepdaughter to give me a book like that, but I assume this classifies as ‚medical advice'? Guess that's what's to be expected to happen when my boyfriend goes around telling the entire town about my fertility issues and our most private hopes to expand our family", she raised a disapproving eyebrow, „Apparently no one here is able to keep a secret."

He sighed. „I'm sorry, love... you know that. But, I simply didn't see any other way. And, for what it's worth: if I hadn't we might not be here right now. We'd have never learned about Lake Nostos. And you... you might still be lost to me. Lost in sadness, darkness and despair."

„Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad!"

„That's what you think! I was... really worried about you."

„Well", she swallowed, „Thanks to your blabbermouth, that's now a thing of the past. I just really don't understand... why she wouldn't just tell me, you know? I mean, after all we've been through. Together. I could even argue that it was HER who drank that potion, as in, the dark and evil side of me."

Killian tucked her hair behind her ear and shook his head. „Don't think about it anymore, love. I know that's hard to do because... somehow she's you and you are her, but then you're not and... well it's still really confusing to me. But the only thing that matters now is", he smirked, „that our baby will be so much cuter and smarter than theirs."

Regina giggled and lay her forehead against his as he pointed at the book, changing the subject back again to their initial conversation. „So what do we have here", he read the title, „‚Let's make a baby – How to conceive your little miracle'?"

She nodded. „Yeah... it's a bit much, isn't it?"

„That, and", he put on his most seductive smile and teasingly let the tip of his hook rum along her thigh, „If you want to know how baby making works... I might be able to give you a lesson or two? I think it's safe to say that I'm kind of an expert in this delicate area."