My sincere thanks goes to @hookedmom who was a wonderful beta for me. I’m so glad you reached out to me & that we got to know each other!
Also, thank you to my good friend @kymbersmith-90 who once again walked me through the posting process. Thanks for making that cheat sheet for me!
Also found on Ao3
*When the Black Fairy’s curse cut Emma and Killian’s wedding celebrations short, they missed out on many of the newlywed traditions. Now that the curse is broken they both make secret plans to rectify that. *
Killian Jones lovingly hung the garment bag containing Emma’s wedding dress in the closet of their home’s spare room. He had just picked it up from the dry cleaners where it had been cleaned, steamed & preserved in an airtight, dust-free bag. For a short while after the Black Fairy and Gideon had been defeated, they didn’t think the gown would ever be seen again.
When Killian returned from the realm to which he had been sent after their ceremony, he was still dressed in his wedding clothes. Emma, however, was in her fighting attire of jeans, red leather jacket and gray beanie. They had searched different places around town for the gown, to no avail. Disappointed and exhausted, they finally went back to their shared home, and had found the dress on their bed, just as if she’d taken it off and carefully laid it there. Emma had been so relieved and so had he; although if he lived for another 300 years, the image of his gorgeous bride in that dress, making her way to him on the arms of her parents, would never leave his mind. Suddenly he heard the front door slam. “REALLY? I mean SERIOUSLY! WHAT THE HELL?”
All three of her favorite exclamations in one go. Well, this should be interesting, but he always did love a challenge when it came to Emma Swan.
Killian finished smoothing out the bag and slid the closet door shut, then turned with a smile on his face. Even though he knew he was walking head-on into a raging storm, he still couldn’t wait to get downstairs. His wife was a fiery one, but he wouldn’t want her to be any other way. He was confident that he would get to the bottom of whatever had her riled up right now, and they’d work through it together.
“Welcome home, Darling. It’s so lovely to see your smiling face,” he quipped, as he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to go into the living room. Emma was angrily pacing back and forth, muttering to herself and waving her hands around.
She glared at him. “Don’t start with me, Killian, or I swear…”
Killian allowed her to continue to rant and stomp across the room a few more times before he finally stepped into her path and firmly grasped both arms with his hand and hook. “Calm down Swan, and tell me what’s gotten you so vexed.”
“In case you have forgotten, it’s Jones now.”
So she wanted to go there first.
“As honored as I am that you chose to take my name, you’ll always be my beautiful Swan.”
Emma rolled her eyes, but a tiny upward quirk of her lip gave her away. “Yeah, yeah, I know,” she said in a voice that held a little less fire. As he continued to study her face and wait for her to open up, Emma thought for the thousandth time how lucky she was to have him to come home to every day.
“I was just at the mayor’s office. Regina called me over there to tell me that she wants to take Henry for at least two weeks next month so they can go on a vacation together.
“Well, I can certainly understand why that would anger you so much.”
The glare was back.
“It’s her reason for taking him that’s pissing me off. She thinks I could use some time free from the responsibilities of motherhood to ‘completely get over my mental ward episode’.” The fact that Emma was using air quotes spoke to how upset she was. She hated it when people used air quotes.
“But you were cursed!”
“You know that and I know that, but Regina wants to believe that I probably have some lingering effects of it. Oh, and get this-she’s planning to take her crazy sister and the baby along with them on the trip. I’m not sure that I trust Zelena enough to have her around Henry all that time.”
“How does Henry feel about it?” Killian asked.
“I haven’t had a chance to ask him about it yet. I just now left her office and was too mad to try to talk to him.”
“Perhaps you should. He’s smart and intuitive, and would give you an honest answer about his feelings on the matter. His believer’s heart has rarely been wrong when it comes to making the right decision.”
Emma seemed to be contemplating this when Killian spoke again. “Do you know what it sounds like to me?” At Emma’s shake of her head, he continued, “I think it’s Regina talk for ‘why don’t you and your new husband take some time for yourselves’?”
“Then why didn’t she just say that instead of claiming it was because of my stay in the mental institution?”
“Because it’s Regina. She’s not going to tell us to enjoy time alone as newlyweds. This is probably her roundabout way of saying it. So if she’s giving us that opportunity without having to worry about whether or not Henry is being taken care of, why don’t we look into going on a jellymoon?”
Emma squinted at him in confusion. “A jelly….what?”
“You know. One of those trips that newly married people go on.”
Emma burst out laughing. “It’s a honeymoon!”
“Well, whatever the bloody hell it’s called,” Killian grumbled.
Emma ran her fingers along his scruffy jaw. “Oh, Babe. I truly hope that you never completely figure out this modern world. You’re so adorable when you misunderstand things.”
“Captain Hook is NOT adorable,” he stated with exasperation. However, the extra color in his cheeks and the tips of his ears made him even more so.
Emma giggled. “Whatever you say, Captain.” It amazed her how quickly this man that she loved could dissipate her anger. A few minutes ago, she was spitting nails. Now she was actually giggling. “But getting back to the honeymoon discussion, I really don’t know if we can go away with Regina gone, and my dad being a full-time farmer and stay-at-home father now.”
“Things have been calm since the final battle, and all the curses appear to be broken. I think we could take some time for ourselves. Besides, you’ve trained all those dwarves to be deputies, and even though they’re not physically intimidating, they can be quite formidable. They all swing a pickaxe with precision, so there’s that form of defense. In addition, Mr. Smee has been itching for something to do. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping patrol the town to ensure its safety.”
He could tell that Emma was seriously considering it because she had pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and was chewing on it. He looped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer to him. “Besides, I’m sure your mother and father would be there if the need arose. Wouldn’t it be nice to get away from here where we’re constantly being called into the sheriff’s office, and where your mother is dropping in unannounced to plan some party or other nonsense?”
“You’re still bitter about that, aren’t you?” Emma said teasingly.
“I’m still trying to come up with a plan to get that bloody key away from her,” Killian groused.
******
Henry was fine with going on the trip with his mother, aunt and cousin. Furthermore, he encouraged Emma to take a nice, long, relaxing honeymoon with her new husband.
“You should take longer than two weeks, Mom. When I get home from my trip, maybe I can stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a week or so. They were just telling me the other day that they want to have me over for an extended stay sometime. I see Grandma at school once in a while, but I hardly ever get to see Grandpa. I’d really like to stay with them to help out on the farm and spend some time with Uncle Neal.”
Emma still looked unconvinced. “C’mon Mom. Ever since I brought you to Storybrooke, you’ve spent nearly every minute rescuing someone, fighting monsters, bad guys or witches, and solving the town’s problems. You really deserve a break from being the savior to take some time for yourself and Killian.”
“It sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me,” Emma pointed out.
Henry did his version of her patented eye roll. “I just want you to let yourself relax and be happy. And it’s not really fair to Killian that he has to share you with the whole town all day, every day.”
Emma considered this for a few moments and then smiled at her son. “You’re pretty persuasive, you know that, Kid?”
Henry just grinned. He knew his stepfather was going to be very happy.
******
She wasn’t known as a planner. Killian had insisted on planning their first official date. Her mother had done more than her share of planning for the wedding. Emma really only excelled at making plans to catch bad guys, so her husband had been working out most of the details of their honeymoon himself. He asked for her input and ideas, including what type of climate she preferred, and any specific wishes that she had. She knew that he was planning for them to be away for three weeks, but beyond that, he was keeping everything under wraps.
While Killian was keeping their honeymoon destination a secret, Emma was smug in the knowledge that she had a special secret of her own.
The date for their departure was set and all their bags were packed. Killian had been spending extra time down at the docks and Emma had a sneaking suspicion that somehow, the Jolly Roger was going to be involved. Henry had been hanging around home more often than usual since he would go three solid weeks without seeing his parents. But this night, he wasn’t there, and Emma was taking care of some last minute things before her pirate returned.
She’d asked him to come home early and to make sure he made no other plans for the evening. He walked in the door at 4:00 and was shocked to see his lovely wife standing in the entryway, wearing the soft pink dress that she had worn on their first date.
“Are you gonna say something, or just stand there with your mouth hanging open?” Emma said with a smile.
“You look stunning, Love,” he finally managed to say. “Absolutely gorgeous. I’m just wondering why you’re dressed in such a manner.”
“Well, since we’re leaving on our honeymoon tomorrow, I thought it might be nice to spend this evening revisiting some of the places here in town that have been such an important part of our relationship. How about you take a quick shower and get dressed. I’ve got reservations at the Italian restaurant where you took me on our first date .”
Killian’s face lit up in a huge smile. “That sounds wonderful, Sweetheart. Give me just a few minutes.” He stopped to give her a quick kiss before bounding up the stairs two at a time.
While he was getting ready, Emma made a few quick calls to check on some final details. Soon her husband appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in the same dark jeans, black shirt and leather vest and jacket that he had worn that first night.
She couldn’t help herself. She met him at the bottom of the stairs and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a heated kiss. After several long seconds, Emma pulled away and breathed out, “I guess we’d better get going.”
“I rather like where we were going,” Killian chuckled.
Emma gave him another peck on the lips. “So do I, but I really do have other plans for us tonight, Buddy.”
******
Their meal was much more relaxed this time since they weren’t having first date jitters or worrying about whether or not the Snow Queen was going to make an appearance. Afterwards, Emma suggested that they go for a walk since it was such a lovely evening. They strolled down the sidewalks of Storybrooke, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. Killian didn’t seem to notice that the town was quiet, with none of the residents in sight. His attention was completely on his wife.
“I have one more place that I want to take you tonight, before we head back home,” Emma stated as she leaned her head on Killian’s shoulder.
“And where would that be, my beautiful bride?” he asked.
“Funny you should use that word, because I want to go up on the rooftop where we had our wedding ceremony.” She stopped their progress so she could turn and face him. “Is that okay?”
Killian reached for the lapels of his jacket, which was now draped around Emma’s shoulders. He tugged on them lightly to pull her a little closer to him.
“I think that’s sounds like a grand idea, Love.”
As they climbed the stairs to the roof, Emma began to feel butterflies in her stomach. In a few moments, she would reveal the secret that she had been keeping from her husband. She hoped that he would like what she had planned.
*Chapter 2 will go up March 19 which is my next posting date for @csmarchmadness *
First before I forget, tagging @the-corsair-and-her-quill because this is the long overdue second part of her Secret Santa fic! Also tagging @csmarchmadness because it is likely the ONLY reason a metaphorical gun was put to my head and this has been produced out of the darkness of my hectic schedule. Eagle eyed readers may notice that it now says 2/3 instead of 2/2 - that is because, while this ends where I always intended it to, I have realized, while going through the emotional journey of editing it, that while it DOES end the piece, it’s kind of open ended and I’m not going to do that to you. So I really hope you all (but especially @the-corsair-and-her-quill ) enjoy this and know that you will get the third part by my next March posting date! Because deadlines work for me.
Also on AO3
Killian was brooding on the couch, watching It’s a Wonderful Life.
“You hate Christmas movies,” Emma noted, plopping down next to him.
“It would appear I do,” he answered with false enthusiasm.
“So stop making yourself miserable,” she chastised, snatching the remote from him and flipping around until she settled on something she knew he’d like.
“What the bloody hell is this?” he asked.
“The Devil Wears Prada,” Emma answered. “It’s about flamboyantly dressed people living their truths under the oppression of a tyrannical corporate captain.”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you comparing my Captain Hook to the actual devil?”
“Never,” she soothed, pressing a kiss to his jaw. He tensed under her touch, which made her tense and that place that had been aching beneath her ribs give a painful lurch. What was that thing? Right, her heart. It was two steps forward, one step back with him these days. “I’m going to wrap some stuff I got for Henry. You’re gonna love the movie, I promise.”
She ran to their bedroom like the house was on fire. She wanted to cry, like she was in one of those cheesy Christmas movies.
Later, he found her poking at one of Henry’s newly wrapped packages and wrapped himself around her, one of those full body hugs that made her feel warm and safe and cherished.
“You’re right,” he rasped against her ear. “The devil is quite a bit more my style.”
“Never question me,” she sassed with false confidence.
He squeezed her. “Never.” It sounded more like a vow than the words they’d exchanged at their impromptu wedding, with Henry their only witness. She reminded herself she’d promised to be patient.
It wasn’t a virtue she would ever be accused of possessing.
….
A few days later, Killian marched up to her with all the intent of a man determined to take his medicine and practically demanded, “Go out with me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”
He sighed and ran a nervous hand through his hair. “Swan, I’d like to take you out. On a date. A proper one.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. Truthfully, her heart was beating a little faster at the idea that her husband might actually want to court her again. That was how he’d referred to it the first time, because he should not be allowed but here they were.
“Henry’s at that boy Adam’s house tonight,” he continued, his tone at that boy indicating exactly how much Killian didn’t care for Adam’s attitude or influence on Henry. Emma didn’t exactly disagree, but she was so happy Henry had made a friend in a new city that she was making a lot of concessions. “Let me show you a good a time, Swan.”
She smiled, a gentle, soft thing. “Okay.”
….
He didn’t give her any hints about their evening, just that she should dress warmly, so Emma threw on her favorite pair of jeans, her favorite thick red sweater and one of Killian’s black leather jackets. He seemed pretty fond of that given the momentary heat she saw flare in his eyes and she scored one point for Emma Swan.
They started on a sort of Killian-created oyster crawl, sampling the best places near them and marking down their favorites for future reference. From there, they walked to the wharf and boarded a ferry for the South Shore where Killian had arranged for a table overlooking the water where they could sip cocktails and chat. He told her about his progress on the book - slow going, apparently, but he was ‘remembering’ how to write - which she thought was an odd way to put it, but she’d learned over the years that the writer’s brain was a strange and mysterious place and she tended to leave him be about it.
