For scapeartist‘s birthday – the theme was CS and animals that aren’t dogs! It’s short and late but I hope it makes you smile anyway.
When Emma arrived at the Jolly Roger, Killian was halfway up the rigging and cursing loudly enough that Granny would likely be impressed with the language all the way back at the diner.
"Killian-" she called, but before she could finish her inquiry he lunged, grasping something she couldn't quite see before beginning a precarious decent using only his hook to keep his balance. When he got closer she saw that he held a tiny kitten, hissing and sputtering, grasped securely by the scruff of its neck. When they'd almost reached the deck it managed to dig it's back claws into his forearm and Killian cursed again. He toppled back off the rope ladder, landing with a heavy thud on the deck, the animal still clutched firmly in his grip.
Emma hurried over but Killian didn't stand, instead letting out a groan and holding the cat over him to look up at it. It's claws had left several tiny red marks on his arm and he glared up at it..
"That's some gratitude you ridiculous creature. Fine! Next time get yourself down!"
He released the kitten who scampered a few feet away then stopped abruptly, turned around twice and proceeded to take a bath.
Emma knelt and extended her hand, which earned her a brief tap with its nose before it went back to cleaning itself thoroughly.
"Killian... You have a kitten?" she asked, helping him to sit up.
"I have no such thing, it keeps getting trapped up in the rigging, if it had any sense it wouldn't climb somewhere it couldn't get down from."
"It's precious," Emma said in delight, reaching towards it again.
"It has a taste for blood," Killian grumbled as the kitten delicately cleaned its back claws.
"Don't tell me Captain Hook is afraid of a tiny kitten!?"
"Hardly," Killian scoffed, "but I can’t let that little demon tear holes in my sheets now can I?"
"What's his name?"
"Vermin," Killian retorted, rubbing the scratches irately.
The kitten stood up and stretched, moved over to Emma, and plopped down next to her, rolling over onto his back and purring loudly. .
"No you're not," Emma murmured. "Don't worry we'll come up with a perfect name for you!" The kitten turned and gave Killian what could only be a mocking flick of his tail before scampering off the vessel.
"Good riddance," Killian grumbled.
But it wasn’t good riddance.
When Killian and Emma returned from lunch at Granny’s, Killian almost instantly turned his glare upwards again. The kitten was back, perched contently three quarters of the way up his rigging.
“Infernal creature,” Killian growled.
“He’s not doing any harm, Killian,” Emma chided, laying a gentle hand on his arm to keep him from stalking forward.
“Fine,” Killian grumbled, “that’s the last time I climb up after it when it gets stuck.”
“I’m going to call him captain!” Emma commented abruptly with a grin.
Killian’s jaw dropped. “Wh- You’re going to call him what?”
“Come here, captain.” Emma called. The cat’s ears pricked up and he made his way down the ropes with surprising ease. “Look how obedient a little captain he is.”
“Do you think the tiny captain likes to swim, Swan?” Killian growled.
Emma called the kitten Captain for three days, thoroughly enjoying how Killian’s eyes narrowed and darkened when he heard the name pass her lips. But even he couldn’t help but be taken in by the kitten’s charms eventually. By the third day Emma caught Killian tossing scraps of fish across the deck for him to chase when he thought she wasn’t looking.
They quickly realized the cat was not actually stuck up in the rigging at all. In fact, whenever Killian brought him down it was only a matter of minutes before he had found his way back up to the top again.
“Rigger,” Killian finally commented to Emma as he watched the cat scamper up into the rigging again. “Since he seems so determined to recheck my rigging every few minutes, he might as well have the position.”
“Are you sure you don’t like captain?” Emma teased and Killian smirked at her. “The Jolly has but one Captain, love. And I’m most certainly his senior officer.”
Sorry it’s late. Internet access has been spotty lately but allow me to make it up to you with this:
It took hours before he dared come out of his cabin again. There was no crew of course; no gunner above deck to see the way his eyes burned and his muscles trembled. No inquisitive shipwright to hear the crashing of once precious artifacts as they shattered to pieces below. But a habit 200 years in the making to never ever show them your weakness is not so easily broken.
