You Could Have Stayed

Chapter 3

Two weeks had passed since her pregnancy had been confirmed. She had her first ultrasound appointment tomorrow, they could find out the sex right away since she was far enough along. They were both sure they wanted to know, they didn't want any more surprises.
   They were laying in bed late at night, Killian and Emma each having a hand on her belly hoping to feel one of the rare movements of their baby.
  "Did you and Milah ever think about having kids?" Emma sighed and turned her head into Hook's neck.
  "Barely. She always said she would feel like she was betraying Baelfire but a few days before her...death, she started seriously considering it. Never got the chance to try though." He kept his eyes on the ceiling, she knew it was because he still felt pain talking about Milah. She was his first serious love and Emma knew that. She has briefly considered name the baby Milah if it was a girl but that would be too much for him and there were already enough children in this town named after dead people.
   "Neal and I considered it when we thought about Tallahassee after a few years. You know how that turned out." Emma's lips quirked up, smiling at her own questionable life choices. It gave her Henry, she didn't regret that. "I didn't want to have kids with Walsh, that much I knew. That was the only bad vibe I got from him before he turned into a flying monkey and tried to kill me."
  "I don't need to know about your conquests, love." Killian laughed but she could sense the underlying jealousy, she had been with both men while he loved her but couldn't have her.
  "Then there was Graham, you didn't know him but..." Emma trailed off and Killian grumbled before pulling away from her, only to brace himself on his elbows above her.
  "Truly Swan, we musn't talk about these things as you lay pregnant by me in the house we share as lovers and spouses." Even in the dark she could see his raised eyebrows and mischievous smile. A laugh bubbled out before she could stop it, he could say the strangest things sometimes.
  "Maybe you're right. Goodnight Killian, love you." She said casually and turned sideways so the whole right side of her body pressed against him but snuggled down into the comforter on the bed.
  He groaned, he thought they had something going there but clearly she would rather tease him. He brought his head down and kissed her temple before rolling over and pulling her against him. "I love you too Swan, more than anything."
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"You said you had a female nurse." Hook grumbled as he walked with Emma into the room with a hand on her back, a possessive gesture that he had been doing a lot more lately.
  "Well she did but she unfortunately called in sick today so I guess you're stuck with me." Whale winked at Emma and gestured to the bed she should sit on. "Lift your shirt."
  "Hey!" Killian straightened out from his chair and stood next to Emma.
  "Relax Killian, I have to do it for the ultrasound to work. He's going to put some stuff on my stomach and use the thing to bring up a picture of the baby. Nothing harmful and certainly nothing sexual." Emma assured him, an ultrasound was another thing nobody had taught him about.
  "I can make it sexual if you prefer." Whale winked at Hook this time as he pulled out the tube of goop and put some on Emma's stomach. "Alright, let's see here."
  There was nothing on the screen for a while, just smudges and smears of black and white and gray. Then the perfect profile of a baby appeared along with the steady sound of its heartbeat.
  "Wow." Emma breathed, she hadn't wanted to look or listen to Henry's ultrasounds because she was afraid she would get attached. But now she was free to stare and listen all she wanted to.
  Killian was also watching intently. How strange, he could see the baby but it was still inside Emma. It was a beautiful and precious thing and the sound he assumed was a heartbeat only made it better. Fantastic and strange.
   "What is that?" Emma reached over and pointed to an especially large smudge of white near the baby's feet.
  "Let me get a few pictures of the baby first for you folks. I'm sure it's nothing, these machines aren't exactly top of the line." He pressed a button a few times while slightly moving the thing on her stomach, getting some from different angles. "Okay there, now let's check that out."
  They waited silently as Dr. Whale maneuvered around, trying to find a good shot of whatever the other blob was. Suddenly another perfect profile popped up, facing the opposite direction of the other one. Twins. They were having twins.
  "Well, extra congrats then. You've got yourself twins." Dr Whale smiled but it fell when he saw Hook. Emma followed his gaze to see her husband pale and rigid, he looked like he was about to pass out.
  "Killian relax, it will be harder but we can manage it." Emma laughed nervously, his fingers had gone limp in her hand. "Killian?" He still hasn't moved, just stared at the screen, Whale had somehow zoomed out and now both tiny babies could be seen, facing each other.
  "Two?" He finally croaked. Emma laughed and nodded, happy he got over his initial shock.
  "I bet it's my dad's fault. He was a twin so he and his descendants are more likely to have them, I-" Emma stopped talking when Killian darted out the door.
  "What's wrong with him?" Dr. Whale asked, taking pictures again as a scared tear formed in Emma's eye. He was just panicked, that was all. He'd be back in a few minutes when he calmed down.
  "He is just really nervous. You said we can find out the genders today?"
  "Oh yeah." He squinted at the screen and zoomed back in to see one baby at a time, easier to check Emma guessed. "I'm almost positive you have yourself a boy here."
  A boy. She could have her own little Killian running around. Their own. Killian would come back in.
  "And a girl." Dr Whale smiled and Emma returned it. She had a feeling Killian would be excited about having his own little love.
   10 minutes later and Emma's belly was clean of goop and she had an envelope full of the ultrasound pictures. But no husband, he was MIA.