A local band was playing at a nearby place and Emma was only too happy to cuddle into Killian’s side as they strolled inside and found a cozy table in back. She rested her hand on his thigh and did an internal happy dance when he didn’t tense at all, instead pressing a lingering kiss to the side of her head. The music was decent, a folksy rock sound that suited their evening well. As they wound down, Emma found herself in that loose happy place where she could smell the salt air on Killian’s skin and was having vague fantasies of stripping him naked and having her way with him. It had been weeks and though she’d gone a lot longer without sex in the past, she hadn’t since the most illegally attractive man in the world had spun her world upside down.
The illegally attractive man apparently had other plans. There was a cart that he’d discovered served the best hot chocolate and clam chowder (thankfully in separate containers - some of the fusion foods had gotten a little out of control) and since it was freezing despite all the alcohol they had warming them from the inside, they huddled together on a bench while they shared both and chatted about Henry’s grades (which were better than average but not quite up to his usual standards).
By the time they arrived at the midnight showing of The Princess Bride, she started to get a little annoyed.
The evening was perfect - packed with both her favorite things and the things they enjoyed doing together. But it was like he was trying to keep them so active and busy that they’d pass out in a heap once they got home. Emma felt less like a wife and more like an errant toddler.
Her husband was trying to tire her out.
And damn him, it was working. She nodded off halfway through the movie and woke to Killian gently stroking her chin with his thumb. The cab ride back to the apartment was a combination of cozy and pissy. If he hadn’t been so off lately, Emma might not even have noticed what he was doing. Given the tactics he’d employed recently, she could come to no other conclusion.
Killian didn’t want to have sex with her. Whatever was going on with him was the reason they hadn’t had sex in weeks. Emma tried really, really hard not to assume he was cheating on her, but she had the gossipy words of past unhappy foster families ringing in her head - if he isn’t getting it at home, he’s getting it somewhere was a refrain she’d heard over and over again when the mother of the house worried over her husband’s odd behavior.
Still a little tipsy from the alcohol they’d indulged, Emma let Killian help her upstairs and into bed. When she tried to tug him in after her, he smiled and kissed her forehead - such a platonic gesture. Had he even kissed her, really kissed her, in weeks? Emma was shuffling through her fuzzy memories. It wasn’t like she kept a mental tally of how often she and Killian locked lips, but maybe she should start because she honestly couldn’t remember a single time he’d kissed her since they’d gotten to Boston.
“I’ll turn in soon, luv,” he murmured. “Gonna get a little work done first. Sleep sweet, darling.”
Emma stared at the ceiling for twenty minutes before she couldn’t take it another second, suddenly feeling horribly sober.
The walk to Killian’s office seemed to take forever, partly because she wasn’t really sober and partly because she was afraid of what she’d find. Would he be texting someone? God, maybe Skyping with some woman? Was that an image Emma wanted in her head? It definitely wasn’t but the not knowing was driving her crazy.
It was almost a shock, how banal the scene that greeted her was. His laptop shut tight, phone nowhere in sight, Killian was staring out the window, brooding was the only word Emma could think of to describe it. A glass of amber liquid was clutched in his right hand and she assumed it was rum, given the open bottle on his desk. Killian was no stranger to his favorite drink, but she was surprised he’d indulge after how much they’d had to drink earlier.
Though, she realized, thumbing through the drinking part of their evening, Killian had ordered a single beer with her and then switched to club soda. Emma had to hold in a bark of hysterical laughter. He’d been getting her drunk so he wouldn’t have to take advantage of her.
She wanted to confront him, though she wasn’t even positive what she would say. She wanted to shake him until he told her what was going on. She wanted to demand he leave if he wanted to leave.
She wanted him to tell her she was being ridiculous and he was just … oh she didn’t know, at this point if he said he had a rare disease he was struggling with she would almost be relieved, but the immediate thought that followed, the idea that Killian wouldn’t exist anymore, that he might die, took all the air from her body and she promised any deity listening that she would let him go without hesitation if it meant he was alive.
No, Emma was definitely still too drunk for the conversation they were going to have. And she was going to have to do something about her armor - she wasn’t wearing it, hadn’t worn it around Killian in so long, she almost didn’t know how to put it back on. But she would have to if she was to survive this.
…
“Can I stay over at Adam’s again?” Henry asked.
“Flerf?” Emma was still nursing hangover black coffee and wishing the sun would dial it down a notch, but she was positive Henry wasn’t asking for another sleepover when he’d barely been home for ten minutes.
“I believe your mother meant to say ‘no,’” Killian cheerfully translated, depositing a heaping plate of greasy bacon, eggs and carefully cut up fruit in front of her and a smaller plate with a lot more fruit to bacon ratio in front of Henry.
Cue Henry’s getting-less-adorable-by-the-day ten year old eye roll. “Come on, we’re in the middle of an important campaign, everything is riding on it--”
“It’s a video game, lad, not a military offensive,” Killian chided.
“We’ve got teammates depending on us,” Henry insisted.
“So you can play from your bedroom,” Emma said. “That’s how this all works, right? Everyone’s playing from different locations?”
Henry looked so bitter she’d actually been paying attention to how his games worked.
“It’s family night, kid,” she added. “You know how I feel about family night.”
It was a low blow, but Henry instantly looked guilty. He knew exactly how much she’d wanted a family her whole life and she’d made a point, no matter how much she was working, to taking one night a week for them to spend time together. Killian had been inducted into their lives on a family night officially and they’d rarely missed one in Henry’s entire life. She knew one day he’d be an actual teenager and way too cool for board games with his parents, but she wanted this for him and, selfishly, she wanted it for herself as long as she could get it.
“Fine,” he conceded. “I’ll tell Adam I can’t make it.”
“You can still dial in,” Killian reminded him, completely butchering the tech speak he had no interest in retaining.
“Nah, they can do one campaign without me,” Henry said. “Besides, if they fail without me, I’ll get team leader for sure.”
“That’s my devious little man,” Emma praised, pinching his cheeks as Killian ruffled his hair, being with pride at the boy’s cunning.
Henry squirmed until he was able to disentangle both of them and started shoveling his breakfast down. Killian took his seat beside her, lifting her hand to his mouth to press a brief kiss to her knuckles before tucking into his own plate. It was a simple gesture, one he did almost habitually, but it reignited the roiling in Emma’s gut.
“I’ll be right back,” she muttered, escaping to the bathroom to throw up. She was rarely this badly hungover after a few drinks and she blamed the emotional stress on how bad she felt.
A gentle knock at the door interrupted her sullen thoughts and Killian peeked his head inside. “All right, luv?”
“I’m dying,” she muttered, a touch dramatically.
“I certainly hope not,” he said lightly, dropping to his knees beside her and holding her hair back in case she got sick again. “What would we do without you?”
YOU’RE SO FUCKING CONFUSING, she wanted to scream at him. But her head hurt too much and her armor was the opposite of fortified so - repression and denial it was.
Emma rested her head against his shoulder and let her husband comfort her.
…..
Family night was a huge hit - Kilian wasn’t pulling away when it was the three of them, gleefully taking all of Henry’s money in a game of Monopoly then dutifully picking a movie Henry loved (Star Wars) as was his right as victor. They ate popcorn and Killian didn’t even fuss too much at the Nestle Crunch mixed into the bowl. With Henry snuggled between them (God she didn’t want to think about him being older and unwilling to snuggle with them) it was a perfect night.
Then the movie ended and Henry went to bed, though not before letting out a gleeful YES! that indicated his friends had not been victorious in their campaign and he would ascend to the role of team leader.
Killian was changing into his pajamas and hiding an exaggerated yawn behind his prosthetic. Subtle, Jones, real subtle.
Emma, very tired of this game he was playing, stared him down as she started stripping off her clothes. Sure enough once he realized she wasn’t being remotely modest, he jerked around so quickly she thought he was going to strain something. She kept glaring at his back until she was down to her underwear. He was pretending to look for something on his nightstand. She moved into his peripheral vision with purpose and, assuming she had finished dressing, he glanced up to look at her and his mouth dropped open slowly as he realized she was nearly naked.
“It’s, ah…” He licked his lips, slowly, and she was somewhat gratified to know that at least her naked breasts still had some effect on him. “Cold. It’s cold tonight, isn’t it?” he asked like he almost wasn’t sure.
Emma pulled back the covers on her side of the bed then did a very bad job of covering herself with them. “Then you should come to bed and keep me warm,” she said in the best come hither voice she had.
And even though she almost expected the rejection, his hesitation still stung. The weird thing about it? He wanted to. Emma might be insecure and a little crazy when it came to her abandonment issues, but she knew when a man wanted her and Killian definitely did. He was almost swaying toward the bed, as if in a trance. Boobs did that to men, but she was pretty sure it was more than a heterosexual man’s biological reaction. Killian wanted her but for reasons only he knew was determined to deny it.
Emma felt suddenly and absurdly ashamed of herself - she didn’t need to throw herself at a man who wasn’t interested and she definitely didn’t want some kind of pity fuck to manifest out of this desperation she was displaying. Gripping the covers tightly in her fist, she turned her back on Killian and made sure she was completely covered. She could feel his indecision, could feel him staring at the back of her head, but she was done trying to initiate things. She’d promised him patience, but since she was out of that, he could live with petulance instead.
The mattress dipped on his side as he cautiously got into bed. He reached a tentative hand out toward her arm and she jerked away from him. She spun to face him and his eyes were so comically wide that she might have laughed if she wasn’t so hurt and angry.
Mostly angry.
“Don’t pretend,” she snapped. “Just go sleep in your office; we both know that’s what you’re going to do as soon as you’re sure I’m asleep anyway.”
She hadn’t been sure of that, actually, but the flare of guilt in his eyes was as good as a signed confession.
“You obviously don’t want to sleep with your wife, so don’t.” She turned away from him again, bundling herself in her blanket and her misery.
“I just don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered after nearly a full minute of silence. “I’d rather lose another limb than hurt you.”
“You are hurting me.” Emma was angry at the tears that were falling because they felt manipulative somehow, but the idea that Killian might not want her anymore ripped open every scabbed over wound she had. “You’re hurting me every second you don’t want to be with me. Killian, seriously, I don’t…” Even though it felt ridiculous, she wriggled around until she faced him again, without relinquishing her blanket burrito; she really, really didn’t want to have this conversation topless. “I don’t want your pity or your guilt. I don’t want you to stay because you feel trapped. You can…. We can figure out how you could still be part of Henry’s life, if that’s what’s holding you here. But you don’t want me anymore. You’ve made it pretty obvious and I’ve been in too much denial to see it. Do you know how pathetic it is, to realize that your husband has lost all interest in you, but he feels too bad for you being a fucking foster kid to leave?”
“Lost interest,” he muttered, as if it were the most hysterical thing she’d ever said. “Bloody hell, do you have any idea how impossible it is to lie next to you, night after night, willing and wanting and not simply ravish you?”
“Oh, fuck off,” she whisper-yelled, flinging the blanket aside, her unbound breasts be damned. She stomped over to the dresser and pulled on the first t-shirt she found, then spun around with her arms crossed, ready to really fight. As much as they could, given Henry was down the hall. “I am so sick of your mixed messages and pleas for time. You feel like a fraud? Well, stop acting like one! Decide what you want and live with it.”
“It’s not that bloody easy,” he hissed, rising from the bed to regard her from across the room. “I can’t just think about what I want. I have to think about what’s best for you, for Henry. It’s not fair to expect…” He clamped his jaw shut tightly. “Nothing I say will bloody matter,” he muttered, more to himself than her. “I can scarcely reconcile all the thoughts raging through my own mind. How could I possibly expect you to contend with it? I’m not the man you think I am and… I’m hurting you. Something I swore I would never do, not intentionally. Perhaps… perhaps I should leave.”
Even though Emma had basically challenged him to do just that, everything inside of her froze at the idea of it. “So that’s it. You’re leaving me.” She felt like she was three again, or seven or twelve or fifteen or seventeen - unwanted, unloved, undeserving of the family she’d craved and fought for.
“No!” His hoarse denial snapped her out the cold dread seeping into her limbs. He moved closer to her, the way you might approach a feral cat, his hand and prosthetic outstretched. “Not leaving you. I would never… Emma, I would do anything to stay with you. But I don’t want to keep hurting you while I figure out how to do the honorable thing.”
His eyes were begging her for understanding, but Emma was done coddling whatever delusion was chasing around his head. She knew Killian had demons, the same as she did, and if his were trying to destroy everything they’d built together… well she could put on her big girl panties.
Emma slapped his shoulder. “That’s for thinking it wouldn’t hurt me more than anything if you left.”
“Emma--”
She slapped his other shoulder. “That’s for thinking you had to do anything to stay with me but stay.”
“Swan--”
She shoved his chest, hard, with both hands, satisfied when he stumbled back a few steps. “And that’s for thinking I want you to do the honorable thing if your crazy, fucked up line of thought has led you to consider for a second that it’s somehow not right or fair for us to be together.”
“I don’t know what to do,” he seethed back at her. “You don’t really know me! I’m not the man you married anymore!”
Emma tried very, very hard not to diminish what was obviously a very real torment weighing on him by calling bullshit at the mere idea. So she took a deep breath and asked in a very calm voice, “Do you love me?”
“Emma,” he sighed.
“No, you don’t get to act like I’m ridiculous for asking. You’re the idiot here, so you get to answer any question I have. Do you love me?”
“More than anything,” he said in that low voice that made her toes curl. Point to Killian for style.
“Do you… do you want to be with me?” she asked, faltering only slightly in her confidence.