When he finally emerged from below he clenched his jaw and set about the not insignificant number of tasks necessary before he'd be able to set sail, to follow that silver dot on the map to the ends of the earth, to wherever she tried to hide. Physical labor was a hollow relief. His body moved in with the muscle memory of years at sea, leaving his mind painfully free. Without his leave his mind wandered aimlessly, but always back to her. To the first time she'd kissed him in front of her parents, to that night outside Granny's when she finally decided to stay in Storybrooke. He'd insisted that she belonged here, with her family. She'd been so happy that night. Free easy smiles. She'd no idea that that decision would cost her her life in just a matter of months. Her story was supposed to end happily ever after. She was in the book now. The book wasn't supposed to be a tragedy.
Oh, but it was.
His story was always going to be a tragedy.
He'd contaminated her, contaminated her story with his pain and his darkness until it simply had to end this way. How could he not have seen it before? He'd had a million warnings. Villains don't get happy endings. He'd been a drunken fool. Intoxicated by her light and her hope and... her. He'd let himself forget who he was. What he was. And now she was dead because of it. If he'd known, would he have had the strength to leave her? To save her?
Even now the thought made his insides churn in disgust. He might have at least tried. But she'd have looked up at him with her gorgeous eyes with the ocean in their depths... She'd have looked at him with that look that saw right through him. I can't lose you too.
He would have failed. But at least he could have gone with her. Should have gone with her.
So what now? Go back to the diner. Hug the lad, tell him that he'd never be alone. Begin yet another chapter of the tragedy... and wait for him to be taken too? He wouldn't make that mistake again. Couldn't go back to that diner and let Henry change his mind. He wasn't strong enough to deny that lad anything, not today. So he weighed anchor, and watched the town grow smaller and smaller and tried to imagine that his pain shrank away with its familiar shores.
The map was still below, and he'd yet to really sit down and chart a course. There would be time for that later. Now he simply knew that he had to get out of sight of that town before he lost his nerve and turned around. Storybrooke was barely a spec on the horizon now. He gripped the helm of the ship to steady himself as it finally disappeared. A persistent nausea ate away at his insides that he might have mistaken for sea sickness if it hadn't started the moment he realized that she-
He swallowed hard, cutting off the thought with a shake of his head.
You can't help but survive, the crocodile's voice echoed in his mind. His eyes drifted over the open ocean. The surface was calm today. They say drowning is peaceful... after the panic. He wondered for a moment if he would panic. Perhaps fear of death is for the young and the contented. For those who crave life.
Perhaps it would be a relief, to sink to the depths. To be with Liam again, with Milah. A sudden clenching of panic in his chest accompanied the realization that he would never know for sure what they'd done with Swan's... with her... body. They'd bury her in the cold earth. He'd never get one last kiss. Never again hold her, never feel her soft hair on his fingers again.
One year had been hell without her when she was still... somewhere.
Two hundred years. Wasn't two hundred years long enough?
A sudden splash to port caught his attention and he glanced out over the water. There was a commotion in the distance. A bird? Too big to be a bird. He pulled out his spyglass and saw arms in the water.
"Where the hell did you come from," he muttered, turning the wheel to move toward them. Probably one of the Crocodile's tricks. For a moment Killian considered altering course lest he find his way into a hidden portal straight back to Neverland.
He was moving with the wind, back towards Storybrooke and soon he was nearing the source of the disturbance. Pulling out his spyglass he looked once more at the figure still treading water in the waves. He acted without thought, finding a spare rope and rigging it up, the knot tight around his waist and tossing a rope ladder over the side to provide them with a way back aboard. With no one on board to pull him up he hoped like hell the man in the water didn't lose consciousness before he reached them. He shed his coat, took a deep breath and dove in after them.
When he finally reached the figure he paused, treading water and blinking the salt from his eyes. Once his eyes cleared he gaped. Golden hair. Swan? His lips formed around the word but no sound came out.
His blood seemed to freeze in his veins. Leviathan Shoals. The mists of Leviathan Shoals cloud the mind, and brings to pass your deepest desires as distraction. More potent and more deadly than a siren's call. He'd been the fool to it's delusions once before, but then they had taken the shape of his brother. But there was no mist, and he was realms away from those cursed shores. A siren then? Distracting him with his deepest desire to drag him to unseen rocks.
