Killian's eyes strained open as the morning sunlight slipped past the curtains and landed on his face. It was early… too early. Especially for a Saturday morning. He twisted his neck and eyed the clock on the bedside table, attempting to blink away the sleep from his eyes.

6 am.

On a Saturday.

A quiet grown escaped his lips as his head fell back against the pillow, his senses becoming dimly aware of the warm body wrapped up in his arms. He smiled against her blonde tresses and tightened his grip around her waist, their bodies curving together. For a little over a year this is how he woke up in the morning; his Emma curled against him, the warmth of her bodies radiating against each other. With his lips curved into a smile he slipped his hand over her side to intertwine their fingers together, appreciating the cool feel of Emma's wedding band against his skin. All of this seemed so surreal to him; he was finally happy and had put 300 years of revenge completely behind him. He had a wife, he had a daughter, a family, and it was perfect.

The quiet static from the baby monitor on the night stand began to fill the room and Killian quickly turned on his side to shut it off as to not wake up Emma. He sighed and bit the inside of his lip, shutting his eyes briefly, before turning his head to eye her sleeping form next to him. It was early, way too early, and he knew the monitor was going to go off again in another minute or so. And in an hour, Emma would be up making breakfast, cleaning the house, just like she did every Saturday.

He could tell she had been exhausted lately, work and life catching up to her although she tried not to show it, and it didn't take him long to make his decision. Slowly Killian inched his arm out from underneath her and slipped out of the bed, taking the monitor with him. He walked around to Emma's side of the bed and pressed a few buttons, turning off the alarm on her clock. Before stepping out of the room he gave her one more quick glance; she looked mesmerizing, peacefully asleep with her breathing falling in a quiet rhythm. The sight of her made him smile to himself; he knew how badly she needed a day to sleep in and relax. And he was about to give it to her if he had any say in it. With a quick look around the room to make sure nothing would disturb her, he gently stepped out and shut the door behind him.

Killian made his way two doors down to Hope's room, the door opening with a soft squeak as he peeked his head into the room. A quiet noise came from her crib and he laughed at her impeccable ability to wake up and crack of dawn every morning. He walked to the edge of the crib and smiled down at his 4 month old that was peering back at him with wide eyes. She looked just like them; she had Emma's bright green eyes and his jet black hair. A perfect mix of the two. As soon as she saw him she let out a bubbly laugh and lifted her arms up in the air. Killian gave her a toothy grin and picked her up into his arms, quietly thanking Emma for going out of her way to make sure he was able to get his hand reattached. It made simple things, like carrying his daughter, much easier and gave him the ability to do things like this; to surprise her on his own

"Good morning princess," Killian whispered as he checked that her blanket was firmly wrapped in place.

As soon as she was comfortably in his arms, Hope reached for the necklace dangling around his neck. He chuckled as she tugged on the chain, keeping her grip as she tossed it around best she could. She loved to do that; grab onto anything she could, and took a particular liking to the necklaces he wore. After a moment she stopped, her curious eyes looking up at him.

"Daddy's gonna get you your breakfast this morning, darling. We're gonna give mommy a break."

Killian walked as quietly down to the kitchen as he could, balancing Hope in the crook of his arm as she continued to play with his necklace. The occasional giggles escaping her lips kept a permanent smile plastered on his face and made him completely forget that it was as early as it was; she was impressively good at doing that. Once he got her settled into her high chair, locking the tray in place, he turned his attention towards the pantry. The sounds of Hope's energetic laughter filled the kitchen as she bounced around in the seat, her hands reaching out towards him.

"Just a second darling," he said as he stole a glance towards her before picking one of the jars of baby food from the pantry and popping open the lid. He took a spoonful of the mashed peas and held it up, watching as Hope completely stills her kicking feet and stares up at him. "Come on princess, open up for daddy." He bit the inside of his lip as she kept her mouth shut, trying to figure out what the problem was and why she was looking at him with a confused look; an adorable look, but confused non-the-less. There had never been a problem when he fed her before, and the more he tried the longer she sat there, refusing to eat. A twinge of panic set in as he tried to recall what Emma did whenever Hope wouldn't eat, raking his brain for the answer. Suddenly it clicked; he knew exactly what to do, and the thought made him let out a soft laugh as he titled his head at his daughter. "Oy, you're a stubborn lass just like your mum."