He sighed fondly. “More than anything,” he replied, his tone gentling.
“Okay,” she said softly. “Then let me see if you’re the man I married. Let me decide that, okay?”
Slowly, almost with fear, he nodded his head.
“Good,” she whispered. She cleared her throat, trying to organize her thoughts. She wasn’t the one who was good at romantic declarations, but for him, she was going to try her damnedest. “It wasn’t love at first sight between you and me. I was prickly and guarded and you actually liked that about me. You’ve been hurt deeply before, lost more than I ever had in the first place, but we understand each other; you and me, it wasn’t love, but we understood each other at first sight and I think that probably scared me most of all. You saw me and I saw you and for better or for worse I don’t think there was a point either of us could have turned back.”
“Swan,” he choked, his eyes filling with tears. But she wasn’t done yet, not by a long shot.
“I don’t know you? You love with your whole body, so deeply that loss is like a knife to you. You’d cut off your other hand before you’d lose someone you love again. I don’t know you? You’re capable of things that make you ashamed, things you did after you lost your brother, after you lost your first love. You drowned for awhile, until you found a better way to channel all that loss and rage and then you met me. You loved me and I don’t know if I could have let anyone but you love me like this, because I don’t know if anyone else would have loved me enough to break down those walls. But you did. You always have. So you can tell me you don’t want me and you can leave if you think you’ve made a mistake being with us, but you do not get to tell me I don’t know who you are. You’re not a coward so don’t act like one.”
Killian stared at her with a strange kind of longing, almost salvation in his eyes.
“As usual, Swan… you’re damned right,” he muttered and then his hand was in her hair and his mouth was pressing against hers with all the urgency and passion she’d been missing for weeks only it was somehow more, something that left her more breathless, more wanting, more relieved than she could possibly have imagined.
He walked her back until she bumped into the dresser, then he lifted her up to sit on top of it so they were at the same level. She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him closer, one of her hands in his hair while the other slid under the warm henley he wore to caress his back. He gentled his kiss after a moment, leaning away from her long enough to look her in the eye.
“Hi,” she said, because the way he was looking at her was somehow more than the way he’d always looked at her and that was really saying something.
“I just want to remember this,” he said quietly, thumbing at the dimple in her chin. He leaned forward and kissed her again, slow and soft, and Emma felt her whole body melt into his.
Then his hand was under her bottom and she was off her feet again, spun around until her back hit the mattress and Killian followed her down without pulling away.
His mouth blazed a trail over the bridge of her nose, her jaw, the spot behind her ear that made her moan. It was like he was remembering and learning all the places she liked him best and Emma was absolutely not complaining. It was a little bit like he had been right - she hadn’t known him, or perhaps hadn’t known the full depth of him, because this felt somehow… more than it ever had before and there was a damned good reason she’d missed their sex life - it had been pretty incredible.
But this… hell, they hadn’t even taken their clothes off and she was ready to crawl out of her skin.
“I want to see you,” Killian muttered against her mouth, then he pulled her up on the bed so they were facing each other on their knees. He watched her eyes as he found the hem of her t-shirt and slowly dragged it up her torso, only breaking eye contact to lean down and press fervent, wet kisses to her ribs as they were revealed. Emma lifted her arms above her head and helped him pull the shirt the rest of the way off, then groaned because Killian had found her breasts and they were definitely going to be best friends from here on out.
He palmed her and kissed her and bit at her in all the right ways and she was right about this being more somehow, because she was about to come simply from the way he was worshipping her chest.
But she didn’t want to, not yet. Her hands found the hem of his Henley and she repeated his actions, pressing her mouth over his abdomen and trailing up his chest as he helped her remove the shirt completely. Her hand trailed down to the prosthetic he never wore to bed and he tensed.
She raised an eyebrow. “I want to see you,” she parrotted huskily.
He let her remove the prosthetic and set it gently on his nightstand. She cradled his left arm between her breasts and leaned in to kiss him again, those slow, soft kisses that were mending all the bruises around her heart; soon, they’d barely ache at all.
Killian’s hand began to wander again, reacquainting itself with the bare skin of her back, teasing at the band of her underwear by dipping beneath it then giving it a single, sharp snap that had her pushing her hips against his. He lowered her back to the bed and they both tugged at her underwear until she was able to kick it away. Killian pressed his mouth over her abdomen, his touch reverent as he moved over all the places she used to feel uncomfortable about - the stretch marks Henry left her with, the appendix scar that kept her from wearing bikinis for years. They were just another part of her as far as Killian was concerned.
He inhaled deeply when he reached the spot between her legs and before she could tell him she was too wound up, that she just wanted him, he was already diving in, his lips and tongue discovering and rediscovering and holy Jesus Christ how was he actually better at this than he’d been before?
Emma buried one hand in his hair and used the other to quiet the cries she wanted to let loose, biting into her palm to keep herself quiet. Poor Henry - they couldn’t traumatize him.
It was almost embarrassing how fast she came, quiet mewls smothered by her hand until Killian was suddenly there, replacing her hand with his mouth and she could taste herself on him and it was so, so hot and she was satisfied and unsatisfied at the same time and she had to get his fucking pajama pants off right now.
He reached between them for a moment to guide himself and then he was there, he was inside, and Emma gasped something between a laugh and a sob at how absurdly, ridiculously relieved she was to have him there. He smiled against her mouth, an agreement of sorts, and then his hips moved against her, both of them finding a rhythm that worked so, so well and she wanted to keep kissing him but she also wanted to suck at his neck so she did that while he kissed her shoulder and she dragged her foot up his hip until her heel was smacking against his lower back with every thrust and fuck she was gonna come again--
This time his mouth was firmly on hers to muffle her cries or maybe hers were muffling his, she wasn’t really sure because this was really, definitely the best sex they had ever, ever had and if he ever tried to withhold it from her again for some dumbass reason he made up in his head she was going to hurt him. Or maybe just tie him to the bed until he submitted. Yeah. That seemed like a more reasonable plan.
She felt like she was drifting for a moment, but came back to herself as Killian pressed fervent, arduous kisses to every inch of bare skin he could reach without disentangling their bodies. “I love you,” he muttered between kisses, so much and so often she thought that he was trying to make up for the last few weeks, when he hadn’t said it at all.
“I love you,” she whispered against the adorable curve of his ear. “Whatever’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours--”
“Is done,” he promised, lifting his head to look her in the eyes. “I’ll not leave your side unless you order me away, Emma.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen,” she assured him. “Who else am I gonna find to fuck me like that?”
“Such a filthy mouth,” he chastised a second before he kissed her again.
….
Things were good. Like, really good. Like, better than even her best memory. It was like something clicked for them and the whole world realigned itself to a new world order. Killian was back to being her attentive, outrageously flirtatious husband, except he was also softer than she remembered him being, more vulnerable. It’s like he was determined to lay himself bare for her, almost daring her to find him wanting.
As if. Emma felt a little bit like she’d won the lottery or like she was in the middle of the best dream ever, the kind you never wanted to wake up from because nothing in reality could possibly feel this good.
Henry and Killian had long gotten back on the even keel they’d had before - except their relationship, too, seemed just a little bit more than Emma remembered, Killian more attuned to Henry’s moods, more eager to make sure he was safe - sometimes to the annoyance of the boy himself. The way he watched over her (their, really) little boy made Emma love him even more.
They were stretched out on the couch, legs tangled as they both worked on their laptops at opposite ends. Emma’s ringtone for Henry startled them both, lulled by the quiet clacking of their keyboards.
Her little boy’s voice was tiny and heartbroken as she leaned her head next to Killian’s so they could both hear.
“Can you guys come get me?”
He was at the police station. Emma had made fast friends with the cops who worked the evening shift, having brought in enough skips to them in the short few months they’d been in Boston to endear herself to the lot of them. Popping for a giant box of donuts a few times didn’t hurt. So Officer Miles made sure the boys were kept in an unused office rather than anywhere too scary.
Henry looked defiant and ashamed at the same time. Emma took care of the paperwork - thanking Officer Miles profusely for keeping this off their permanent record - and frowned when Adam’s parents showed up, smacking the boy on the back of his head and calling him an idiot, a juvenile delinquent. They didn’t even ask what had happened. Emma watched Killian cup the back of Henry’s head protectively, as if the punishment being doled out to his partner in crime could somehow be contagious.
“I imagine they were just being young boys,” Killian said when Adam’s parents paused long enough to let someone else get a word in. “I’m sure they won’t do anything like this again.”
Killian didn’t know what they’d done either. But he knew Henry, knew him like Emma did and despite everything, Henry had called them. The boys didn’t have identification and probably could have caused the police no end of frustration by refusing to identify themselves, but Henry had called them within five minutes of arriving at the station.
It turned out Adam had the idea to break into the aquarium and take selfies in front of the sharks. Killian reminded Henry that no successful crime hinged on taking incriminating photographs and Henry seemed to sigh in disappointment at his own foolishness. Emma broke the news that trips to the police station meant he was grounded for a month, no video games and no Adam. Henry protested the last, explaining that he was Adam’s only real friend and he couldn’t just abandon him.
Emma and Killian exchanged a look, having seen the sort of treatment Adam got from his parents. They conceded that Henry and Adam could see one another to study -- only to study -- provided Adam got permission from his parents to do so at their apartment.
To no one’s surprise, Adam’s parents agreed easily and Adam spent most of the next week practically sleeping over at the apartment. He took meals with the family, finished his homework promptly and delighted in the astronomy lessons Killian gave both boys. Emma felt proud of Henry, because the boy they’d considered a bad influence (which… well, he was) had actually been someone in need of a hero.
Adam was returned to his own home for Christmas Eve with promises to have him over for Boxing Day, a holiday Killian assured him was actually a much better meal than the one served at Christmas. Henry’s grounding was officially lifted for the holiday and they exchanged presents - besides the usual socks and sweaters and video games, Emma and Henry got Killian a keyboard that would attach to his laptop that was supposed to be easier to use with one hand. Emma knew his prosthetic grew painful after extended wear and Killian liked to write later into the night than was entirely comfortable. Henry unwrapped the new gaming console he’d spent weeks hinting at and Emma got two gifts from her boys: the first, a cheesy ornament for the tree that said “First Christmas in Boston” with a spot for a photograph they’d snapped on one of their family nights, the three of them sporting equally cheesy grins over a failed game of Twister. The second was a ring on a chain.
“It belonged to the best man I know - my brother, Liam,” Killian said softly. “I’ve always thought it brought me luck, protected me, and there’s no one I’d rather it keep from harm.” He draped the chain over her neck and Emma settled it against her sweater.
“Merry Christmas,” Emma whispered as Henry, tired of the mushy stuff, eagerly went to hook up his new console.
“Happy Christmas, luv,” Killian whispered back.
....
Life went on from there. Their first few weeks in Boston faded into the tapestry of the rest of their lives together - Emma remembered it, when she rarely thought of it, as Killian’s weird self esteem mysterious freak out.
Henry graduated fifth grade and they flew to Florida to celebrate his eleventh birthday at Disney World. Adam came with them and the two boys kept each other busy and tired enough that Emma and Killian managed a few quiet moments amidst the wonderful chaos.
Killian finished his book (hence the splurgey birthday trip to Disney World) and his publishers flipped over how much they loved it. They said the realism he’d given his fanciful characters outdid anything he’d produced before and they were going to give the book a big holiday push.
Emma managed to avoid injury during every skip she chased. She pretended it was just a matter of time, but she secretly believed what Killian did - that Liam’s ring was keeping her safe.
Once Henry started sixth grade, Emma felt settled in a way she couldn’t explain. She and Killian were curled together in bed, her favorite pillow breathing deeply under her cheek. His fingers were trailing up and down her spine and if she hadn’t been so recently satiated she probably would have crawled on top of him.
“Do you, um… do you ever think about what it would be like if we had another kid?” she asked.
His fingers paused their idle stroking briefly before resuming. “I thought that’s what we were calling Adam?”
“Har har,” she muttered, poking him in the ribs. Then she went back to running her fingers through his chest hair, tracing random patterns so she could ignore how genuinely worried she was for his response. “I mean, a kid that looked a little like me and a little like you.”
“I’ve often thought of giving Henry a little brother or a little sister,” he confided. “If there was ever a boy born to be someone’s big brother, it’s our Henry.”
Emma felt this strange sense of calmness settle within her. “So… I guess I could stop taking my pill.”
“I guess you could,” Killian agreed softly.
The next day, she dumped her pills in the garbage.
….
The day after that, as Killian was making breakfast and Henry was watering their plants, Emma answered a knock at the door.
“Hi.” A petite woman with curly blonde hair pulled into a messy bun stood on the other side. “I know this is going to sound really, really crazy and you have no idea who I am, but um… something’s happened. Your family needs you.”
Emma narrowed her eyes. “My family is right here.”
“I don’t just mean Henry. I mean… your parents.”
“Okay, we’re done.” Emma went to slam the door in the woman’s face, but before she could connect, Killian’s hand covered the side of the door, pulling it back.
“Tink,” he breathed.
The other woman’s eyes widened. “Hook. You… you know me?”
It was then that Emma saw that look in his eyes, the one she hadn’t seen since they’d first come to Boston. The guilt. The shame. As if he’d stolen something that didn’t belong to him.
“Aye, luv,” he said as if every word was painful. “You’d best come inside.” He looked at Emma then, some endlessly sad apology in his eyes. “We’ve much to discuss.”