"Hook?" she cried, swimming towards him, the heavy leather of her jacket making her sluggish. "Next time just throw me a rope!"
Emma was dead, he chastised himself. It must be a siren who had taken her form, waiting most likely to drag him to the depths. He knew this ... and yet... Closing the distance between them he wrapped an arm around her and pressed his lips to her forehead. It wasn't her, it couldn't be her. But if he closed his eyes, maybe he wouldn't remember that while she dragged him under.
"HOOK! What the hell are you doing, you're going to drown us both!"
His eyes flew open. Not a siren? He released her and she immediately turned toward the ship, following the line he'd brought with him. When they reached the ship she grabbed ahold of the rope ladder and pulled herself up, Killian a few seconds behind her. By the time he pulled himself onto the deck Emma was standing facing him, her eyes blazing with fury.
"How dare you," she cried.
Killian gapped at her like a grounded fish and her fury grew. "You're a hypocrite, Killian Jones. A hypocrite and a coward-"
He took a step toward her, still silent as she glared daggers at him.
"Swan?" he whispered, voice barely audible over the wind.
"Yeah, remember me?"
He threw himself forward suddenly, Emma took one step back but it wasn't enough to prevent him from locking his arms around her and clasping her tight to him. "Emma? Is it really...please tell me this is not some torturous trick."
"Torturous trick?" she spat, shoving him hard in a futile attempt to break his grip. "You left me. You abandoned me" When the shove failed to dislodge him she reached for her magic, throwing him backward with a pulse of power. The same way she'd killed Cruella, her mind taunted. Would she kill him too? Toss him back to his beloved sea and leave him there to rot?
Her blast had sent him skidding on his back and he slowly raised himself up to his knees.
"You died," he whispered.
"What?" Emma asked viciously, striding forward. "What excuse could you possibly have. After everything you said... after everything. The first sign of trouble and you make for the seas again?"
He swallowed hard and repeated himself, "You... you died."
The breath she had sucked in for some continuation of the verbal assault came out in a startled "what?"
"Please Swan...tell me this isn't some hellish game of the Crocodile's."
She was quiet for a moment as she tried to figure out what he was saying. She died? Suddenly she realized what he was asking her. He wanted some indication that she was really... herself. She closed the distance between them and knelt in front of him. He still sat frozen on the deck and she reached to brush her fingers through his damp hair.
"I still have the scarf," she told him quietly. "In my drawer at the sheriff's station. Where I put your hook when you first came to-" He cut her off with a fevered kiss, slamming into her with a desperation that knocked her backwards. His arms locked her to him, pulling them both down to the deck as his hand gripped the back of her head then traced the line of her neck and buried itself into her hair.
She was the one to pull away to examine his face. His eyes were red rimmed, bright, fevered and desperate. She cupped his jaw with one hand. "Talk to me, Killian."
"You were gone..." He whispered, voice thick. "You were dead." He tightened his arms around her as though afraid to let her go.
"What are you talking about? I'm right here. I think I'd be the first to know if I was dead," she teased, trying to make him smile.
"The cliff, you fell. There was so much blood and..." he dipped shaking fingers into his pocket and pulled out the charm he had found.
"Rumpelstiltskin," her eyes narrowed at the charm but when she looked back up at him her gaze softened. "Hey, Killian," she said brushing her fingers across his face again. "I'm right here, everything is fine, I'm right here."
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as he buried his head in her neck. "How did you get out here," he finally asked.
She chuckled, "I... poofed," she said with a little shrug. "I saw you leaving. I wanted to explain to you what a hypocritical bastard you were before you left. Apparently my aim isn't great."
"Hypocritical?" She was quiet a moment and he pulled away to look at her. She looked nervous suddenly and his eyebrows furrowed. She smiled slightly and shrugged "Never mind. Do you have any towels on this boat? It's freezing up here in the wind." Abruptly she pulled away and pulled herself to her feet. She turned towards his cabin and Killian halted.
"Not there," he said hurriedly, getting to his feet and darting forward to grab her wrist before she could open it.
