Hope

All Rights belong to Disney, ABC productions, and the directors! Enjoy this taste of Once Upon a Time fan-fiction.

Emma and Hook couldn’t digest what they just heard, that their daughter would go from being their child, to a savior, and as soon as they complete their first, priceless decade together, their little pirate would have to go and not return until her twenty-eighth birthday. Twenty eight. Emma remembered how old she was when she first returned to Storybrook, angry and hurt the first time she laid eyes on her parents, the memory always forcing her to become guilt-ridden. They were up all night, Emma crying, silently, on top of Hook while he planned a way to pluck the fairy’s wings, fed up with Tink and her random drop-offs of information. Sometimes what you need to hear isn’t exactly what you need to hear, and Hook was too happy to hear this terrifying truth…that his baby pirate would soon leave them.

“This can’t be true,” Hook whispered, trying his best to stay strong.

“Look, at least we get ten years with her. Let’s just go downstairs and see our parents, maybe they’ll have some idea. I know Regina will have an idea of what needs to happen.”

“What do you think we can do? If Neal has taught us anything when he was alive it’s that you cannot outrun fate.”

“We’ll find a way to keep her on her path to goodness. It’s the only way. Now come on, let’s go downstairs, I’m hungry…”

“You’re always hungry now,” Hook grinned. Emma smiled, pulled her husband close and kissed him, gently, for the longest minute, wrapping her tongue around his, sliding it up and down, making him moan. They stripped off both of their cloths and Emma began their ride by straddling her legs, hoisting herself on top of him, rubbed her clit against his groin, crying out, happily, his name as her legs began to crawl with anticipation, shaking as she got closer and closer, moaning and rotated her hips faster and faster until she finally climaxed, Hook cumming into her as well, panting, his lightly shaven face twinkling with beads of sweat, his eyebrows furrowed.

“My favorite way to wake up in the morning,” he pulled Emma close after she tied her hair up in a sloppy, high bun, kissing her enthusiastically, ecstatic after their bit of fun, still unable to believe that he was married to The Savior.

“I love you,” Emma whispered. “So much…it hurts me, sometimes, and I get panic attacks.”

“You mean, when I light a candle each time you wake up, it’s because-”

“I’m afraid to lose you. And now our little family’s gonna be separated and I just wanted to tell you…I love you.”

“You will never lose me, no matter what, in life and death, I will always find you, Emma Swan.”

*****

At the Dining Lounge, Snow had prepared orange slices, lemonade, homemade Banana bread she learned how to make from Jasmine, and bacon wrapped sausage drizzled with syrup, along with a large platter of chocolate muffins with a large pitcher of milk on the side. Henry, Lucy, and Ella loved to dip their muffins into the milk, it was their version of cinnamon on hot chocolate. Tink was sitting at the table, and the entire family had already been seated, including Lucy, who was trying to feed three year old Neal, who was complaining too loudly for Hook, who began scratching the inside of his ears with his index fingers. Snow tried to assuage his discomfort by feeding him some bacon bits, which he responded to positively, nibbling and chomping on the delight in front of him. Hook sat down beside Henry, who was laughing with Ella about something they were discussing that they found amusing and very relevant, their maids extremely enjoyable to converse with. For the longest time, Emma stood, tears wavering within her emerald-fog eyes, gripping Hook’s hand tightly, who kept his other arm wrapped around her shoulders, soothingly, both of them staring at their family, who were immersed in their conversations, all of them happy and clueless. “Emma?” Regina grinned, waving her hand” Are you okay, honey?”

“Yes,” Emma smiled, sniffling,” Come on, Killian, let’s eat.” She wasn’t hungry. She was filled with regret. Longing. Suffering from unanswered questions infiltrating her fragility, her sanity. Tink left too soon, too quickly, almost unfairly…almost. She had to remind herself that she was the delivery girl, not the cause of their anxiety.

“Our baby is a girl.” Hook and Emma waited for the applause to subside, and then announced the prophecy, unable to contain themselves, to share their horror, their worry, their fears…that their little pirate was in danger, and had a fatal quest that she must go on on her tenth birthday, her new fairy godmother? Tink, of all people. Lucy began to cry, just like Neal, who wanted more bacon. Henry and Ella began shouting out ideas, Regina discussed spells with Snow, David shouted that Tink was a blithering idiot, and then Hook silenced the entire table, frustratedly.

“There’s nothing we can do, all we can do is enjoy the time we’re going to have with our baby pirate.”

“We have until she’s ten years old,” Emma croaked. “And then she’s gone. She’ll return to us on her twenty eighth birthday.” “Emma,” Snow whispered. “She won’t forget you, she can’t forget your love.”