Missing Moments

Midnight Cravings

Emma was now twelve weeks pregnant. Recently, she had started craving the strangest things.

One night, Emma woke up to go to the bathroom. On her way back to bed she had the strangest desire for ice cream and pickles. She made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She opened the freezer, but there was no ice cream. She was sure there had been some earlier. Emma slammed the freezer in frustration before opening the refrigerator to search for pickles, but they didn't have those either.

Emma must have been making quite a bit of noise because her husband came downstairs.

"Emma? What are you doing awake?" He asked tiredly.

"I'm hungry. But I can't find anything to eat." Emma complained.

Killian frowned. They had just gone grocery shopping the day before. But when he told Emma this, she got defensive.

"But we don't have ice cream or pickles, and that's what I want."

"Ice cream and pickles?" Killian spluttered.

Emma shot her husband a death glare. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No...of course not. It's just...well....ice cream and pickles?"

Emma looked close to tears and Killian immediately felt bad.

"I thought we had ice cream. We just bought some." Emma said.

Killian thought about telling Emma that they did have ice cream, but that she had finished it off just before bed that night. But he quickly decided that this wasn't the best idea.

"We can get more ice cream tomorrow, love." Killian suggested.

"Tomorrow? You think I can wait until tomorrow?"

Killian was confused. He wasn't sure what Emma wanted him to do at this time. But when he said this, Emma started crying and he felt like the worst husband.

"Or, I can run to the store and get some now." Killian offered.

So that was how he found himself at the store at 12:30 in the morning, searching for pickles and ice cream.

Killian had just grabbed the biggest carton of rocky road when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Killian?"

Killian turned around to see his father in law staring at him with a mix of confusion and amusement on his face.

"What are you doing at the store at.." he checked his watch. "12:30 in the morning."

"I'm buying ice cream, what does it look like I'm doing?" Killian snapped. He hadn't meant to be so harsh and he immediately regretted it.
"Look, I didn't mean to snap." Killian apologized.

David just laughed. "Let me guess. Emma wanted ice cream."

"Aye." Killian said. "That and pickles."

David raised an eyebrow. "Ice cream and pickles?"

"I asked her the same thing." Killian said.

David winced. "You didn't. I'm guessing she didn't take that very well?"

"No, she didn't."

David nodded. "Just a bit of advice. Never question the cravings. Just go with it."

Killian snorted. "Thanks, I've gathered that much. I could have used that advice beforehand."

David looked at his son in law sympathetically. "Snow had some strange cravings too."

They were silent for a moment before Killian spoke. "So, what are you doing here at 12:30 in the morning? Unless, there's something you aren't telling us."

David blanched. "What? No! She's not...no. Neal is sick. We ran out of cold medicine. I tried the pharmacy, but they were closed."

Killian snorted. "Well, that's convenient."

"Tell me about it."

"Well, I should get going before Emma wonders where I am."

As Killian headed for the checkout, David grabbed his arm. "Don't forget the pickles." He winked.

"Oh, that's right. Thanks mate. You really saved me there."

Both men chuckled.

When Killian got home, Emma immediately asked what took him so long. She calmed down slightly when he told her that he ran into her father and that her brother was sick.

Emma ate half the carton of ice cream and several pickles before falling asleep on the couch. Not wanting to wake her, Killian gently picked her up and carried her to bed.