Emma raised her eyebrows, "Someone else in your cabin I should know about?" she teased, but he didn't release his grip. "Killian... what's wrong with you? I've been in your cabin before... I think your honor will stay intact as long as you leave the door cracked."
He winced and released her arm. She looked at him oddly for a moment but he nodded to the hatch and she pulled it open, making her way below and out of the wind. He followed her, and when he reached the bottom she was frozen in place one hand still clasping the rungs of the ladder.
The room was always obnoxiously neat and orderly, now it was utterly destroyed. Broken bottles littered the floor along with torn and stained maps and book pages. Nearly every artifact that had once lived so neatly on his shelves and walls, was missing or broken on the floor somewhere. Large gouges scoured the walls and the table was overturned, the splintered remains of the chairs scattered around the room.
"What...what happened?" she said in shock as she took in the room.
"You were dead," he said quietly.
"You did this?"
"I've... something of a temper," he said, watching her carefully. When she reached for his hand and clasped it tight he felt the relief like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. "Why did you call me hypocritical?" he asked again.
"I was mad."
"Swan... Emma, I will never choose to leave you. I'm not strong enough to do it, don't you understand that? Now come, lass. Talk to me?"
"Even if I'm not who you though I was?"
"I know you, love. Better then you know yourself, remember?"
"I killed her." Emma finally admitted. "She was incapable of hurting anyone, and I killed her." She expected him to pull away, to screw up his eyebrows. or give her that worried look her parents had on their faces all day. All he did was pull her closer and press a light kiss to her hair.
"You were protecting your son. You thought I would leave because you protected your son?"
"I'm supposed to ... find the better way. I didn't. I took the easy way. Just like my parents did."
"Tell me, did you even know she was no threat to your lad?"
"No, not until later. But... a hero would have found a better way."
"Did you consider another way to save Henry?"
"No, Killian." She said irritably trying to pull away. He didn't release her hand though and her eyes dropped as she continued. "That's what I'm trying to tell you... I just... reacted... I just-"
"You misunderstand, love." he whispered. "Remember that year that you spent in New York, I found the Jolly in the hands of Blackbeard?"
"You told me about this Killian."
"I tossed him overboard in shark infested waters."
"It's not the same. Ariel saved him. He survived."
"No, it's not the same. Because I intended to kill him. I knew there was another way, I knew he could have helped Ariel find her prince and I chose to take his life instead. Not to protect someone, but because I was angry. And I wanted him dead."
"What difference does it make if I wanted her dead or not. She's still dead. "
"It makes all the difference in the world, love."
"Shouldn't I feel..." Her words caught in her throat and Killian pulled her closer, his arms locking around her and pulling her flush to him.
"She threatened your lad. You are allowed to be relieved she's gone. That doesn't make you a villain."
Emma leaned into him and he rubbed soothing circles into her back, giving her a few moments to collect herself again. "Why did you leave, Killian. Storybrooke is your home too. You could have stayed."
He stiffened and pulled away, taking her hand again and leading her to his cot. Her eyebrows shot up but she sat, looking up at him curiously as he stood in front of her.
"I didn't wish to contaminate Henry's story, as I had yours."
"Con- Killian, what are you talking about?"
"You were... I thought you were gone. I couldn't stand the thought that your boy could suffer the same fate."
"Killian-"
"Everyone I have ever loved is dead by violent means, Emma. My brother, Baelfire, Milah. You are my happy ending love... but I fear being a part of my happy ending is no better than a death sentence."
Emma's eyes narrowed, "So you're just going to give up? Accept that some author will determine your fate?"
"Sw-"
"And what about me? I'm in the book now, don't I deserve a happy ending?"
"You do lass, and I've every confidence you'll get it."
Emma shot up, eyes bright as she glared up at him. "It's the same story!" Killian cocked his head to one side, taken aback by her sudden passion. She bit her lip and looked away before continuing. "Your story and mine, it's the same story now."
He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, then her cheek, and finally her lips.
A smile spread across his lips and Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Didn't you know?"
"I hoped."