FanFic: The Mysterious Case of the Missing Pirate - Chapter 8/9
Summary: On the day after Killian and Emma return from their journey to the past, he seemingly vanishes without a trace. Can Emma find him before it’s too late? A Captain Swan canon divergence. Key words: stranded, blizzard, snowed in, cabin in the woods, mild smut (you get the drift)
READ FROM THE BEGINNING on AO3 or FF.Net
Rating: M
Note: It has taken several years, but here is the penultimate chapter to this story. HUGE thanks to @csmarchmadness for running such a great event and giving me a great excuse to finish this! The final chapter will be up this month.
This chapter on AO3 or FF.Net
Chapter 8
David glanced towards Granny’s trying to see what might be keeping Robin and Regina, but between the dark of night and the falling snow, which was no longer Regina’s signature purple and was once again a more natural pristine white, he couldn’t see a thing. He considered walking over himself, but the tension had been understandably thick between those two all day and he knew they probably had a lot to talk about; it was not a conversation he was eager to interrupt.
David turned back to Belle and Gold, about to comment on the length of time the other two had been gone, only to witness Gold ushering his wife quickly down the street. They were almost at the edge of the snow-less bubble Regina had created when David’s voice boomed behind them. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Gold stopped and turned with an obsequious smile. “My wife is cold; I’m taking her back in the shop.”
“That’s fine. Belle can leave if she likes.” David’s voice was every bit that of the authoritative royal. “But you’re staying here.”
“I’m afraid I can’t oblige you. With a crazed person on the loose, I must stay with her.”
“No,” David replied flatly and then he looked at Belle who appeared taken aback by his firm refusal. David relented and adopted a more moderate tone. “We think the person creating this storm is a young woman who was trapped in your husband’s vault. Surely you must see how valuable his assistance is?”
Belle, who was gripping her husband’s arm, turned to David and asked in innocent tones, “If Rumple says he doesn’t know, then what more do you want from us?”
David eyed her shrewdly, could any person really be in this much denial about the person she married? However, when he spoke, it was with gentle understanding. “Belle, don’t you see what’s going on here? We think that a magical urn came back through the portal with Hook and Emma last night, from your husband’s vault. We think a young woman was in that urn. A woman who is angry enough that she’s creating this storm and knocked out Hook because she thought he was the one who put her there. There’s already well over a foot of snow on the ground. If we don’t find her, and this storm keeps going, I don’t know what’ll happen; my guess is we’ll all be buried alive. We have to find a way to stop it before that happens. Your husband was missing all day, he clearly knows more than he’s saying. Are you okay risking the life of every soul in Storybrooke because you’re cold? If you need to warm up, I suggest you join Robin and Regina at Granny’s for a coffee while your husband stays out here with me.”
Belle’s eyes were saucer-like by the time David finished speaking, she turned to Rumple, trembling either from the cold or from David’s words. “I’m fine, I can stay. If you can help...” she let her voice trail off in an unasked question.
The man sighed and turned to David. “Have you considered that perhaps my presence will be more of a hindrance, than a help?”
David narrowed his eyes at him. “Many times, but why don’t you explain yourself.”
xXx
“Wait, Regina!” Robin yelled as he stepped out from behind Regina.
“What?” Regina looked back to Robin, a fireball perched on her hand at the ready. “She just froze Granny’s! I might not love her lasagna, but it’s an institution in Storybrooke.”
“I know, but look at her. She’s scared.” Robin stepped forward and held his hands up as a sign of peace. “Hi, my name is Robin; this is Regina, what’s your name?”
“Don’t come any closer!” The woman barked. As per Hook’s description, she was a young, very beautiful, and very angry looking blonde woman.
“Okay, no problem,” Robin complied and stepped back, however he didn’t lose eye contact with her. “Listen, if you promise not to freeze anything else, my friend, Regina here, will put away her fireball and we can have a conversation.” He looked back and gave Regina a pleading look. Regina didn’t seem pleased about it, but she did lower her hand, though the fire still burned in her palm.
Robin looked back to the woman. “There, see, no one has to get hurt. Now, why don’t we calmly discuss whatever it is that has you afraid?”
“Why do you think I’m afraid?” snapped the woman with bravado. However, Robin hadn’t made a great leap. There was a tremor to her voice and the look in her eyes radiated fear. If he hadn’t seen her turn Granny’s to ice, he would have had a hard time believing she was responsible for creating the storm or hurting Hook.
“Because you don’t seem like someone who would purposely hurt innocent people.”
“Maybe I am!” she said defensively, but she looked unsettled by what he’d said.
“If so you’re doing a good job. You’ve brought the town to a standstill and I hear you knocked out and almost froze the savior’s boyfriend.” Regina spoke matter-of-factly, but allowed the fireball in her palm to extinguish. “The savior is not someone you want to make an enemy of…”
“Did I hurt him?” The woman swallowed roughly.
“Yes,” Robin replied truthfully. “He was unconscious and almost died from being out in the cold, but we think he’s going to recover.”
“I thought he was the one who trapped me, but...”
“You now realize that’s not true,” Robin finished for her, the pieces starting to come together, albeit slowly. “Okay, let’s start from the beginning. Do you have any idea where you are or how you got here?”
The woman immediately looked defensive again and her posture stiffened. It was clear she didn’t have an answer to the questions. Sensing her unease, Regina’s hand once again filled with fire and she adopted a fighting stance.
“Please! Both of you!” Robin Hood put his hands up once again in an effort to defuse the rising tension. He gave Regina a pointed look before turning to the woman and trying to appear as kind and nonthreatening as he could. “Worry not; we think we know how you got here. We recently had...” his eyes slid to Regina once again before he referenced the unpleasantness with her sister, “an incident with a wicked witch and she opened a portal to the past of another realm. We think you must have come through the portal while it was open. We mean you no harm, but you have to stop freezing things if you want us to help you.”
“I... I don’t know if I can!” The woman’s voice was rough, and it was apparent she was having just as bad of a day as the rest of them.
“Well, now we’re getting somewhere. Why don’t we talk?” Robin smiled at her. “Would you like something to eat or drink? Perhaps some tea or coffee?”
The fire died out in Regina’s hand and she rubbed her palm against her coat. One might assume that her eyes would be glued to the interloper in blue, but they weren’t. She was watching Robin, feeling in awe of how he was handling the situation. He was so calm and so kind. It wasn’t necessarily surprising, it was after all how he’d treated her when they first met and that thought pulled at her heart. He was such a good man. She’d finally found a good man to love and it had all been ripped away. She felt the anger build once again and threaten to boil over. Instead of letting that happen, she took several deep breaths and calmed herself. Nothing was helped by dwelling on her personal situation, particularly not the current crisis, so she forced herself to turn her attention back to the woman in blue.
Robin had ducked behind Granny’s counter to pour a cup of coffee for the woman. When he handed it to her, he asked, “Now why don’t we start by you telling us your name?”
The woman took a sip of the hot liquid and then with wide eyes she looked at Robin. “I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle.”
xXx
“What?” Emma felt her heart-rate increase at both his question and the way his gaze was drilling through her.
“Would you like me to repeat the question?” Killian asked when she didn’t elaborate. He studied her intently in the firelight, his head canted to one side quizzically. When she still didn’t speak, he repeated, “In the Enchanted Forest if I hadn’t already been in the Captain’s Quarters, what would have happened between you and him?”
“Me and who?” Emma asked obtusely.
“Him.” Killian tried to sound neutral; however, the word came out with a slightly injured sounding huff.
“You mean you?”
“I mean him.”
“You do know that was you?” Emma narrowed her eyes as she watched him and tried not to feel amused at the expression on his face. It was clear that he was serious about this, but there was a surreal aspect to the conversation for her that she couldn’t help but find funny.
“It was not me,” Killian replied slowly, “the sentient being sitting across from you right now. I was the person already there, when you brought him home.”
“He brought me home,” she clarified.
“A-ha!” Killian said as if he’d scored a point in a game he didn’t want to win.
“He, who also happens to be you, brought me home,” Emma repeated and then bit her lip to keep from smiling. She was only moderately successful. Truth was she was finding this side to him to be very cute, not that she’d admit it to him necessarily. She hadn’t often been the object of jealousy, and while as a modern woman she didn’t find it a romantic notion necessarily, it was heartening that he cared enough to let it bother him. Besides, the situation was so crazy that laughter really was the best way to cope.
“What’s so funny?” he demanded and crossed his arms protectively in front of him.
“You. You’re jealous of yourself!” she replied pointedly.
He shrugged and looked slightly peeved. “I don’t get jealous.”
“All evidence to the contrary.” She nudged his thigh with her foot in a playful manner. When he looked back to her through the dim light, she smirked teasingly at him. “First off, can we agree that even though he wasn’t you,” she pointed at him, “he was absolutely you?”
“That,” he shook his head, but finally allowed a small smile, “is nonsensical, besides, he... I... was a different person then. I’m not him anymore. You didn’t even know him.”
“Maybe,” Emma replied with a smile, not allowing the circular nature of the conversation to daunt her. “But I liked him.”
“Yes, that was apparent.” Killian replied with a grimace.
“You’re missing the point. I liked him. I liked you, that part of you.”
“Yes, it was obvious.”
Her sigh held both amusement and frustration, however when she spoke it was with care. “Is this because I kissed him? You know that was to distract him so he didn’t see you.”
“A distraction you were enjoying quite a bit.”
At that rejoinder, Emma made a decision. She tossed back the comforter and then crawled from her end of the couch to his. His eyes went wide, and his heart rate increased at her unexpected approach. Straddling his body, she planted a bare knee on either side of his flannel-clad thighs. Her own too-large flannel pajama tops were hanging haphazardly off to the side, exposing a tempting view of her bare shoulder as she rested her hands on the blanket that still covered his shoulders. Her hair framed her face in a messy tangle making her appear untamed and, definitely, tantalizing.
He felt his groin tighten involuntarily. He was supposed to be getting answers, not getting aroused. He hugged his arms even tighter across his chest and let his gaze fall to the side and whispered, “What are you doing?”
“I never thought I’d see the day when you were insecure.” Emma studied him quizzically, wishing he would make eye contact.
He shrugged noncommittally, so she continued. “You know it’s not like we were together when any of this happened...” Her voice was gentle, but her meaning was clear, it wasn’t necessarily any of his business who she went home with. However, she squeezed his shoulders to lessen the sting of her words. To be fair this was a rather convoluted situation, what with him being both parties of a potential time-travelling love triangle.
“I know… that’s not what... I mean... no, I know we weren’t together.” Killian finally uncrossed his arms and gestured with his hook. Emma felt a shiver zip along her skin where the cold metal brushed inadvertently against her bare thigh. “It’s just... I’ve been interested in pursuing you since we met.” He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “And while you’ve clearly been charmed by me…” Even though he still wasn’t looking at her, Emma rolled her eyes at that with almost theatrical flair. “You’ve resisted my allure. With him, you willingly went back to his cabin on the first night you met him. The first night. That’s why I’m inquisitive about what you were planning to do if I hadn’t been present.”
Emma brought her hands to his cheeks, idly stroking his scruff with her thumbs before tilting his head so he had to look at her. “Okay. First, we were on a mission, you and me.” She let her left hand fall from his cheek so she could gesture between the two of them for emphasis. “I did what I had to do for us, again, that’s you and me, and our mission to succeed.”
Her left hand moved back up to his shoulder, but this time she slipped it underneath the blanket. With a soft touch, she caressed over the smooth skin of his shoulder and then pressed tenderly down his arm over his bicep and along his forearm. She felt his muscles grow taut under her touch and it seemed as if his breathing had become slightly more erratic. When she reached his hand, she ran her palm over the rough skin of his knuckles and then laced her fingers with his. The tingles she felt from the contact with his bare skin and just his nearness were consuming. Mesmerized, she stared at the sight of their fingers twined together.
He squeezed her hand tenderly and then, his voice hoarse, asked, “Was there a second thing?”
What was she doing again? This proximity to him was making her lose her train of thought. Maybe she should go back to the other end of the couch. However, when she looked back to his eyes, his pupils blown wide in the firelight, she found he was watching her with an intent, but nervous expression, so she took a deep breath and then shook her head to clear it. After everything he’d done for her, namely jumping down the portal after her, she owed him an answer.
“Right…” she cleared her throat and resolved to not get distracted by him until she had said her piece. “Yes, there was.” This time she squeezed his hand before she continued. “Second… it was not the first night I met him.” He was about to protest but Emma moved her right hand to his lips to silence him gently with her index finger. She felt something deep in her chest well up, almost making it hard to breathe. How had she pretended for so long that she didn’t have feelings for this man? Looking back over their time spent together, suddenly everything became crystal clear.
“It wasn’t the first time I met him… because I met him in the Enchanted Forest right before we climbed a beanstalk together. I was attracted to him immediately, but he was a fairy tale pirate, working for the other side, hell-bent on revenge and he could see right through me, which scared the hell out of me. And then when things began to change, when we, he and I, were on the same side, when he became a friend... a very good friend... and a trusted ally, things got complicated. The attraction was always there, but I had issues, I still have issues, and there were curses and danger… “
Emma stopped abruptly and swallowed hard over the lump that had begun to form in her throat. She also took the opportunity to take a deep breath, Killian’s hook had found its way to her waist, holding her steady, and his eyes hadn’t left hers, but some of the uncertainty in them had waned. She squeezed his hand one more time, before she continued, “And then you did begin to pursue me and you made it clear you had feelings for me. So there was no way to act on that attraction, that chemistry, that pull without it having deep and lasting emotional ramifications for both of us, and that... was terrifying and complicated and something I absolutely wasn’t ready for. But in the Enchanted Forest, there you were, still you in so many ways, but you without all of our baggage. It was you with no repercussions. You didn’t know me; you didn’t have feelings for me. So, yes, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed him. Because he was you. I got to flirt with you, without it hurting you. And nothing would have happened, he was minutes away from passing out. I would have kept him occupied until he was out cold and then met back up with you. And no, I didn’t want to sleep with him, it didn’t cross my mind, because the first time I’m with you, I want it to be you.”
