The Monster Within

Chapter 2

Both Emma and Killian are woken up by the sound of knocking at the front door. The two blink sleep out of their eyes and look at one another. Both are stiff from sleeping against the wall and one another.

"I've got it!" Henry's voice drifts from the front room.

Emma's heart begins to pound loudly, this was like déjà vu, except the baby is not around yet.

"Henry Wait," Emma says scrambling up and going towards her son.

"What Mom? It's just Mary Margret and David," he says opening the door.

Sure enough, the couple with their baby in a carrier, stand with what looks like supplies in their hands. Mary Margret has a big grin on her face and David has more of a forced smile.

"Good morning," she chirps happily, walking right in. "How are we this morning?"

Emma frowns and stretches her back before heading into the kitchen.

"David and I thought we'd stop by and make a nice breakfast for everyone. After all, it is Saturday and you had nothing else going on, right?"

Killian bites his lip and gets up from the floor. "Aye, I suppose not."

David gives an apologetic look before bringing the supplies and their son into the apartment. Emma forces a smile before offering to help with the arm full of groceries.

"No, no, Emma, you take it easy and get to know Jacob better. David and I have this," the teacher insists.

David gives Emma the baby bucket, in which Jacob is gurgling and looking around. It shouldn't be too interesting to the three-month-old after all this apartment basically became his second home while she was missing.

Emma can't really say anything before Mary Margret becomes busy in her kitchen, David following behind.

Emma brings the baby boy over to the couch and places him there. She gazes into his blue eyes, David's eyes. He wears a little hat with sheep on it and is dressed in a gray snowsuit. She stares down at the rosy-cheeked baby before attempting to unbuckle him. Her fingers fumble with the buttons and she winces slightly considering her hands are still healing. Jacob looks at her intently, as if he expects her to know what to do. She continues to struggle until Henry looks up from his phone.

"Here Mom," he says. He was used to helping care for Jacob when the Nolans were living in the apartment. He undoes the straps and then Emma slowly lifts him out of the bucket. His head wobbles slightly but his blue eyes continue to take in Emma's appearance. She then removes the snowsuit and hat, revealing a patch of dark hair that matched his mother's. He looked so much like his parents it was hard to deny.

Jacob reaches his tiny fists out, throwing them up and down as if he were waving at her. Emma swallows hard and then tries to cradle him. It's rather awkward and those involved both show signs of discomfort. It had been a long time since she'd done this and was especially uneasy.

Again, Henry comes to her rescue and helps her position Jacob in her arms. Once he's more comfortable, Jacob smiles up at Emma and coos contently. Henry reaches down and grabs one of the baby's many toys. This one is a colourful teething rattle. He hands it to his mom and she shakes it. Jacob lets out happy noises and flaps his arms up and down in excitement. Emma shakes it faster and he gurgles with delight. The happy, toothless smile, along with the bright eyes and chubby cheeks allow Emma to smile a little too. Despite how long it's been since she'd handled a baby, he was safe and happy, that's what was important.

Meanwhile, as Mary Margret mixes batter for blueberry pancakes, David brews some coffee and hands a cup to Killian. Both men sit and watch the interaction between Emma and Jacob. Killian's heart swells a little bit, happy to see a smile on his beloved's face, but at the same time, his stomach turns. Like Emma, he was out of practice with babies, but unlike Emma, he'd never raised a child at all. Henry was an amazing kid and both parents did a good job with him, but the docks man was a different story. He never really had a mother and his father abandoned him and Liam at the first chance he got. Killian knows he would be a poor excuse for a father at all to the daughter they are expecting. He knew that one day he'd want to be a father, he thought about it with Milah at one point, but now, it was with Emma. She was such a perfect woman and he did want to spend his life with her. It's just that the baby and family is happening awfully fast. He'd always assumed they should get married first, but things happened and now they are here. Plus, Henry was another factor to consider. He was a teenage boy and already had a father. The last thing Emma needed was her son becoming angry or running away because the docks man is trying to replace his real father. Of course, Neal did leave them and did not consider himself "father material." But Killian wanted to be ready, he wanted to be better than his father, Gold, and Neal. How could he do that without losing Emma, Henry, and their daughter?