"How's my lovely little princess today," Killian asks as he walks into the kitchen.
Sophie lays in her infant seat on the kitchen island as her mother made breakfast. She seemingly gurgles, recognizing her father's voice and she kicks. The docks man kisses her on the cheek and lets her grab his finger. Emma sighs heavily, barely able to stay awake as she cooks eggs and bacon in a skillet.
"Are you all right love?" Killian asks, turning his attention towards his lovely blonde Swan.
"Just tired," she admits. "Sophie had to have three feedings through the night."
He wraps his arms around her waist. "It gets better Swan it definitely will."
She sighs again. "I hope so."
"But she was worth it, wasn't she?"
"Every moment," Emma smiles.
She turns to kiss Killian tightly. They embrace one another for a long few moments until they both smell something burning. In a panic, Killian turns around to save the bacon and fried eggs. Just then Henry comes down the stairs with his books and backpack, all ready for school. He hops up on the island and helps himself to some orange juice. He then goes into the fridge and grabs a slice of cold pizza.
"Morning Kid," his mother says, walking over and takes the slice away from him. She puts a plate down of eggs and bacon instead.
"Morning Mom, Killian, Sophie,"
"Do you have your yearbook money?" she asks.
"Yep, also Mom, is it okay if I go to the library after school?"
"Sure, but why?"
"Violet and I have to do a project together, we'll be home by 6,"
"That's fine with me, just be careful downtown."
"I will I promise," he says as he wolfs down his breakfast and then gets ready to leave for the bus.
"Bye guys," he says before shutting the door behind him.
Killian chuckles to himself as he eats his own breakfast.
"What?" Emma asks quizzically.
"Do you really think the lad will be studying?"
"Probably not, I know what that statement usually implies. I did go to high school you know. He can make his own decisions. I just want the kid to be careful, relationships are so hard sometimes and I don't want him to get hurt."
"I understand love," he says comfortingly as she sits next to him, making sure Sophie was comfortable."I don't want him to get hurt either, but I've met Miss Violet, and she'd never break his heart on purpose."
"That's not exactly comforting," she grumbles, eating her own breakfast.
The infant stares at her parents with her father's bright blue eyes, watching them talk between one another quietly. She kicks her foot occasionally in response to their gentle voices, one she would learn to be Mommy's and the other Daddy's.
"By the way, have you seen Sophie's blanket?"
"The one Granny knitted?"
"Yeah, I can't find it anywhere, I've looked all over the house."
"It didn't go in with the washing did it?" Killian asks.
"No, it can't be washed like that. Did you put it anywhere?" she asks.
"I don't think so, you?"
"We had it the other night when we went to the docks, but... I hope we didn't leave it there. It's way too special..."
"Aye, I'll stop by the area on my way home," he says, he gets up, ready to leave for work.
He gives his Swan a long kiss, allowing them both to have a very quiet moment of passion. She smiles, wanting to grab him and do more, but he had to go to work. Part of her wishes she could go to work as well. She missed being on cases, she missed being out of the house and not having to worry about diapers or whether she needed to pump her breast milk into bottles. As much as she loved her daughter, she missed working with David and the rest of the force.
"Goodbye love," he says with a warm smile.
"Goodbye." He then kisses his daughter on the forehead before heading out the door.
As Emma begins cleaning the dishes, she hears him come back in, likely having forgotten something.
"This was on the porch Love," he says leaving it on the table by the door and exiting again.
Emma lifts Sophie out of her baby seat and goes over to the side table. She finds an envelope with no stamps or any postage, just her name written on the front side. It's not a flier or a card of any kind, which is extremely weird. The blonde takes her daughter to the living room and lays her on a blanket, while she investigates this further. The handwriting was not familiar to her, maybe a belated baby shower gift from a friend in the force or something.
She opens the envelope and takes out the folded paper. She unfolds the paper and her heart nearly stops.