Killian looked absolutely gobsmacked. All slack jaw and slightly parted lips. He tried to swallow, but he found his mouth was dry and his heart was pounding in his chest. He had never heard Emma string so many sentences together at once; she was usually a woman of few words. The room was silent except for the wind howling outside and the fire crackling beside them. However, the way his blood was thrumming through his veins, it occurred to him that she could probably hear it from her position perched over his lap. He should say something, but when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. A man, who had survived and thrived on always having something to say, had finally been rendered speechless.
Sensing that she might have overpowered him with her unplanned and unrehearsed recital but feeling empowered after finally admitting how far back her feelings for him stretched, Emma let go of his hand and snaked her right arm around his neck. At the same time, she let her left hand slide from his cheek to his neck and then gave into temptation and traced an enticing path down and over his chest. Her nails lightly scraped across the furled hair until they hit metal. A smile curled her lips as she lightly fingered the charms that hung from his necklace and then gave them a gentle tug towards her. With only inches separating them, the new proximity only heightened the frisson of sexual energy that snapped between them.
Her eyes flicked down and she watched his tongue dart out and wet his lips. She felt the desire, the unmistakable naked desire, which she’d been trying to ignore, tamp down or banish since the day she met him, roar back to life. With a lick of her own lips, she whispered, “Does that answer your question?” before her lips crashed into his.
The instant the kiss connected them; Killian came alive. While he’d spent the last few minutes in stunned silence, listening, watching her and trying to process everything she’d said, now his body responded instinctually. His hand hit the couch behind them; reflexively trying to keep their balance, even as his hook arm pulled her tighter to him. The second Emma felt him respond, she used her position above him to change the angle and deepen the kiss.
Heat. The entire day had been about the cold, but now all she felt was heat. Delicious heat. The kind that raced like lava through her veins and ignited something primal in her soul. It was as if they were melting together, combining as one. She wanted to be closer to him, craved it. Craved him. Keeping a tight hold on his necklace with one hand, the fingers of the other slid through his hair, avoiding his earlier injury, until she gently gripped a handful of silky black strands, anchoring him to her. Their lips continued to work deliciously against one another in soft, but hungry, open-mouthed kisses, and the first time their tongues met in a warm tangle, her moan broke the silence.
The second he heard it, the pirate in him took control. With a movement only someone with great strength and dexterity could accomplish, he tightened his hook arm around her and then both scooted them down and flipped them so that a moment later Emma found herself flat on her back on the sofa, an amorous Killian on top of her.
He had broken the kiss to switch their position, but now his lips once again found hers. His tongue pillaged her mouth, fervently kissing and licking and sucking as he tried to elicit another moan from her. The lustful sound on Emma’s lips only served to fuel his passion. He wanted to make her feel, to give her pleasure, he wanted for her to desire him as much as he desired her. And to him, that moan was a sign he was succeeding.
As she settled beneath him, his solid mass delightfully weighed her down. The wool blanket that had covered his shoulders slipped unceremoniously to the floor, and her arms wrapped around his bare back. She felt giddy. This was it. This was happening. They were happening. Her hands traveled over the surprisingly smooth skin of his back and she was enthralled by the way his muscles tensed and released under her touch.
Without warning, his lips left hers and instead trailed soft kisses across her cheek until he was sucking on her earlobe. And that did it. Louder than before, Emma moaned, but this time it came out in tandem with his name. His mouth instantly curved into a self-satisfied grin and he pulled back to look at her. He paused only long enough to wag his eyebrows at her suggestively, before he dove back in, his mouth finding her neck.
However, something she’d seen in the split second he’d hovered above her gave her pause. In the firelight, the flush of his cheeks had glowed brightly, maybe too bright, and there had been a light sheen of perspiration on his forehead.
“Wait,” Emma gasped as Killian nipped and licked his way down her neck, leaving a trail of fire in his wake that made her moan again. Somehow, most likely by a simple flick of his deft fingers, the top button of her oversized flannel pajama tops had come undone and he was pulling the collar open, pressing warm, wet kisses all along the gentle ridge of her collar bone. When a second button came loose from its hole, and Killian’s mouth started trailing lower, she once again spoke her entreaty, “Wait.”
This time he obeyed, and looked up at her, a question in his eyes.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” she asked breathlessly.
“Up?” As he said the word, his eyes lit up with an oddly appealing combination of amusement and desire. Once again, he wagged his eyebrows, but he also shifted his hips over hers and with deliberation pressed his arousal against her soft center.
She audibly gasped.
“Does that answer your question?” he asked in a low rumble, mimicking the last words she’d said before kissing him.
Emma fought the desire that coursed through her. Even though he’d immediately shifted his hips away from her as soon as his point was made, that brief contact had been like an electric shock that had started at her center and reverberated through every nerve ending in her body. She knew she wanted him. She knew he wanted her. And after that display of his she knew they were both aroused to the breaking point. However, she also knew it had been a very physically traumatic day for him.
Emma shifted to the outside of the cushion, making room so that he could release his weight onto the sofa instead of hovering over her.
With an expression that bordered perilously close to full on pout, he settled next to her, letting his head fall to the pillow. “What’s wrong, love? Is this not what you want?”
Immediately, her hand found his cheek and she caressed it with a wide circle of her thumb. “Of course I want it, but I’m worried about you. You almost died today and just now you looked a little…”
“What? How do I appear to you?”
“You looked a little flushed and,” her hand soothed across his brow, “you have a bit of perspiration on your forehead. How do you feel?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, she interrupted. He was clearly about to issue reassurances by rote and that’s not what she wanted to hear. “Honestly, Killian. Tell me how you really feel.”
“I’m fine. Your magic pain pills erased my headache, the medicinal soup gave me back my vigor and you in my arms healed my soul.”
She smirked at him in order to hide the fact that his words made her heart pitter patter in her chest. “Good, I’m glad to hear it, but maybe we should hold off until later, another time when you’re stronger, when-“
“When we’re being attacked by whatever is creating this bloody storm? Or perhaps we should wait until we get sucked into another time portal, or until Regina decides to make good on whatever threat upset you last night.”
“Killian…”
“No, Emma, if you’re not ready then end of story, we arrest our current development, but if your solitary concern is my health then,” instead of finishing his thought he looked suggestively at her.
The way he was looking at her caused a melting sensation that started in her chest, and then ran like molten liquid to her toes. She didn’t answer him verbally; however, she did feel herself drifting even closer to him, her torso leaning into his as if pulled by a magnet, her bare leg shifting in between his flannel-clad ones, making it clear it was not her desire to stop. It reminded her of how they’d fit together so flawlessly earlier that afternoon, and that reminded her of why they had needed to fit together, for the body-to-body warming, and ultimately why she was concerned. Her desire was not the important thing. The important thing was that he almost just DIED. She could still see him lying cold and lifeless on the floor of the barn and the thought sent a cold stab of pain right through her. “But... are you sure... you look-”
“Love, if I look peaked, no illness is the cause. It’s because of you.”
“Me?” Concerned, Emma shifted back from him slightly, though there was really no place to go and stay on the couch. She propped herself on her elbow as if she might be planning to get up.
“Yes,” he affirmed, however he didn’t let her move away; instead he anchored his leg around her hip, just as he’d done when he woke to find her naked against him that afternoon. He snaked his hook arm around her, the metal pressing firmly, but not uncomfortably, into the excess fabric of her pajama tops gathered at her lower back. “Regardless of whatever injuries I might have sustained earlier, having the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on, on top of me, kissing me senseless, is going to cause a physical reaction.”
“Is that right?” she asked in a faux serious tone and then shifted back and away from him on the narrow couch.
As he felt her slip away from him, he sagged against the back of the couch and reluctantly released her from his grip. He pressed his eyes closed, and then felt her weight shift next to him and he knew she was rising from the couch. It appeared he’d failed to convince her of his robust health. After a deep breath, and unable to keep a dejected note out of his voice, he said, “it’s okay, love.”
“Oh, it‘s going to be much better than okay, love,” she mimicked cheerfully.
At her tone, he slowly opened one eye. What he saw made his other eye pop open and she immediately had his full and undivided attention. She was leaning on one elbow, smiling cheekily down at him, the black scrap of fabric that comprised her bikini underwear hanging from her index finger.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Apparently, she had not been getting up when he’d felt her shift next to him. She had something else in mind.
“Cat got your tongue, Captain?” This time it was her turn to wag her eyebrows at him. With a flick of her wrist she flung her underwear over the couch and then she reached for his hook.
“Whaddaya doing?” he asked almost incoherently. Still not entirely believing what was happening.
“The hook has to go,” she replied frankly as she began unscrewing it and then set about loosening the brace, so she could remove it as well. Second time today, she was becoming an expert. “You wearing it while we… you know… is definitely advanced difficulty. Not a good idea for our first time.”
His jaw dropped as he watched her work. Once she’d removed the hook and brace, she turned away from him and carefully sat them on the raised hearth of the fireplace. When she twisted back around, she found that he was no longer looking quite so stunned. In fact, he appeared fully recovered as evidenced by the fact that the deft fingers of his right hand were swiftly flicking open the rest of the buttons on her pajama tops. As he finished, he looked up at her, his eyes dark, his expression held both hunger and a shy question, as if he was silently asking if what he’d done was okay. She now knew it was possible to look like both an eager puppy and a seductive pirate at the exact same time.
“So helpful, Killian,” she murmured flirtatiously and shrugged out of the garment before flinging the yellow and blue fabric over the couch. Now wearing only her tank top, she leaned over and kissed him. A firm, wet kiss that was a promise and an answer to the question she’d seen in his eyes.
As soon as their lips met, he tugged her to him, a feeling of joy bubbling from within. She was kissing him. Emma Swan was in his arms, disrobing and kissing him. He pulled his lips from hers for a split second to change the angle and was about to go in for more, when she pulled back once again and broke the kiss.
“But two can play that game,” she whispered with an almost predatory smile as she surreptitiously slipped her hand under the comforter and surprised him by tugging on the waistband of his matching crown pajama bottoms.
Killian eyes went wide and he let out a startled grunt at her bold maneuver. However, he instantly cooperated by lifted his hips so she could work on removing the offending garment. He sucked in air and closed his eyes briefly as her hand brushed his erection. However, she didn’t linger; she was on a mission. Next, her fingers ignited a trail of fire down his bare legs as she pushed the fabric down his hips, past his thighs until finally she was able to pull them off completely. Almost triumphantly, she pulled the pajamas out from under the comforter and held them up a moment, pausing to wink at Killian before she flung them over the couch to join the rest of their discarded clothes. Wanting to be helpful, he reached down and peeled off the white-athletic socks he’d borrowed from David’s bag and handed them to her, looking pleased with himself. She reached down and peeled off her own socks, before launching all of them in the air.
Once socks were discarded, she leaned into kiss him again. Their open mouths moved against one another with heated intensity, tongues sliding and sparring erotically, the passion that was always just under the surface when they were together igniting into a blaze in an instant. As they molded together, he fiddled with the hem of her tank top. Hands roamed everywhere. Hers sliding down his chest, around his back, over his shoulders, she wanted to touch him everywhere, to learn how he felt and where he liked to be touched. His hand found its way around her waist and under her tank top, his palm flat against the silky smooth skin of her back. He slid it between them and up under her tank top until he was cupping her breast. When he brushed over her nipple, she whimpered and he smiled against her mouth.
Without warning, she pushed back from him. For a second he blinked, feeling bereft from the loss of contact and worried he had done something wrong, until he realized she was only making space in order to rip her tank top over her head and launch it over the couch in one movement. As soon as she’d done it he grinned wickedly at her, it had been the last barrier between them. They paused a moment, both panting, eyes roaming over the other, taking their fill in a way neither had dared that afternoon.
Her gaze drifted back to his face only to find him transfixed by her breasts for the second time that day. She chuckled and reached for his chin to tilt it back upwards. “I knew when I took off my shirt; you were going to forget about me.”
He met her eye and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. “Never,” he whispered, his voice hoarse with desire, need coursing through him. “You are so beautiful, Emma.”
Emma blushed prettily, but then in a soft almost shy voice answered, “So are you.”
“I know,” he replied in his usual manner of cocky assurance, but a moment later his eyes drifted to his left arm and he murmured a little less confidently, “Most of me, anyway.”
Emma knit her brows in confusion until she followed his gaze to where his left hand should have been. She immediately shook her head defiantly, “All of you.” To punctuate her statement she reached for his left arm and brought the scarred skin of his severed forearm to her lips.
He watched her in mesmerized silence. Once again wondering if this was really happening. They were together and naked, she was pressing a kiss to his damaged skin; he knew it was her way of letting him know that she accepted all of him. If he was honest, what she thought of him and what she would think of his disfigurement once he was stripped bare of braces and hooks and fake hands and leather armor was something that had followed him, a very real fear of rejection niggling at the back of his brain periodically over the course of their relationship.
In awe, he almost didn’t notice that her mouth had left the site of his injury and she was now trailing kisses up his bicep. Almost. Because of course he noticed, there was no realistic way he would ever not notice the warm, wet trail her lips were leaving against his skin. His pulsed raced and a thrill shot through him; he shivered involuntarily at the sensation.
Immediately, Emma pulled back so she could meet his gaze, concern furrowing the brow over her lust-filled eyes. Clearly, she had felt the shiver. “The cold or me?”