Leave me a love note here :)
Granted we don't know what was in Emma's head when she sent Cruella over that cliff, I will say though that I suspect her intention was, 'protect henry' not 'kill cruella.' So I might have snuck some moral philosophy in there while you weren't looking. :P The principle of double effect... while I doubt Killian would know it by that name, he seems particularly well suited to understand its implications.
Also, I enjoyed the reviewer who suggested that once Emma and Killian find out what Rumple did they would go on a crocodile hunting expedition! hahahaha, yup probably. I do wonder what he is up to, our slippery crocodile...
I don't know what just happened. Apparently I'm in a dark mood today. Beware all ye who enter here. Darkness and angst awaits.
Read on FF
It was like the most horrible nightmare he could conceive of. He was here again, tied to the mast of his ship. Because the Crocodile always was a demon. He knew it would be worse ... like this. The dark one's dagger was frozen in mid air, the gleaming point inches from Emma's chest, her hands raised in a magical barrier as she tried to protect herself.
Magical dagger or not, the blade was sharp.
He wanted to cry out , but fear of distracting her kept him silent, struggling against the ropes that held him in place. Just like before. How could he have been so stupid to think he could have this? He couldn't. He didn't deserve it. And now she was going to die for his idiocy.
"Did you really think you could defeat me, dearie," the crocodile was keening. "I've been doing magic for hundreds of years. You're still a child."
"Then why haven't you killed me yet." Emma snarled.
"I know... it's not nice to play with one's food, but I'm feeling a touch nostalgic. Come closer, captain, get a good view." The ropes fell loose and Killian bolted forward only to be frozen in place again a few scarce feet from her side.
"Why are you doing this, Crocodile. You could have had everything you wanted. You just had to choose it, choose her."
"I need both, pirate... she should never have asked me to choose."
"Take me instead. You've always wanted me dead, fine. Come and claim your prize. Leave Emma be."
"He doesn't think you can do it savior," the Dark One hissed. "How does that make you feel?" The knife inched closer to her and Killian fought harder against the invisible bindings to no avail. "I will kill you pirate, never fear. As soon as I'm done with the savior."
Emma's eyes narrowed and the light around her brightened. For a moment Killian saw fear in the Dark One's eyes and the blade started to move away.
"That's my lass," Killian said, head buzzing with relief. "You can defeat him." The blade was pressed farther and farther away and the Crocodile's smirk fell. Suddenly the blade turned and now it was inching towards the Dark One.
A brand new panic seized Killian's mind. "Emma?"
"You're time is up, Crocodile," Emma mocked.
"Emma, not like this. You don't want your name on that blade."
"Small price to pay, remember. He will not hurt anyone else this way."
"Emma-"
"He couldn't control it, he is weak. I can control it, Killian."
"It's not like that Emma, it gets in your head. Listen to me, I knew Rumpelstiltskin before he was the dark one. He was a coward but he was no monster."
"This is the only way that I can be sure he'll never touch my son."
"I won't," Rumpelstiltskin whimpered, "he's my grandson. I would never harm him."
"And Killian?"
"He'll be safe from me too, Emma please..."
"I don't believe you." The dagger flew forward and the Dark One fell. Blood stained the deck of his ship before Crocodile finally vanished in a puff of smoke. He might never have been there, but for the stains on the wood. The blade clattered to the ground and Killian felt the invisible bindings disappear. He stepped toward Emma but her eyes were fixed on the dagger. She knelt and picked it up, the new letters written clearly on it's side.
Emma.
"Emma?"
"That's what it says," she teased, looking the blade over carefully without looking at him.
"We'll find a way to fix this-"
"No need. No one else can be trusted with this power. Now it's mine. Now it can never hurt me."
"Emma, please look at me," she did so, breaking her observation of the dagger to glance up at him. His heart clenched. It wasn't like the crocodile. It was infinitely more beautiful, more terrible. Her skin glistened, a hard shell that shone like the most precious stone he'd ever seen.
"What?" she asked flippantly. "Tell me I don't have his complexion now?"
He shook his head raising his fingers and rubbing his thumb across her cheek.
Beautiful, and cold, and hard.
He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She kissed him back briefly and then pulled away. "We should get back to town, I believe I have a witch or two to deal with."
"Emma..."
"You're freaking out Killian, stop freaking out. This is perfect. Now I have the power. No one can hurt me now."