Dearest Emma,
I hope you are doing well. It has been awhile. In fact, the last time we spoke was in a blood-soaked bathroom in a cabin in the woods, where you tricked me into thinking you were having a miscarriage. And I have to say, I'm not happy about you making me think that our baby had died. I know you probably feel amazing that you escaped all on your own, but keep in mind, I'm still very much a part of your life. You won't be able to find me and don't bother calling your precious police force because they won't be able to trace this back to me, besides who's going to believe you?
I know you're suffering from the trauma post-abduction. An inside source tells me that you're on the brink of insanity sometimes. I hardly think that this would be an acceptable environment for Sophie to grow up in. I would like to gain custody or at least visitation from her once and while. You are such a happy family, now aren't you? The white picket fence and the nice family walk at night. Something that should have been mine, something you took from me.
I'm not entirely mad about it anymore, I have found someone new, someone, you might even know and we're happy. But life is not quite complete, not without a bundle of joy with her mommy's eyes and hair. I thought it might be nice to catch you up and warn you. You call the police, your son is the easier target; him, and his special girlfriend. I see them ride the bus together every day now. You tell anyone about this, your precious boyfriend's place of work is the easiest to make something look like an accident. I hope you enjoy your time with Sophie, she truly is a beautiful gift, but keep in mind that she's my baby too and I do intend to get acquainted with her very soon.
All the best regards,
Arthur
(P.S. I do like the name Sophie, but I'd prefer something like Alicia or perhaps Julia after my mother)
Emma's head is spinning at an alarming rate. Her heart threatens to break her ribcage and tears are burning her eyes. She feels so afraid that she races to the kitchen sink and is violently sick. She leans over, clinging to the counter in despair. She sobs harder and harder, collapsing to the floor in agony. He was still there. Most likely in the city somewhere, watching them... he knew where they lived, he knew someone close to her and he knew her daughter's name.
She curls up into a ball so very scared, anguish building inside her. She felt like she had made some progress of forgetting about Arthur King and his purely evil ways, but now it was back. Her body is stiff with fear and panic. Her breath comes out in short puffs, making her dizzy beyond imagination. The entire world seems to stop and cave in on her, suffocating every ounce of life and happiness from within her being. She lays there on the floor, unable to move, being crushed by the reality of her situation. The monster was still out there, and he wanted Sophie. He wanted her daughter, which he thought was his, making her become sicker. She just shuts her eyes for a moment, listening to the haunting sound of her own heartbeat. It races ominously...
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
She continues to cry, thinking about Killian, Henry, and Sophie, how much danger they were now in. Was he planning to strike when she was alone with the baby? Like a bolt of lightning, she springs from the floor and races for her daughter, fearing that silence was not golden. To her relief, the infant was sleeping peacefully on the floor. Emma picks her daughter up and practically crushes her against her chest. She looks out the window at the street, which was almost completely empty. Every time a car passed, she'd practically jump out of her skin. Her mind was muddled with fear and growing paranoia. She picks up her phone, ready to call David... get the police officers over here to help her, but the threat of Henry's life is in the forefront of her mind. Tears continue to burn her eyes. She thinks about calling Mary Margret or Regina, anyone... but she couldn't with Killian's life on the line.
In a frenzy of panic, Emma double locks the door shuts any open windows and pulls down all the blinds. She locks the basement door and hurries upstairs. She moves Sophie's bassinette into the master bedroom and props Henry's door open.
Once her daughter is safely sleeping, Emma pulls a case from underneath the bed. She opens it and carefully begins to load her gun. She shoves two full rounds into the drawer of the nightstand and locks and loads the weapon. Her fear is clouding every aspect of her mind, she needs to prepare for the worst. Arthur wanted Sophie, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let that bastard anywhere near her daughter or the rest of the family. She finds her holster and puts the thing on her belt. She then puts the weapon inside, her hands shaking after the gun leaves her hands. Fear was inside her blood now, making it run cold, she's sweating and continues looking behind her, waiting for the monster to jump out and try to attack her.
He would not live if he touched any of those she loved. It seemed that Arthur's plan had backfired in a sense that instead of scaring Emma into submission, he'd awoken something, something inside of her that was dangerous and very angry. He'd awoken the monster within.
A/N: Title of the story.