“All you, love.” Giving her no time to respond he hooked his left arm around her torso, lifting her body weight in one fluid motion, and sweeping her under him, so she was once again lying flat on her back. Killian now hovered over her, his left elbow braced against the outer edge of the couch. She let out a sound between a shriek and a giggle at his unexpected movement and the noise inspired him to run his fingers lightly along her side, trying to get her to make the sound again. It had been so playful and carefree; he’d never heard anything quite like it from her before and he was pretty sure he would be quite content to spend the rest of his life trying to find ways to get her to make that noise again.
The tickling caused her to squirm under him, which caused her to retaliate and retaliate she did. Her fingers began to move over his side and it wasn’t long before she hit a spot that both caused him to laugh and to lose his balance, weight dropping so his body was entirely pressed against her. It was much like they’d been this afternoon except for this time there was no bikini underwear or pillowcases separating them.
Killian groaned at the deliciously intimate contact as she opened her thighs and wrapped her legs around him. “This is better,” she sighed as he shifted over her, his cock sliding against her center.
“Better than what?” he panted, barely restraining himself from entering her right then and there. However, he’d waited so long for this he wasn’t about to ruin it by putting his own pleasure before hers.
“Than this afternoon when we were… naked… but you were out cold.”
“I’m glad you prefer me conscious,” he replied as he started kissing his way down her neck. “But you know you need never stand on ceremony with me.”
As he moved lower, she let her head fall back to the pillow as she sank back and enjoyed his ministrations. However, somewhere in the back recesses of her mind it registered that it was still cold, so she reached down and pulled the comforter up and over his back as his lips moved lower. There was no reason they couldn’t be cozy inside the covers and stay protected from the chill in the cabin. The only heat, and light, was still only coming from the fireplace and the stove.
He trailed slow kisses down to her shoulder and then across her collarbone, leaving no section of sensitive skin untended. Finally, his mouth found her breasts. He began licking, sucking and laving until Emma was moaning and writhing, her hands kneading his shoulders, but it wasn’t enough. Not early enough. She ran her palms across his back and up to his shoulders. Fingering the black locks at the nape of his neck, she gently slid her fingers through his hair, and gently tugged, trying to get him to look up at her.
Flushed and panting, when she finally succeeded at getting him to look at her, she brought one hand in front of his face and made the ‘come here’ gesture with her index finger.
Killian smiled wolfishly at her, but shook his head in refusal. He winked at her and then his face was back between her breasts, but this time he started kissing a line down her stomach. She sucked in a breath, and for a moment Emma lost her train of thought, lost the ability to think at all, the sensation of his tongue and lips on her skin creating a haze of pleasure and anticipation.
When he buried his head between her legs, Emma moaned so loudly it was as if a siren had pierced the silence of the old farmhouse. Killian chuckled against her thigh and redoubled his efforts.
Under the spell of his talented tongue and lips and teeth, Emma felt herself winding tight, pleasure coiling and spooling in her belly and thighs. Her mind went blank as she succumbed to the pleasure, not thinking just feeling.
When she let out another moan, she startled herself back to the moment. For a second, it all felt surreal, the day felt surreal, and she wondered if this were all nothing more than an erotic dream. She managed to lift the comforter and glance down. The sight of his head between her thighs sent another jolt of pleasure through her; oh, it was real all right. He was real. She was so close, and in that moment, she wanted him more than she could remember ever wanting anything in her life.
She once again slid her fingers gently into the hair at the top of his head and tugged. When he looked up she once again curled her index finger at him. “Now,” it came out in a breathless pant, but it also came out with great confidence.
“But I’m not fini-“
Cutting him off, she shook her head. “I. Need. You. Inside me. Now.” Her speech was disjointed as she panted for breath, but her intent was clear. In the dim light of the room, he could see the raw desire reflected in her eyes.
With no more invitation needed, he was on top of her, his cock straining against her hip, his eyes locking with hers, both sets of pupils blown wide. Up close, he was once again awed by the desire he saw there, but that wasn’t all he perceived. She was looking up at him with lust, hunger and something else... love perhaps? That thought made his heart clench tight in his chest; oh, how much his heart wanted it to be love. Even though he still lacked the confidence to presume that he’d won her heart, without a doubt, he knew the look held affection, the most tender affection. “Emma...” he said her name reverently, as if a prayer and an oath all in one.
She brought one hand up to trace the side of his face. In the firelight, his expression was open and loving and she could not believe someone was looking at her this way. No one had ever looked at her this way. Everything he felt for her was writ large across his face and the intensity was overwhelming. Swallowing roughly, she closed the inches between them and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. Considering what they’d just been doing and what they were about to do it was almost comically innocent, but it was also sweet, tender, and full of promise. She squeezed her eyes shut as one tear leaked through her lids and rolled down her face.
When she leaned back, his eyes searched her face. Seeing the wet trail across her cheek, he asked, “You okay?”
She nodded and then smiled up at him. Truly and radiantly smiled and she answered his question by pushing her hips upwards against his and wrapping her legs around him. Her hands moved lower until they were gliding over his backside, with gentle pressure she squeezed his ass and urged him forward.
Killian grunted as he tried to restrain himself from ramming into her. He’d waited for this for so long, dreamed about it since the moment he’d met her, been tormented by it during their year apart and then thought this level of intimacy was out of reach once he’d found her. However, he did manage to restrain himself. Instead, he moved slowly, his cock instinctively finding the warm, wet path as he leisurely slid into her.
Emma sighed as he began to fill her, it was just as good as she’d imagined. Not that she’d fantasized about this... too much. Some. Okay, a lot, she’d fantasized about this a lot. After the earlier efforts of his talented tongue, she was already hyper-aroused, and she knew it wouldn’t take much to have her tumbling over the edge.
Heat pooled in her belly once again, as the drag of his cock against her inner walls created delicious friction as he slowly entered her. She took the opportunity to savor the feel of his weight on her, savored the way the hair of his chest brushed against her erect nipples, and remembered how it had felt when that had happened mere hours ago, but they’d been in a much different situation. She couldn’t enjoy it then, but she could certainly enjoy it now. With abandon, she arched her back, pressing her breasts more firmly into his chest. Now she could succumb to the pleasure. At this movement, Killian changed his angle over her, which put delicious pressure on her clit and she exploded.
Emma crashed over the edge just as Killian was fully seated in her, pleasure pulsing from her center, throbbing around his cock and rolling through her in waves. Killian gritted his teeth to keep her from pulling him over the edge with her.
Killian watched in awe as she unraveled underneath him, his cock still buried at deep as he could go. When Emma came back to earth and opened her eyes, he chuckled, waiting patiently, “I knew I was good, but I didn’t realize I was that good.”
Emma smiled up at him lazily. “Shut up and do it again.”
“As you wish,” he replied and began to move inside her. They found a rhythm almost immediately, as if they’d always been meant for this. A team through and through, as if the connection they’d forged as adversaries, then allies, and then friends and then as more translated perfectly to this primal dance as their bodies joined and became one.
For anyone who has been following this fic, you’ll know it was last updated in early October, 2018 and while my plans were to finish it at that time, it ended up being exactly one week before my mother passed away and I just couldn’t get myself into the right mindset to complete it. Then, a couple of months ago, the @csmarchmadness idea came along to help give us writers a little boost of confidence to finish those nagging WIPs and I decided to go ahead and tackle this story. (I’m a little late getting it posted today, but technically, it is still 3/22 here in FL as I’m posting)
I’ve loved this concept from the beginning as it took Emma out of her magical comfort zone to solve a real world crime, working alongside law enforcement colleagues in Portland, Maine. As I did with the opening chapters, I tacked the epilogue onto the end of this chapter to provide a fitting bookend.
This is the last installment of a nearly 80K word fic so it has honestly been a beast to write, especially since it ended up taking far longer to complete than I’d planned. You can read the entirety of this story on AO3 or FF.net or find the earlier chapters here: Prologue/Chap1 Chap2 Chap3 Chap4 Chap5 Chap6 Chap7 Chap8 Chap9 Chap10 Chap11 Chap12 Chap13 Chap14 Chap15 Chap16 Chap17 Chap18 I’m also tagging my cheerleader, @hookaroo who has been looking forward to the final chapter of this fic for a while now! (edited to add Tumblr link to Chap 18 after I realized it had never been posted on Tumblr. Oops...)
Saturday Morning – Portland Harbor
The tempest of the overnight thunderstorms had given way to a breezy, warmer Saturday morning. Hazy sunlight filtered through the window coverings of the McCallen's guest room as Emma was awakened by the persistent blip of notifications popping up on her cell phone, all of them informing her of the incoming text messages from Regina. According to the texts, Ursula would be waiting for them at the same Harbor front park at 9am with some updated news regarding her offer to return the Jolly Roger to her berth in Storybrooke's marina. While Killian wasn't keen on anyone else taking the helm of his beloved ship, he'd conceded to the basic fact that at the present time, he lacked the physical stamina to sail her back home himself.
Emma would have preferred another hour of sleep since it this was far too early on a Saturday morning by her opinion, but since they did have the drive home ahead of them, she begrudgingly swung her feet over the side of the bed. It wasn't a particularly long trip, but she still needed to be wide awake and she didn't want to get back too late. After nearly a week away, she was certain there would be a mountain of backlogged work awaiting their return. She noticed that Killian had already vacated his side of the bed, waking up before his wife to wander into the kitchen where McCallen had left coffee brewing for them and a note stating that he had ventured out the station to finish his paperwork from yesterday's major breakthroughs in the case.
Killian seemed a tad more upbeat this morning and even seemed to handle the walk from the parking lot down to the waterfront better, only needing to pause once to catch his breath. The Sea Witch was already waiting for them, scouting out a quiet bench away from the multitude of park visitors who were enjoying the pleasant start to what was shaping up to be a beautiful day.
"You're late," Ursula grumbled in greeting. "I thought you seafaring types were known for better timing?"
"My seafaring timing is as precise as ever," Killian replied, voice tinged with a hint of offense. "However, you should be aware that in this realm there's a thing called traffic."
"We would have called to let you know we were running a little late if we'd had a way to contact you aside from a conch shell," Emma reminded the witch.
"Cell phones simply aren't the most reliable where I come from," Ursula countered with a grin that Emma wasn't sure was intended to be jovial or sinister. "Anyway, I've made all of the arrangements to transport your ship as promised. My niece will not be allowed to interfere with the vessel's passage."
"May I ask what arrangements you've made?" Killian queried. "Who did you find to sail her or is the transport to be more of a magical variety? I prefer not to have someone inexperienced at the helm."
"I managed to round up a few of your remaining crew, led by your former first mate, Mr. Smee. It'll primarily be for show though as once it reaches open waters, I can push your little boat along a bit easier…" Killian frowned at her use of the term little boat in reference to his ship, but held his tongue.
"So, my ship should be back in the harbor by the time we reach Storybrooke?" Killian chose to ask instead.
"Should be. Your crew is on their way here as we speak. I managed to find a fisherman who was willing to bring them down here to retrieve the Jolly Roger, although you may need to round up some of those gold doubloons you have stashed to pay the man for his service."
"How generous of you to offer up my funds as payment," he quipped sarcastically, although he was secretly grateful for all Ursula had done. She'd already rescued him from a watery grave so having her assistance in returning his beloved Jolly Roger to her home port was truly going above and beyond.
"I assume you have plenty of funds hidden, pirate," Ursula responded while flashing a broad grin. "Anyway, I need to get out of here before this park gets any busier so that I can supervise the return trip. See you in Storybrooke, Captain."
"Aye," Killian responded with a nod and a smile as the Sea Witch turned to depart, leaving him wondering exactly how much gold she'd promised his crew. But as she began to stroll towards the water's edge, Killian recalled one additional thing he wanted to ask her. "Ursula?" he called to her before she was out of earshot, grateful when she turned to face him again. "One last thing, if I may?"
"And that is?"
"Would you have my crew sail a pass through the inner channel? Not too close to the harbor, but around this side of the islands so that I might see her off?"
"I suppose I could do that," she replied as she took a few steps back towards the Joneses so she wouldn't have to shout. "I would have to uncloak the ship though."
"For a few minutes, revealing the vessel should be fine. This far from shore, she may appear as merely an illusion to anyone who may catch sight of her," he offered, eager to garner even a momentary glimpse of his ship nearly a week after he'd left her abandoned offshore.
"I'll see what I can do. You may want to hang around the harbor for a while though," the Sea Witch suggested.
"Any idea of approximately how long it'll take?" Emma questioned. "We do still have the drive back to Storybrooke ahead of us."
"Give me an hour," Ursula stated, not waiting for Killian to offer his thanks as she departed without another word.
As they watched the Sea Witch vanish behind a pier, Killian dropped his weary body onto the bench before he collapsed.
"Guess we have a little bit of time to kill before we hit the road then," Emma chuckled before noticing the forlorn cast to his gaze when he stared out over the bay. "I know you'd rather be sailing the Jolly Roger back home yourself…"
"It's alright, Swan," he said with a faint sigh of disappointment. "In my current condition, I'm well aware that I lack the necessary strength and stamina to properly man the helm. I'd much rather that she be safely returned to port, even if not by my hand." She could hear the disparaging tone of his voice and decided to think of something to distract him.
"Well, I really don't want to sit here on a cold, hard park bench for an hour while we wait for your ship to appear. Can we go grab a doughnut or something? And how do you intend to see the ship from across the bay anyway?"
"I believe you have a set of of spyglasses – I believe you call them binoculars? Aren't they somewhere in the vehicle?"
"Uh, yeah, there's a set of binoculars somewhere in the back seat."
"Then those should be sufficient," he replied. "I do have to agree with you though that sitting here for an hour is probably not the best option. I know we aren't far from the ferry terminal so perhaps we might pay a visit to the shopkeeper? I'd like to let her know personally that I'm alright if it isn't too far out of the way?"