"Take a moment. You just killed a man, Emma. He was a coward and a villain but-"
"He was the dark one," she retorted, "and he was trying to kill me. Besides, it's not like you haven't killed people before."
"We have to tell Belle-"
"Later."
"Emma, lass you know I was no friend to the crocodile but... she loved him. She deserves to know."
"Fine, You go tell her, I'll deal with the crisis. As usual."
"What will you do to them?"
"I will destroy them. They're villains, Killian. It's what they deserve."
"And what about what your mother told you-"
"Don't talk to me about her," Emma snapped.
"Emma listen to yourself. You're... love, you've gone cold."
"You're overreacting Killian. Now go tell Belle her lying husband won't be bothering her again." Emma vanished in a gust of smoke and Killian deflated.
The king is dead...long live the king.
lynyrdwrites ( I don’t know about you but I have not forgotten about our angst battle... just ignore that fluff I posted yesterday,)
"He always knew it was going to end like this; with his heart in the Crocodile's hand."Bring on the angst. But this is more then angst... How is Killian going to get himself out of this mess. That's what I want to know...
Up tonight as promised. (barely)
Also my bonus scenes and epilogues are back for reviewers. But I'm playing catch up. So If you get a random bonus scene in your inbox from a few chapters back...that's why. Love you guys!
~~~~~
Volition: the free exercise of the will in determining a course of action.
Elsa ran towards Emma. "Why did you do that?" Emma asked her, voice shaking.
"Killian, he told me the Dark One intended you harm. He told me to stop him if I wanted to protect you. Are you hurt?"
Emma didn't respond, rushing past Elsa back towards Killian. When Elsa turned to follow, her jaw dropped. Standing precisely where she had left him stood Killian Jones, also completely frozen.
Elsa gasped, "Oh, Emma... I'm so sorry. He- he told me to- why would he-"
"Gold had his heart," Emma murmured, running her fingers along his frozen features. His face was contorted in pain or possibly fear. Even though the ice made her fingers sting she couldn't pull away.
Elsa put a hand on her arm. "Emma, I'm so sorry-"
"Does it hurt?" She asked Elsa quietly, "Is he in pain right now?"
Elsa looked down, "I never dared ask Anna. But I... I doubt he feels anything ... at the moment."
Mary Margaret who had kept her distance until now hurried forward, David a step behind. Emma didn't miss the look of wistfulness that crossed Elsa's face as they hugged Emma.
She reached out and took Elsa's hand. "This was his decision Elsa. I don't blame you, you know that right?"
Elsa nodded, her features still downcast. "I can try to thaw Killian but unless I thaw Gold too it won't work."
Emma shook her head. "He bought me time. I'm going to use it. Come on, I need to have a conversation with Belle."
Belle and Henry were playing what looked to be a highly competitive game of Operation when they arrived and Neal was sleeping off dinner.
"Belle," Emma said hurriedly, "I need you to do something. It's very important."
"What is it?" she asked worriedly.
"I need you to use that dagger Gold gave you."
Belle shook her head. "I can't do that, Emma."
"Belle, you don't understand-"
"No. You don't understand," she looked down suddenly, as though embarrassed. "I can't."
"You've tried?" Snow asked in surprise.
Belle nodded. "I woke up from a nightmare and he was gone. I was so frightened when I couldn't find him I... I tried to summon him. I thought he would forgive me when he realized how frightened I was. He never came. Not for hours anyway..."
Emma felt sudden compassion for the woman as she watched Belle fight back tears. Finally she shook her head and wiped them away. "I've been ... hoping he would tell me himself."
"Belle, we can't wait anymore," Emma said carefully. "He tried to kill me, tried to suck me into this magic...thing that would give him my power as his own. He ripped out Killian's heart while he was trying to save me. Elsa stopped him by using her powers but now they're both frozen."
Belle's eyes widened and she made a small gasp of dismay, "No."
Snow wrapped her arm around Belle's shaking shoulders. "Elsa can unfreeze them, Belle. I'm sure she can. Maybe you can still get through to him?"
Emma shook her head. "It's too late for that. If he realizes Killian is of no more use to him what's to stop him from just crushing his heart to dust."
