As Long as this Lasts

Chapter 1: A First Encounter

Author's note: Hello, friends! Welcome to the very first chapter of my very first fanfiction story! A few months back, I had an idea to write a reimagined version of Emma. I really hope this turns out the way that I want it to! As of now, I am planning on switching POVs between Rex and Kera, but we will see what happens as this story progresses. Please let me know what you think after reading! I know some things may not be clear to the whole story yet, and I am still making some decisions… but I really wanted to get this chapter out in the open! It's pretty short, I know, but it is just an introduction to the story. But still important :)

Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read.

Please enjoy!

~Rex Knightly~

Kera's eyes had always been full of mischief. From the very first day I met her, I knew she would be trouble.

My parents took my older brother Jeremy and I to visit their oldest friends, the Woodhouses, when Kera was only a few weeks old. Being only eight years old myself, I didn't understand the importance of new birth, so I had a less than enthusiastic response to meeting a crying, red-faced child.

"Do we all have to go to just meet a baby?" I asked as I buckled my seatbelt, failing to disguise the disgust I felt when imagining how annoying it would be to have to sit in a room with my hands over my ears trying to drown out the inevitable crying.

"Son, you know we can't leave you behind. You're only eight. Besides, I don't hear Jeremy complaining," my father pointed out.

He put the car in reverse to pull out of our driveway as we began the hour journey from Richmond to Williamsburg. The sun had risen hours ago, but a morning fog still seemed to pervade my normally mild attitude.

Jeremy was 12 years old at the time, already self confident and proud. This tended to make him of little help to me, especially when I clearly needed his fraternal support. Unlike me, he actually wanted to go visit the Woodhouses! He had been talking about it all day. Specifically, he had been speaking of Jada Woodhouse, Kera's older sister. She was his age, and he was entirely smitten. Talk of Jada's auburn hair and hazel eyes was quite enough to make me distance myself from Jeremy as much as I could already that morning.

"Yeah," Jeremy smiled smugly. "I'm not complaining one bit."

He cast me a glance that was utterly unapologetic. He was met with my deepest scowl.

I glared out the smudged window, knowing full well that nothing could be done.

I was beginning to wonder if I was the only sane person in this vehicle.

"Don't worry, honey, this won't be quite as torturous as you're thinking it will be. It's been months since we've seen our closest friends. I know they will be so glad to see you boys. They are your godparents, after all! Baby Kera is practically a new member of our own family. I can't wait to hold her!" Mom squealed, holding her hands together and sounding altogether exuberant.

Now I knew without a doubt that I was the only sane person in this family.

This was just a baby. She would be miserable and colicky and I would hate every second of it.

My mind was completely made up about it. Resolute. Unwavering.

"I just don't understand why we have to see her now. Wouldn't it be better if we just… I don't know… waited until she was old enough to actually talk?" I folded my arms, my face sullen, but my parents only laughed and told me to give it up.

We didn't need a baby in our family. We already had one… and he was sitting next to me in the backseat. A lovesick, helpless baby.

The thought of Jeremy wearing a bonnet and a diaper was enough to lift my spirits… just a bit.

The rest of the trip passed without incident, and soon our car was winding down the hedge trimmed drive that led to the grand estate that was the Woodhouse residence.

Large columns wrapped in neatly kept vines supported the foyer through which we entered. The polished floor gleaming, yet somehow still welcoming and warm, as a home should be. A winding staircase, a room dedicated to just a piano. Paintings that looked like splotches of paint on a canvas, but must have cost thousands of dollars.

I may have been 8 years old, but I knew this was the picture of a family that rarely wanted for anything.

This home, so open and yet so embracing, signified much more than wealth. It felt like a place for the fulfilled and satisfied of the world.

I did not feel fulfilled at that moment. And I definitely did not feel satisfied. Yet, there was something strangely alluring about this home, a seduction of spirit that I cannot explain even now.

We walked into a small sitting room, heavily furnished with richly colored rugs of maroon, chestnut, and gold, woven in intricate designs that would make even the keenest eyes lose focus if stared at for too long.

Charles, Eleanor, and Jada Woodhouse were already walking toward us, just becoming aware of our arrival, smiling gleefully as we entered the room.

Then came the unavoidable onslaught.

Hugs were given, cheeks were pinched… it was all playing out exactly as I had feared.

I apparently had grown quite a bit since they had last seen me, and they made general niceties to which I bumbled and stammered my gratitude. I have never been good at accepting any sort of compliment. Mom and Dad began animated conversation with the Woodhouses and, for a moment, I had completely forgotten the purpose of our visit.

Then, a strange sound from behind the couch brought me to my wits.

The baby.

This was the moment it would all start. The crying. The snot. The horrible smell of a soiled diaper. I couldn't believe I had allowed myself to be forced into such a dreadful situation.