He sighed, eyeing the spoon, before looking back at Hope. "You're going to make me do this, aren't you?" When she continued to sit still in the chair he kneeled down, holding the spoon at her eye level. "Open up for the airplane, princess," he said and began moving the spoon up and down, slowly inching it towards her. He watched her eyes light up and as soon as he began making the noises along with it, the sounds of an airplane starting up, a smile spread across Hope's face. Laughter began to bubble out of her, encouraging him to be a bit louder than before and dramatically move the spoon back and forth in front of her. He kept with the actions in the same manner, loving the way her nose crinkled when she laughed and how her whole face brightened the moment he started accompanying the jostling spoon with the random rrrrrrrrs from his lips.

His focused was startled by a quiet laugh from behind him, causing him to set down the spoon on the counter. He turned around to see Emma standing at the bottom of the stairwell, the tips of her fingers covering her mouth and her other arm crossed against her chest. Tears were welling in her eyes and she let out another strangled laugh before walking across the room to where he was standing with a tight lipped smile on her face.

"Did we wake you lass?" Killian asked, his voice full of concern, while wrapping his arm around Emma's waist and pulling her into his side.

"My body works on auto pilot, Killian. I wake up early every morning, even if you turn off my alarm," she said while raising an eyebrow at him. "Besides, I woke up alone and was worried about where you were. But I heard Hope laughing, so I came downstairs to see what was going on."

Killian planted a soft kiss on her temple, leaning his head against hers. "I was trying to surprise you so you weren't to wake up early. You deserved a morning to sleep in, love."

"Well when you're done being a big bad airplane," Emma started with a teasing glint in her eyes, "then we can go back to bed". Killian smiled and looked down at Hope who had turned her attention to watch them. "That really was the cutest thing I think I've ever seen."

"Happy to be of service, darling." Killian reached down with his spare arm and unlocked the tray of the high chair, before wrapping an arm around Hope and pulling her up against his chest. She curled her tiny fingers into his shirt as Killian placed a kiss on top of her head.

"She really is perfect, isn't she?" Emma asked while leaning further into Killian and running her hand across Hope's back.

"Aye, just like her mum."

The blush rushed to Emma's cheek immediately, her gaze dropping to the floor. It had been over a year and she still responded the same to his complements; and Killian found it more endearing each time it happened. "Okay Romeo, let's get her back to bed. Look, she's already falling asleep again."

Killian glanced down to see Hope leaning her head on his shoulder, her eyes beginning to flutter closed. With a smile on his face and his fingers lazily tangled with Emma's, he followed her back upstairs and down the hallway. By the time they reached Hope's room she had already fallen back to a deep sleep, not stirring at all as he laid her back into her crib. Emma was at his side as he tucked their daughter in, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist while his fingers tapped lightly against he small of her back. They quietly snuck out of the room and back down the hall to the master bedroom before crawling under the covers on the bed, relishing in the warmth that was still kept there. Killian reached out and brought Emma against his chest as she nestled her head against the crook of his neck, the two of them letting the knowing silence fill the room.

"Thank you for doing that." Emma said quietly, turning her head towards Killian. "I know I still got up but… it's the thought that counts. And it really means a lot, Killian."

"You know I would do anything for you, Emma. It's nothing I wouldn't do again in a heartbeat."

Emma smiled and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "I know. And I love you for it."

"I love you too Emma. More than you know."

Killian gave her another kiss, longer this time, before pulling back and keeping her firmly against him. Emma's eyes fell closed with a sigh, arm draped over his chest, her body effortlessly molding against his. Killian lived for little moments like this; a morning to be with his daughter and listen to her laughter, see her smile, all the while doing something nice for the love of his life, before falling back to sleep with her curled in his arms. He would never tire of it. And in that moment he was thankful for the blonde at his side for pulling him from the darkness he had been submerged in for so long and bringing light back to his life. For giving him a chance. For giving him a family. They had named their daughter hope for a reason; Emma was his hope, and he was hers. This is what his life was always supposed to be; and if it wasn't for Emma he wouldn't have had a clue.

She was his reason to live.

They were his reason to live.

And they were all he needed the rest of his life.