"I'm pretty sure it's only a few blocks down the harbor from here. I think Ms. Scott would be very happy to see you. Think you can handle the walk or would you prefer we drive?"
"I'm feeling far better today, but I still believe it would be more prudent to drive."
"Okay, then let's get back up to the Bug and we'll go see if Ms. Scott has the shop back open."
Ten minutes later, after the short walk back to the parking lot and a four block drive through busy weekend harbor traffic headed for the marina and ferry terminal, Emma parked her little yellow Volkswagen beneath the old service station overhang. Although there were lights on inside Scott's Mart, the Closed sign still hung in the window, but Emma noticed that it was now accompanied by a notice that the shop would be reopening Monday morning. Emma exited the car and strolled up to the entrance door, rapping forcefully on the glass to garner the proprietor's attention while Killian ambled slowly behind her.
"We're not open yet!" a female voice shouted from inside.
"Ms. Scott, it's Sheriff Emma Jones. I was here with Deputy McCallen a few days ago…" They heard some rustling from beyond the door and something akin to metal scraping against tile before the smiling face of Jean Scott popped up from behind the register counter. The shopkeeper's face lit up even more when she caught sight of the man in the black leather jacket standing behind Emma.
"Sheriff! My apologies for being so curt. Come on in!" Jean immediately unlocked the door and yanked it open for her guests, a mix of elation and gratitude expressed through her welcoming grin. "You're always welcome around here. Sorry it's still such a mess but I'm trying hard to get things straightened up and ready to get back to business. I know I owe you both a huge thanks. I heard from the other police officer – not the one who was here with you but the other guy… His name escapes me now…"
"Sgt. Haviland?" Emma offered.
"Haviland, yeah that's his name! He called me to let me know I didn't have to worry about Donovan Donleavy coming after my property any longer. He said there's a warrant out for his arrest, as soon as they can locate the slimy son of a bitch."
"Yeah, unfortunately it looks like he might have been tipped off somehow and slipped away on his boat sometime last night after the Toliver brothers rolled on him for having hired them to intimidate you, not to mention the kidnapping and stabbing of my husband," Emma explained.
"Well, when they find him, I hope they lock him up and toss away that damned key!" Jean exclaimed before turning her head toward Killian with a softening demeanor. "And you – I'm so glad to get a chance to properly thank you. If I'd have had any idea what those bastards planned to do… I don't think there are enough words in the whole English language for me to express my thanks. You may have truly saved my life that morning and I'm still mortified to think that it nearly cost you yours. I knew Donleavy was scum, but I had no idea he'd actually stoop this low."
Emma though she detected a faint blush creeping across her husband's cheeks as Jean Scott thanked him, but he was trying hard not to let it show. "It was the right thing to do, Milady," Killian assured her. "Neither of us knew that their nefarious plans went so far beyond robbery. I certainly must have had some luck on my side that morning, but the important thing is that the guilty parties are being held accountable and won't be able to harm you any longer."
Jean's head lolled to the side as she caught Emma's attention with a cheeky grin. "Is he always like this?"
"Pretty much," Emma replied, sporting a broad smile of her own as she watched the tips of Killian's ears redden as he flushed with an uncharacteristic embarrassment.
"How do I find one like him?" Jean sighed. "I'd love to have my own little British knight in shining leather." Emma found her husband's blushing even more endearing as he tried to brush off the compliment, realizing it was part of why she loved this man so much. Sure, he could be a total ass sometimes, but when the sweet, old-fashioned, chivalrous side would surface, she'd fall head over heels in love all over again.
"I don't know if there's a clone of him out there somewhere, but if I find one, I'll send him your way," Emma laughed. "For now though, we've got to get going. Now that the case is solved, we're finally heading home."
"Well, please have a safe drive back to your hometown and remember that anytime you're here in Portland, please stop by. It'll be coffee on the house! In fact, if you'd like one for the road, I'm pretty sure the pot is still hot. I've gone through plenty myself while trying to get this place cleaned up but there's more than enough to share. Would you like some?"
"I would absolutely love some coffee," Emma replied graciously.
"As would I," Killian said with a smile.
"Hang on a sec…" Jean scurried down a partially stocked aisle to her coffee shop counter and disappeared behind it. She popped back up a few seconds later with two tall paper cups of steaming hot coffee. "Either of you take cream or sugar?"
"No thanks," Emma replied. "We both take it straight."
Jean made her way across the shop to hand over the coffee cups to her guests. "Here you go. Hope it's not too strong for you."
"I'm sure it will be fine," Killian replied as he accepted her offering. "This wasn't at all necessary, but thank you."
"Anytime," Jean insisted. "Any time at all. I won't keep you from your drive home but I really do appreciate you stopping by. I'm so glad to see that you're alright."
"Good luck with getting your business back on track," Emma said as she shook Jean's hand before departing. "Hopefully things will go better now that there isn't a greedy developer breathing down your neck."
"Oh, there will be another," Jean chuckled. "It never ends around here, but hey, I know I'm in the right place for now. I'll manage."
Emma and Killian said their farewells to Jean Scott and had just started their drive back to the park when Emma's phone started ringing. Seeing that it was McCallen calling, she gestured for Killian to answer and as he did, he pressed the speakerphone button so that they could both hear the conversation.
"Hey, McCallen," Emma answered. "Sorry we missed you this morning, but we locked up before we left."
"I'm the one who should be apologizing," McCallen's voice responded through the speaker. "I had to run into the station this morning to finish up paperwork relating to this case and I was worried I might miss you before you headed home."
"Well, you haven't missed us. We haven't left Portland yet," Emma informed their friend. "Killian wanted to see Jean Scott so she could see he was alright and now we're on our way to the harbor front park so that he can see his ship off. The crew sailing it back to Storybrooke for us offered to make a swing through the bay."
"Alright then, can you hang around the park for a few minutes? I've got some new information you'll want to hear, but I don't want to deliver it over the phone."
"Oh, don't worry, we'll be there for a while. We still have about half an hour to kill before the crew sets sail," Emma explained.
"Oh, good," McCallen replied. "I can be there in about twenty minutes. I'd really like a chance to see that ship too."
"You'll see just how magnificent she is," Killian said proudly.
"If you can see it at all," Emma countered. "The ship is going to be clear on the other side of the bay and I have no idea whether or not my binoculars will be strong enough… You two can figure that out though…"
"Okay," McCallen chuckled. "I'll see you in a few minutes."
The stroll down to the waterfront from the parking area took a little longer this time but Killian had insisted on heading to the furthest pier where they would have the least obstructed view of the bay. There was still one barrier island that partially obscured the horizon, but Killian was certain that they would be able to see enough of the channel to get a decent glimpse of the Jolly Roger. He was quite certain of the route his crew would take and that it would provide a brief window as the ship emerged from the far side of the landmass, before she headed out of the bay and into open ocean.
A visibly exhausted Killian dropped his fatigued body onto an unoccupied bench near the end of the pier as Emma's phone buzzed with a message from McCallen asking where he might find them. She typed back their location and half-expected to see the young deputy arrive in full uniform. She found herself a more than a little surprised to see him approaching dressed in casual attire after he spotted them and waved from the boardwalk.
As McCallen got closer, Emma thought about how this inexperienced deputy had become such a pillar of strength for her this week. He'd been so involved from the beginning, eager to help her out in any way he could and always trying to learn techniques to help himself grow as an investigator. McCallen still had a lot to learn and of course, had some physical obstacles to overcome, but Emma couldn't help to think about what Jean Scott had said about being in the right place and how it applied to the deputy as well. What had begun for him as a seemingly routine case to identify a John Doe had blossomed into a multi-jurisdictional investigation of a corrupt land developer. While McCallen's role in the Donleavy case may have been minor, the deputy's name was forever attached to the investigation and it would likely make a huge impact on his career.
"Hi!" the deputy greeted them once he was finally within earshot. "I haven't missed anything, have I?"
"Not at all," Killian assured their young friend as he lowered the binoculars. "I've not yet caught sight of her but it shouldn't be long now."
"Don't worry," Emma added. "You'll know the moment he sees it. It's all he's talked about all morning."
"So, this is kind of a big deal, huh?" McCallen asked with a crooked grin, almost as a tease.
"She's been a huge part of my life," Killian replied. "In fact, she was my life for a very long time, before I met Emma." He failed to notice the way McCallen glanced at Emma with a look that seemed to ask Is he kidding?
"I think that what Killian meant to say is that he spent many years working on that ship before we met. He puts a lot of effort into keeping it ship-shape. But yes – sometimes I swear he treats that ship like a person…"
"It's a good thing she's not able to hear you speak such blasphemy," Killian feigned offense as his wife laughed it off.
"See - I share my husband with a ship," Emma chuckled, shaking her head. "Anyway, I know you didn't come down here just to talk about Killian's ship. You said on the phone that you had some new information to share with us? Is it news about Donleavy?"
"Well, yes and no…" McCallen began as he took a seat on the bench next to Killian. "We got a call this morning from the RCMP…"
"RCMP?" Killian interrupted with a confused query as he didn't understand the reference.
"Royal Canadian Mounted Police," the deputy clarified. "Sorry, I should have been more specific."
"It's alright," Emma insisted. "We usually just refer to them as the Mounties." She'd explain the reference further for Killian when they were alone.
"Oh, okay," McCallen continued. "As I started to say earlier, we, well, technically Sgt. Haviland received a call from the Mounties this morning letting him know that Donleavy's boat was located. Appears that it ran aground along the coast of Nova Scotia and by all accounts, was pretty beat up. Unfortunately, they found no sign of Donleavy. Haviland forwarded me a copy of the report. Guess he thought you'd already be back home if he didn't get in touch with you yet."
"I haven't looked at my email all morning," Emma confessed. "If he sent something there, I probably won't read it until we do get home – especially if it isn't giving us any whereabouts of Donleavy himself. At least we have an idea of where he escaped to."
"I do recall saying that he wouldn't get very far by sea," Killian reminded them. "The seas would have been far too rough for his minuscule craft. Even a sailor as experienced as myself wouldn't have fared well in that storm."
"Yeah, Donleavy was probably thrown overboard somewhere between here and Canada, before his ship crashed onshore," Emma suggested.
"There's still a remote chance he survived so the Canadians are going to continue their search to see if he turns up. They weren't entirely convinced that he'd survived either, but they're not giving up the search yet."
"Serves him right, if I do say so myself," Killian said with an eyebrow raised playfully. He lifted the binoculars to his eyes to survey the bay once again, scanning the horizon for a glimpse of the Jolly Roger. He stood as he caught sight of a set of familiar masts and sails materializing from beyond the inner harbor islands. "Ah, there she is!" he exclaimed with a huge grin stretching across his lips. "Such a thing of beauty…"
"Alright – you know I'm dying to get a look at this ship I've been hearing about. I mean, you've got the rings, the tattoos, the skull and crossbones pendant – there's definitely some kind of pirate obsession there so should I be expecting a pirate ship too?" Killian gave him a slightly nervous smile and Emma was practically biting her tongue as they both began mentally scrambling for a plausible explanation for the fact that Killian did indeed have have a pirate ship, and a marvel of one at that.
"Of course," Killian said as he offered the binoculars to the deputy and pointed to a distant location across the bay. "If you look out there to the northeast, you'll see her riggings just beyond that island." McCallen raised the binoculars and pointed himself in the direction Killian had indicated, his jaw dropping the moment he spied the tall ship on the horizon. He didn't know a lot about classical ships - he wouldn't have known a schooner from a frigate or a galleon, but this vessel looked like it could have sailed straight out of any pirate movie he'd ever seen.
"Wow! That's really your ship? It's definitely not what I expected, but seriously – you can sail that all by yourself?" Killian had to chuckle at the deputy's excited rambling.
"Indeed, I can," Killian replied proudly.
"That is so cool!" McCallen gushed, unable to contain himself. "What did you name your ship?"
"The J-…" Killian started to reply Jolly Roger, but something made him stop and reconsider, responding with the vessel's original moniker instead. "Jewel of the Realm."
"That's a really great name," McCallen told him as he passed the binoculars back to his pirate friend. "How did you ever come to own a ship like that?"
"Killian repairs and restores these old ships to keep them seaworthy," Emma jumped in with the most logical explanation she could determine. "And if you haven't noticed, he's a bit obsessive about his job."
"History deserves to be preserved," Killian stated, going along with Emma's lead. "And what can I say – I immerse myself fully into my work."
"Well, by the looks of it, you're very skilled at what you do! How do you manage to find the time as a deputy?"
"Don't have as much time as I used to so sailing has become more of a hobby now, but if you're ever in Storybrooke, I'd be honored to give you the full tour and a run about the harbor."
"I just might take you up on that one day, but since I have a tendency to get seasick, just admiring her from the dock would probably be enough for me," the deputy admitted with an embarrassed chortle.
"Well, my friend, if you ever want to try for your sea legs, my offer shall stand," Killian laughed as he raised the binoculars one last time to see if the ship was still visible but it appeared as though Ursula had already reactivated the cloaking. "Appears as though she has sailed beyond our purview."
"Oh, sorry… I'm guessing you're hoping to get back home around the same time as the ship?" McCallen wondered, not wanting to impede their plans.
"Yeah, that's sort of the plan," Emma stated as she glanced at her watch. "We definitely should get on the road soon, but Aaron, we really want to thank you for everything – for your help with the investigation into what happened to Killian... for opening your home to us. You've done so much more than you ever needed to."
McCallen's cheeks flushed as he tried to figure out how to respond to her gratitude. "Honestly, not many people have put as much faith in me as you did. I'm grateful to you for including me when you could have brushed me off in favor of letting Sgt. Haviland take over. I'm glad you didn't."