"Oh, dear!" Eleanor Woodhouse exclaimed softly as she walked behind the largest of the three couches that furnished their sitting room.

"I fear Kera has already become a bit spoiled. She rarely allows us to set her down for more than a few minutes at a time… she is truly our little we hate putting her down, even to sleep. Why would we want to miss a second of this darling girl?"

Eleanor's expression belied reverence and wonder as she looked down into what I could only assume was a bassinet holding the rubescent babe.

Jeremy's focus during all of this, unsurprisingly, was solely on Jada Woodhouse. It was rather annoying to find her fascination fixated on him as well. Perhaps, even at their young age, it was clear that they would one day be married. None of the rest of us were shocked by it, at any rate.

Mom and Dad were beaming at their friends, overjoyed for their good fortune.

As Mrs. Woodhouse walked out from behind the couch, all I could see in her arms was a small bundle of pink. A fine, cozy blanket that concealed what lay beneath from my vantage point.

I took a seat on the sofa nearest me, not at all eager to get a closer look at this small creature.

As Kera was shifted in her mother's arms, I was able to get just a glimpse of her for the first time.

My shock began when I realized that what the blanket covered was not a ruddy, horrible shrieking thing, but a small, blonde… angel. Just as Mrs. Woodhouse had claimed. For indeed, only a cherub would have such light, feathery hair and round cheeks fashioned with two perfect dimples.

My shock continued when I realized that she had barely made a peep.

Truly, Kera only seemed to suffer from the ailments of being already spoiled with attention, because it was only when she grew restless from being held in the same arms for too long, or when she felt it had been too long since someone had given her their full and undivided attention, that she would make this persistent coo sound that was somehow both charming and demanding.

This cycle continued, and Kera was passed from person to person, enchanting each one along the way. The edges of her baby blanket began to unfold from her as she traveled from admirer to admirer. Her little hands and feet found freedom, grabbing at whatever she could get ahold of near her. A strand of pearls, a lock of hair, a coat button.

Only a few weeks old, yet already desperate to take from life all it had to offer.

I was stuck in a reverie, considering the mystery of how such a small girl could seem to be the center of an entire room. I was wrong about the baby, but I still didn't understand how she could command so much attention without even crying. Was she a special kind of baby? Was she even real? Maybe they found her in some exotic place, where only perfect babies are given to the worthiest of parents. My mind reeled and I took to studying the rug beneath my feet as I pondered this enigma. Swirling patterns twisted before me, and I tried to blink and clear my vision.

I hadn't even realized that my mother was beside me until she touched my arm. I jolted as I looked up at her.

"Rex, honey, I do believe Kera will not rest until you've had your turn holding her," she smiled as the other adults chuckled in good humor. Kera kicked her feet as she was extended to me from my mother's arms.

I quickly leaned back, unsure of the whole thing. I had never held a baby before. Surely I would break her or drop her or contaminate her in some way. No perfect baby should have to endure these lanky eight year old limbs. I felt myself shrink even more into the upholstery, shaking my head resolutely.

"Don't worry, son. She is just a wee thing, she won't hurt you," my father assured me in a teasing tone.

"Go on, Rex. You'll be just fine."

My mother gently placed Kera in my lap and I carefully placed my shaky arms around her as I had seen the others do. One under her back, the other under her legs.

Her arms wriggled and it surprised me how strong I felt, holding this tiny frame. I looked around at the faces in the room, filled with pride and wonder. I must have still looked truly terrified in that moment, because I could see their faces turn into complete amusement.

"Mom, I… I…", my voice stammered as I tried to think of a way to quickly hand her back over to a responsible adult.

"You're a natural," Mrs. Woodhouse said softly as she gave me a sort of secret smile.

I blushed cherry red and was about to firmly deny any such accusation when Kera made herself known.

Apparently noticing that her holder was failing to give her the attention she required, Kera made an insistent sound, much louder than what I was expecting. I quickly glanced down.

When my eyes met hers for the first time, I saw immediately who she was.

Her blue eyes, blue like cerulean and raindrops, held nothing but innocence and a spark of something else.

A sort of look that told me I was now under her spell. Helpless to the whims of an infant.

I gulped and Kera did something she had never done before.

She gave me a toothless, playful grin.

And I found I was enraptured.

"Well look at that!" exclaimed Charles Woodhouse. "I think Kera has chosen her favorite among us. Quick, honey, get a picture!"

Mrs. Woodhouse brandished a small disposable camera that seemed to appear from thin air.

I was still looking at Kera's mischievous smile as the picture was taken. A picture that has become one of my dearest possessions.

How could I have known back then that I would never even stand a chance?

I fear my father was very, very wrong.

This little girl would be my undoing.

A/N: I've always loved imagining Knightly holding baby Emma & wondering what his thoughts would be! Stay tuned for the next installment (with a massive time jump) - hopefully sooner rather than later! Much love!