Missing Year

Spring

"Yes." She faced her daughter. " Hopey, you are a hero!"

"Girl."

"Somehow Hope knew someone was in the secret entrance was a pipe door. Henry helped Hope open the door and found the girl. She was a kidnapped girl from the foster system."

"Wow." She faced the toddler. "You are a hero just like your Mommy and Daddy." Hope smile with cake pop crumbs on her face. She kissed her daughter on the head.

"How is the baby?"

"I am feeling him move more."

"Him! You are having a baby boy?"

"Yes, I am. Hope is going to have a baby brother."

"Let me know when your baby sprinkle will be."

"I do not know. I never had a baby shower for Hope and not for Henry in prison."

"I can talk to Allison. We can have a small gathering to celebrate baby boy Jones."

She smiles, her friends want to throw her a baby shower, which she thinks it was a great idea. "Okay, a small party for the baby."

"Yay!" She clapped her hands. "I will start planning. Have you heard from your parents?"

"I spoke to my parents a few weeks ago. They are still under the curse. Regina is working on how to break their curse. I have not told them where we are for safety reasons."

"Is the town more dangerous?"

"From what they told me, Gideon tried to cause trouble to get me to return back but everyone has been working to defeat him. He has been quiet lately waiting for me."

"Are you going to go return back to fight him?"

She looked down at her daughter and her baby bump. "There is a part of me that I do not want to return back. I am happy living here. I can raise my children here safely. But I am the savior, I need to stop the villain from the town. I am torn. I do not want to die and have my babies to be without a Mom. I want to live."

"No matter what you choose to do, you will live, Emma."

Killian returns home finding Hope and Melody playing in the living room. "I did not know we were having company."

Emma waddles over from the kitchen area. "Hi, love." They kiss. He rubs her baby bump.

"How was work?"

"It was busy but it was easier to work in warmer weather than the winter."

"Dada!" Hope goes to her Daddy.

He holds his daughter on his hip. "Hi, little love."

"Hi, Killian."

"Hi, Ariel."

"Our daughters had so much fun today. Hope showed Melody all over Central Park."

He faced his daughter, "She did now?" Hope babbles. "You had fun in Central Park with Melody."

"The girls played on the jungle gyms, on the grass and swings."

"Mama. Pop."

"Yes, we went to Starbucks where you had a cake pop!"

"A cake pop!" He tickles his daughter making her laugh. He sets Hope down to play with Melody. "How is Boston?"

"It is going well. Eric has a job in the Boston Museum working as a tour guide in the marine exhibits. I work at the bookstore nearby. My boss lets me take Melody to work with me. Emma agrees to let me and Allison to throw her a baby sprinkle."