You Could Have Stayed

Chapter 17

"Emma," Snow started but Emma shook her head.
  "I've made what I guess is peace with what happened to Cleo. Do I wish she hadn't died thanks to me, obviously but she's dead and now I have other things to focus all my attention on." She lifted up Liam and nuzzled his forehead with her nose. She did the same with Hope who continued to stare up at his with those big baby blues.
  "Can I hold one?" Henry asked quietly, he had been silently observing and trying to hold his tongue but he really really wanted to hold his baby brother or sister.
  "Of course you can Henry. Be careful of his head." Emma reminded him as he carefully pulled Liam into his arms as he squirmed.
  "Mom, I'm pretty sure I've held Uncle Neal more than you have." Henry raised his eyebrow and Emma didn't protest, it was true. "Hi Liam," Henry cooed as he gently bounced the baby in his arms. Emma smiled at her sons.
"Come on." Regina huffed, hands on her hips. David arched an eyebrow at her, her gaze flitted between the two charming and the jones'. "I want to hold one."
"What do you say Regina?" Emma prompted, throughly amused that the previously evil queen was afraid to ask to hold a baby.
"Emma." She deadpanned. Emma raised her eyebrows, this was good practice for when her new little ones could start talking back or lying about who ate the last cookie. "Emma can I please hold one of your children."
"Of course you can." Emma laughed lightly and handed over Hope. Regina beamed and made little faces while gently bouncing her.
Emma felt a pang, it was Regina who took care of Henry as a baby. She knew what to do, what did Emma know? How to save the day with her magic, sure but babies weren't very far up her alley.
"Mom! He opened his eyes!" Henry walked over quickly and tilted his arms to show the baby to his parents. Green eyes, he had her eyes.
"I guess we both got what we wanted." Killian said softly and smiled at his boy.
"We got the perfect combinations of both of us." Emma sighed and leaned back against his chest. She didn't realize she'd done it and Killian was going to enjoy it as long as it lasted.
"I don't mean to interrupt but," Whale interrupted, "I just wanted you to know that we plan to keep you overnight and you can stay an additional couple days if you don't feel up to leaving but after that we suggest you get back to your regular everyday life so you can adjust to add the children into it and get your body used to being lighter again."
"Thanks. I'll only stay the night. Apparently I've been here far longer than I want to. What is the date anyway?" Emma didn't even know what time it was, not the day of the week or anything. She didn't realize how out of it she felt until she could relax.
"April 6th. It's a Wednesday." Whale answered distractedly, he was wiggling his finger curiously in front of Liam's eyes. "Infants are quite appealing to look at I suppose." He said simply and walked out of the room. It was always strange to hear the Dr Frankenstein side of him come to the surface as opposed to the self centered asshole of a small town doctor.
"Okay." Emma breathed. "I want him back. Regina, you can keep her for a couple more minutes."
Henry kept smiling brightly at his little brother as he set him back into his mom's arms. The baby sighed and looked up at his parents before he wiggled his way closer to Emma's chest and fell asleep.
  "She's down for the count too. And it's not my fault this time." Regina joked and Snow gave her a pointed look. Regina put Hope in Killian's arms before stepping back and wiping her hands on her pencil skirt. "I think we should go inform the town of the newest additions and make sure Grumpy hasn't killed Robin as well as Neal since you insisted we let him watch them."
  "I have complete faith in him." Snow said firmly but Charming was looking a bit pale as he quickly kissed his daughter and newest grandchildren on their foreheads and ushered everybody out of the room with him. Only Emma, Killian and the babies remained.
"They're letting the dwarf look after the child? We are never doing that." Killian said.
"Well that's not really your decision to make." Emma snapped and Killian's gave fell into an expression of guilt again. Emma felt bad, but only a little bit.
"You're right, love." He sighed and ran his hand through this hair.
"If you're gonna stand, hold her with two...hands please." Emma sighed.
Killian's face turned sheepish as he quickly but gently tucked his good arm back under Hope and distributed her weight. When he had gone to shower he had switched out the hook for the fake hand and that could hold her fine, but he did need to be careful.
"Hook can you please put both of them over there in their little trays so we can let them sleep?"
"As long as you don't call me that. Everybody else may but please not you Emma. You know I'm not that same pirate anymore." He cringed and pleaded. Emma glanced up at him as he came back to grab Liam.
"Okay." She said softly.