"He wouldn't," Belle whispered.
"He was ready to kill me just an hour ago. Do you think he would hesitate to hurt a man he despises? I can't risk that."
Belle shook her head again. "So what would you do! Kill him? Emma, I can talk to him, please."
"But I can't lose Killian either. Please, please help me save him."
"What would you have me do?"
Emma smiled. "I need you to order him to give me Killian's heart. After I have it you can talk to him all you want."
"But the dagger, it isn't-"
"He'll obey," Emma said confidently, "To keep his secret."
Another tear slipped down Belle's face, but finally she nodded.
"Mom, Dad I need you to stay here. Make sure Henry and Neal are safe. I don't want Gold to be able to acquire another trump card"
"He wouldn't," Belle insisted.
Snow tightened her arm around the woman's shoulders. "Hopefully you're right. But he tried to kill Emma already. We can't risk him hurting anyone else."
Belle nodded. "Where are they?"
~~~~~
Emma, Belle and Elsa returned to the docks. A few tears slipped down Belle's face when she saw Gold but her eyes were hard and she clenched the fake dagger with a white knuckled grip.
"Alright," Emma said, "When Elsa unfreezes them there will be a moment of confusion. You have to take center stage Belle. Tell him you know that he took Killian's heart. Explain what happened if you need to. Don't show any doubt. If he thinks you are not 100% confident he'll just claim he doesn't have it and he won't have to give us Killian's heart to avoid revealing the fake dagger. It all rests on your confidence in that blade."
Belle nodded, not trusting her voice just yet, and Emma glanced at Elsa.
Elsa held out her hands and the ice began to melt away from the Dark One. Finally the last of the ice slipped away and Gold's eyes locked onto Belle "Belle?" He said in confusion, his eyes immediately dropped to the dagger in her hand. "I thought you were watching Neal tonight?"
"Rumple, we know you took his heart."
Rumpelstiltskin raised his eyebrows, "Whose heart?"
"Please don't lie to me anymore Rumple. " Belle said sternly. She pulled out the dagger and raised it slowly. "I order you to give his heart to Emma."
"Belle? When I gave you that dagger I trusted you to-"
"And I trusted you!" she interrupted, eyes blazing. "I won't let you do this Rumple. I order you Dark One, return Killian's heart to Emma. Immediately."
Gold's face fell and he slipped his hand into a coat pocket to expose a vibrant glowing heart. His grip on the precious organ was by no means gentle and Emma heard killian groan softly from the other side of the dock. She winced, hurrying to take it from him. She reached for it but before she could claim it Gold clasped his hands around hers, forcing her fingers inwards. Killian let out a cry and Elsa rushed to his side, attempting to support him as he fell to his knees.
"I should do you this favor, Savior," Gold muttered, clenching his hands tighter around hers. "Do you really know who that man is?"
"Killian?" Emma could just barely hear Elsa murmuring. "Hold on Killian, it's going to be ok."
He couldn't seem to manage anything more eloquent then half groaned "Emma-"
Elsa tried to help him up but he was dead weight and his legs refused to support him as another wave of pain came over him. Tiny snowflakes danced around them, whipping faster and faster as Elsa's panic grew. Emma tried to pull away from Gold but any attempt to free herself from Gold's grasp resulted in an agonized moan from Killian.
"Gold, let me go," she said.
"He's a pirate, Miss Swan. He'll never be anything but a pirate who takes what doesn't belong to him-"
"Really," Emma said in disbelief, fighting to push back against his grip. Gold was still forcing her fingers inwards and as they dug into Killian's heart Emma's vision grew blurry with unshed tears ... still, she held his gaze. "You literally just ripped his heart from his chest!"
Please, not like this. Not with my own hands. Not ever.
"I should have done it years ago, when he stole her. He told me to fight him for her. Threw me a rusty blade as if that would be a fair fight. Now I fight him on my terms."
"You murdered her," Killian cried, "is that how you fight for the woman you love?"
"Listen to me," Emma said rapidly, "Is this the man Belle married? The one who kills without remorse?"
"She knows who I am. And I should have done this years ago, when he left my son motherless."
