And They All Lived, Happily Ever After

Mario Kart

It has now been a couple of days since Christmas Day, and everything is starting to slowly wind down before the new year, Henry had come round with Lucy, for a post-Christmas visit as well as a small family dinner (that she is slightly grateful that her parents haven't turned up).

"Hey, mom," Henry speaks up, as Lucy runs over to the little bouncing chair that Emma's parents had gotten for Hope before she was born. There were little 'mythical' creatures hanging over her: unicorns, mermaid (much to Killian's upset), the Disney version of Tinkerbell, a pegasus and a gryphon (much to Emma's joy). "Up for a game?" Holding the plastic box of Mario Kart before him.

"Bring it on, kid," Emma smiles, rubbing her hands together and cracking her knuckles, ready to take on her son in a game of 4 (what Henry knows to be the Nitro tracks).

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As it was Henry's turn to pick the track, he picked the special cup (which consists of; Dry Dry Ruins, Moonview Highway, Bowser's Castle, and the dreaded Rainbow Road).

However, Emma had forgotten that the hardest track ever to have been created for Mario Kart was coming up next...

"NO! I hate this one, and you know it, kid!" Emma exclaimed, scowling at her son, who started laughing like mad. With Emma in third, and Henry a few paces back in sixth, it was all to play for in the final track - that was really going to test Emma's patience.

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With Emma continuing to grumble over Rainbow Road and basically falling off at every corner. With every time that Emma's little, animated cart fell off the side, she'd let out a small screech of frustration (similar to the screech of joy that Hope would make), and Killian could tell that Emma was holding a very long string of curse words that would have made the crew of the Jolly Roger blush.

He was gently cradling Hope in his hooked arm (with the pink pacifier on the end because even though he has had his hook for a couple of centuries, he didn't ever want to hurt or injure his tiny little cygnet, that looked up at him like he had put the stars in the sky), when she opened her eyes and let out a happy little gurgle.

"Hello, cygnet," Killian had started calling Hope 'cygnet' when Emma had first told him about the little baby that was growing inside of her. Hope reaches up and grabbed Killian's nose before batting at his stubble. Killian had read that Hope was learning more about her surroundings and she absolutely adored anything to do with her daddy.

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With the end of the Rainbow Road, Emma ended up rock bottom of the track, and even though she was in the top 3 with the first three tracks - Emma ended up rocking up in ninth place.

However, Henry has been playing the game for as long as he can remember (well, once Emma was back in his life, she introduced him to the wonder that is video games), so he could easily beat Emma in any kind of video game.

With a roll of her eyes, she walked over to the kitchen and checked on the final things for their dinner between Christmas and the New Year. "Killian, can you give me some help?" Emma called, knowing that the phrase 'give me a hand' is a very touchy subject. Even after it has been many centuries since he lost his hand, he still feels insecure because he can't hold his wife or his little babe, with two hands.

"Aye, love," Killian replied, looking down at his step-son, who he sees more like his own son as the days and years go by. "Henry, keep an eye on your little sister?" Once Henry had nodded with enthusiasm, Hope was gently transferred from her daddy's arms to her big brother's.

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With Killian's help (mainly by using his hook to hold the oven door), Emma had managed to serve up the rest of the food. Lucy was like a magnet for food, Henry could easily vouch for it, he would be just about to call her for their meal, and she'd basically pop out of thin air.

When Emma turned around from the food to call her son, and her granddaughter (still weird to think about), there she was. "God, Lucy, don't make me jump like that!" She exclaimed, reaching over as Henry handed Hope over for her feeding. This was when Emma was grateful for the rare times she bottle-fed Hope.

"Sorry, grandma," Lucy said, as Henry handed a plate down to her and helped her get her dinner.

"Still won't be used to it..." Emma said, grabbing Hope's bottle, to feed her gorgeous little baby girl, only for it to be taken from her hand by Killian. "Killian, what are you doing?" She asked, looking confused at her husband.

Killian rested the bottle under his chin, as he gently took Hope from Emma and rested her in his warm and comforting embrace. "Swan, you've slaved over this, it's only fair that you get to eat it while it's still warm, I don't mind if what I will eat will go cold,"

Emma could already feel her softened and warm heart melt that little bit more, ever since she met Killian, he had been breaking her walls down and embedding himself into her life - to the point where she knew she would never be able to live without him. "Killian," Emma sighed, grabbing both sides of his face, smooshing a kiss onto his lips and his face. "I love you," she whispered to only him, smiling up at him with her big green eyes.

"And I you, my love," Killian smiled, pressing a kiss to her cheek and giving her a nudge to get some food. Taking his seat and started feeding Hope her bottle.

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Completed: 01/01/2019