"You left your son motherless," Killian struggled to stand but fell again as Gold's grip tightened. "And you tried to do the same to your own grandson."
"Gold, do you really want to do this?" Emma looked to Belle for help. She was frozen, her mouth half open and her eyes filled with horror. "Do you really want to add one more casualty to the list, right in front of Belle?"
"Rumple," Belle asked softly, stepping forward and finally finding her voice. "Please. Please stop." Gold looked up at her, distracted for just a moment. Emma's free hand shot towards Gold and a wave of her magic pulsed outward. Gold's hand was thrown off of her and he stumbled back.
Emma examined the heart in her palm carefully then smiled, "What do you suppose yours would look like, Crocodile?" she asked. Without looking back she ran towards Killian.
"Get Gold out of here, Elsa." Emma muttered, when she reached them. "I don't care where you send them just get him out of my sight." She briefly entertained the idea that it wasn't wise to leave Gold and Belle alone for the conversation that was sure to follow. In the end she reasoned that if Belle wanted to kill her husband it was none of her buisness. More paperwork later, but for the moment Emma couldn't bring herself to care. Gold could lie, manipulate, kill, and betray Belle's trust over and over but somehow Emma still did not believe he was capable of physically harming her. That was something at least.
She cradled Killian's heart gently in both hands and dropped to her knees next to him.
"Are you-" she whispered, "I'm so sorry. I never should have gone to Gold."
"It's all right, Emma. I should have told you sooner."
"I don't know how to fix this. I've never put a heart back. We should find Regina... she's kind of the expert." Her hands were shaking and he raised his fingers to brush her jaw. "I don't trust anyone else with my heart but you, love. You can do it."
She raised his heart to where she had seen Regina put Henry's. She had just kind of... pushed, right? She pushed the heart and Killian winced.
"Oh God, Killian I can't do this. This is insane, Regina should-"
He cut off her words with a kiss. "You can do this, love. And I'll not have anyone else touch it."
"I might hurt you."
"Isn't that always the risk when you give someone your heart," he teased, leaning in to kiss her nose.
She bit her lip and raised his heart again between them. She pressed forward and suddenly Killian gasped as her hand slipped through him, restoring his heart to it's normal position. Warmth spread through to the tips of his fingers and the veil that had clouded his mind slipped away.
He leaned forward to touch his forehead to hers. He chuckled slightly. Quietly at first and then louder. A moment later he was pulling her close, running his fingers through her hair and laughing openly.
"Killian? Did I ... Do something wrong?" Emma asked in concern when his laughter didn't slow.
"My Swan" he whispered in her ear, "My love." His warm breath tickled her ear and butterflies filled her stomach at the endearment. "I didn't think I'd get the chance to tell you. You deserve to hear it properly- "
"I love you," Emma blurted out.
He rubbed his thumb gently down her jaw, "I do believe I was the one telling you that," he said, adorably confused that she had usurped his moment.
"You already have. So you finally figured out you wanted to use the...proper words... while you had no heart?" Emma asked, eyebrows raised.
"I figured that out the first time your lips touched mine," he replied, "I love you, Emma. Every night when you were in New York, I swore to myself that when I saw you again I would tell you. But I feared you would run."
"I"m not running," Emma said.
"I did notice that," Killian said, leaning in to kiss her forehead. "I love you, Emma."
She smiled and tried to kiss him but he kissed her cheek instead, then her eyelids, murmuring, "I love you," after each light brush of his lips.
"You mentioned that," Emma teased, growing frustrated when he refused to meet her lips. He kissed her nose next and the edge of her jaw.
"I've a lot of lost time to make up for. I've almost told you a hundred times, Swan. In New York, in that field where you saved me from Zelena. The hospital afterwards. God, Emma, after our dance. I wanted to tell you then, so badly it felt as though the words were tearing their way from my chest. I love you."
"Killian?"
"Yes, Emma?"
"Stop talking and kiss me properly."
"As you wish."
And later that night when they were watching The Princess Bride on Netflix with Henry and her parents and a human ice maker she may have blushed and Killian may have squeezed her hand when he realized that in fact, she had always known.
~~~~~
Here *confetti* have some fluff... *confetti* have some more fluff.