"You've got the instinct," Emma assured him. "You're going to be a great investigator."
"I guess we'll have to see how far a man with an artificial foot can get," McCallen said sullenly.
"As far as a man with an artificial hand can get," Killian insisted. "And that's as far as you desire."
Epilogue
Saturday Afternoon – Storybrooke
It hadn't taken Killian more than a few seconds after they'd exited the interstate before the gloved, wooden hand was discarded to the back seat in favor of his preferred attachment. Captain Hook was back and on his way home. By the time they passed the Welcome to Storybrooke sign at the edge of town, he was certain he could already smell the marine air again and began to imagine the sound of crisp sails flapping in the wind.
They finally parked in front of the Sheriff station nearly two hours after they'd left the Portland harbor and Emma was eager to find some lunch to appease her growling stomach. Maybe as anxious for food as her husband was to get to the harbor.
"Are you really sure you don't want me to heal you?" she asked as they climbed out of the Bug.
"For the last time, Love, I'll be fine. Aside from a few aches and pains – and a bit of general tiredness, I'm honestly alright. I assure you, if I change my mind, I promise, I will let you know."
"Okay, okay… I'm gonna call the family and see if they want to meet over at Granny's for lunch. I'm sure they'll all be looking forward to seeing you."
"Sounds good, but allow me a few minutes first?" he implored.
"I know – you're heading down to the harbor. Want me to drive you over?"
Killian smiled and shook his head with a subtle No. "I think I'd like to walk."
"Alright. If you aren't back in thirty minutes, I'll come looking for you."
The quarter-mile stroll from the Sheriff station to the dock was normally a brisk, five-minute walk for him, but today, it took a few minutes longer and he was clutching his chest tightly as he reached the gangplank. He pressed on with stubborn determination, pushing himself up the ramp and onto the deck of his ship. Reaching the helm, he leaned his aching body into the wheel to catch his breath, fully aware that he was not alone.
"Returned, safe and sound, as promised," he heard Ursula's voice call out from below the quarterdeck.
"Aye, thank you for your assistance. I do appreciate all you've done for me."
"You are one lucky pirate. Although I suggest you try to stay away from sharp, pointy objects for a while. One of these days, your luck will run out…"
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Killian said with a half-hearted chuckle. "Am I also to thank you for last night's events?"
"Afraid I've no idea what you mean," Ursula replied with a feigned innocence.
"Of course not," he grinned, lifting a knowing eyebrow at the Sea Witch. "Pardon my error, Love. Guess I should make my way over to Granny's pretty soon. Emma will send out a search party if I don't make it back. Why don't you join us?"
"As pleasant as an afternoon eating greasy diner food with the Charming family sounds, I'm afraid I'll have to pass. But as for you, I'm serious – watch your back, pirate. One of these days, you'll find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time and there won't be anybody around to save you."
He opened his mouth to reply, but she was already gone, leaving the words caught in the back of his throat. As much as he wanted to argue, Ursula was right. He belonged at Emma's side and that was honestly the only place he wanted to be.
Early Saturday morning – off the coast of Nova Scotia
It was late in the season for such a powerful Nor'easter and perhaps it was a foolhardy decision to be venturing out in such horrific weather but Donovan Donleavy preferred to take his chances upon the stormy seas rather than face the tempest that would be brewing at home if he hadn't run. He'd slipped out of the marina under cover of darkness before the authorities had descended. His sport fishing boat wasn't really designed for these conditions so he'd tried to remain as close to the coast as he could, but the howling winds and torrential rain kept blowing his battered craft further out to sea.
He was only a few miles off of the Canadian coast, estimating his position to be somewhere near the Province of Nova Scotia, but he was beginning to doubt he'd be able to reach a safe harbor. Rain lashed at the deck, making visibility near impossible as the ten to twelve foot swells pummeled the tiny boat. Donleavy clung to the wheel as long as he could until a towering, fifteen foot swell sent the vessel listing hard to starboard and it never recovered, capsizing in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.
He bobbed to the surface, struggling to keep his head above the waves as his arms flailed in futile attempt to grasp for anything that would keep him afloat. After a few minutes, he found his muscles tiring rapidly and he knew he wouldn't be able to tread water much longer. Of course, he still believed that drowning was far more dignified than the humiliation of watching his empire fall apart.
He was gradually giving in to the reality of a watery death when he felt something brush against his leg. Probably just a fish or a piece of debris from his boat he thought – until the offending object slithered its way up body and wrapped around his torso. While moments ago he'd conceded himself to drowning, suddenly Donleavy was in a panic as he recognized that he was being enveloped by a giant tentacle. He struggled only for a few moments, trying futilely to free himself as the tentacle constricted tighter - just before yanking him forcefully beneath the unforgiving waves.
When the Black Fairy’s curse cut Emma and Killian’s wedding celebrations short, they missed out on many of the newlywed traditions. Now that the curse is broken they both make secret plans to rectify that.
For @csmarchmadness
My sincere thanks goes to @hookedmom who was a wonderful beta for me. I’m so glad you reached out to me & that we got to know each other!
Also, thank you to my good friend @kymbersmith-90 who once again walked me through the posting process. Thanks for your encouragement & your patience!
Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4
Also on Ao3
And now, the end of the story.
Emma was a little disappointed the next morning when they didn’t wake up until late in the morning.
“I was looking forward to seeing the sunrise,” she sighed.
Killian kissed the crease that her frown was making between her eyebrows. “We have plenty of mornings to see it, Darling,” he soothed. “Sleeping in is enjoyable also, especially when we’ve been up rather late the last few nights.” He smirked at her and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Yeah, you’re right, but I wouldn’t change any of it,” Emma smiled, stretching her arms above her head.
After breakfast, they went exploring around the island. Every time they crested a hill or turned in a different direction, they saw another breathtaking view. They found several small waterfalls and were glad that they had worn their swimsuits under their clothes, so they could take advantage of the clear pools of water that were at the bottom of the falls.
Early that evening found them relaxing together in the hammock. Killian had his right arm wrapped around Emma’s shoulder while she grasped the end of his left, stroking soft fingers across the scars there. This was nothing new to him as she had made it a habit of doing so, seeming to find it soothing for both of them.
It had taken him a long time to ever let her see his damaged wrist because he’d always thought it to be ugly and repulsive. After Rumplestiltskin had taken off his hand, Smee had done his best to close the wound. Despite his efforts, he wasn’t skilled as a physician, so the scars were thick and jagged. They were a reminder to Killian of all that he had lost that fateful day on his ship, and how it had caused him to turn to a life bent on getting his revenge.
When Emma had finally seen his arm without the brace, she had shown no signs of revulsion. She had simply studied it briefly before placing a kiss on his wrist. Ever since then, he had gotten more and more comfortable with letting her touch it. Over time, she had fallen into the habit of rubbing her fingers sweetly and lovingly over the raised scars. Every time she did, he marveled at the kind and caring woman that he had fallen in love with.
“When we first met, would you have ever imagined that we would end up married, Love?” he asked.
“You mean before or after I held a knife to your throat, and then left you chained up with a giant at the top of a beanstalk?”
Killian chuckled. “I think you were just trying to hide your feelings for me.”
“Oh yeah, that’s definitely what I was doing,” Emma snorted. “But to answer your question, no I wouldn’t have imagined it. My walls to protect my heart were so high at that time that I didn’t think anyone would be able to scale them. Falling in love wasn’t something that I ever expected to do, but I guess true love can’t be denied.”
Emma’s fingers moved their way up Killian’s body to rest below his heart, rubbing over the scar that lay there. This was another spot that she was drawn to caress, almost always sighing deeply as she remembered the anguish that she’d felt when she drove Excaliber through his body. No matter how many times he told her that she’d done the right thing, she still found it hard to forgive herself.
He decided that a change of topic was in order, to pull his wife away from memories that sometimes overwhelmed her and started her thinking about regrets that she had.
“What shall we do tomorrow, my love?”
“Well, I really do want to see the sunrise.” Killian nodded in acknowledgement. “Then I think maybe we should try out those kayaks that we found in the storage shed. The one stream that we saw today would be perfect for that, don’t you think?” She twisted her head to look up at him.
He nodded again and then kissed the tip of her nose. “Sounds like a plan.”
******
On their third morning on the island, Emma and Killian took a long walk along the beach to enjoy the sunrise. As they neared the house on their way back, Emma pulled her husband with her as she plopped down on the sand.
“Can we just sit here for a little while before we go in to get breakfast?”
“Your heart’s desire, Swan. I promise that’s all I want you to have.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek, then turned his eyes to the clear, blue water. “Perhaps this will be the morning that the dolphins make their appearance.”
Emma sighed. “I hope so.” As her eyes searched the horizon, she asked, “What animal would you say is your favorite?”
“I quite fancy the swan.”
Emma scoffed and bumped her shoulder into his. “I was being serious”
“As am I. I find them to be remarkable creatures. Have you ever seen a cygnet? They’re rather pathetic little things.”
“Yeah, I know. Ugly Duckling, remember?”
“Aye, but they develop into elegant, magnificent animals. It’s lovely to see them gliding across the water, so gorgeous and strong, but needing the strength and support of their feet paddling below them to keep them afloat. Threaten a swan’s territory, and it becomes a fierce fighter, capable of defeating foes larger than itself.”
Killian was always eloquent in what he said, but in this instance, he was eloquent in what he wasn’t saying. She realized his description was a metaphor of her life. She was seemingly orphaned and unwanted as a child, but once she found her home, she fought fiercely for her family and those she loved. Of course, she had the support of her son, her parents, the townspeople, and now her husband.
She affectionately bumped against his shoulder again, before leaning her head on it. The couple continued to sit quietly, watching the waves and feeling the sun warm their faces. After a while, Killian could tell by the rhythm of Emma’s breathing that she had dozed off. Suddenly, he caught something out of the corner of his eye.
“Swan, wake up,” he whispered urgently, as if speaking out loud would break the spell.
She stirred beside him. “What is it?” she asked groggily.
“Look!” He pointed off to their left.
Emma directed her eyes to where he was pointing and gave a loud gasp. “Dolphins! Oh Killian! There they are!”
She jumped to her feet and clasped her hands under her chin. Killian stood up beside her, watching the dolphins leaping and playing in the water. Then after a few moments, he turned his head to look at his wife. She stood mesmerized, wearing one of the biggest smiles he’d ever seen on her face. With the sun making her face glow and the breeze off the water blowing wisps of her hair into a halo around her head, he didn’t think he had ever seen her look more beautiful.
******
The next day, Killian finished cleaning up the kitchen after their lunch and then went outside to find his wife. She was sitting on the porch swing with a wistful look on her face. Without saying a word, he held a small seashell out to her.
“What’s this for?” Emma asked.
“Call Henry,” he said simply.
“You brought a shell phone along?”
“Aye, and Henry has the other one. I knew that you would miss the lad too much to go three weeks without any contact with him. He promised that he would carry the shell with him at all times so he wouldn’t miss your call.”
Emma eagerly took the shell and started calling Henry’s name into it. He answered almost immediately and Emma started peppering him with questions about his trip and his well-being.
Killian sat and listened to his wife’s conversation with his stepson. It sounded like he was enjoying the trip immensely. Henry said that they had spent quite a bit of the first day or so in the car, which had led to some temper tantrums and meltdowns, but then Zelena had gotten herself under control pretty quickly. Emma couldn’t help letting out a loud laugh when he told her about that.
When Henry finally signed off, Emma threw her arms around her husband, squeezing him tightly. “You really are the best, you know that?”
“Yes I do,” he replied cheekily.
******
The days flew by while the couple enjoyed one adventure after another. The dolphins swam by regularly, almost as if they were swimming laps around the island and passed by them about every third morning. A few times they came close enough to shore for the humans to enjoy swimming among them. This thrilled Emma to no end, which caused Killian to be extremely happy as well.
They took some short day trips on the Jolly Roger, visiting with Ariel and Eric one day, and making use of four more of the magic beans to travel to Arendelle and Agrabah to see their friends in those kingdoms.
Finally the day of their designated departure came. They rose early to catch one final sunrise from the east porch, fixed a quick breakfast, then started packing. After loading everything onto the Jolly Roger, they did a final check around the house and grounds to be sure that they were leaving everything in the same condition as they had found it.
After they verified that things were clean and neatly stored, Killian boarded their ship to begin getting it ready to sail. Emma started up the gangplank behind him, and then turned and looked longingly at the place that they had made their home for the last three weeks. It was their own little piece of paradise and she was certainly going to miss it. She never would’ve believed that she could relax and enjoy herself as much as she had, but her husband had surprised her yet again by finding a place where they could forget all the stress and drama in Storybrooke.
Now it was back to the real world of ringing telephones at the sheriff’s office, late night patrols in freezing temperatures, and finding lost dogs. Of mornings at the diner listening to Leroy complain about the bacon taking too long while Granny threatened him with her crossbow, babysitting her screaming brother while her parents enjoyed a night out, chaperoning dances at the High School, and listening to the groaning pipes in their house when she turned on the kitchen faucet.
It was also back to cozy Saturday mornings wrapped up in her husband’s arms in their own bed, laughing at his stories while they patrolled the town, and walks down to the dock to check on the Jolly. Back to watching her dad work on their farm with Wilby running around him in circles, and listening to her mom tell about the antics of her students at school as she baked cookies, while Emma rocked a sleeping Baby Neal. And back to Henry.
“Are you ready, Love?” Killian asked, coming down the ramp to meet her.
Emma turned and looked at him. His eyes showed a bit of concern as he gave her a small nod and smile. She reached out to take his hand.
That’s right - complete!!! Praise be to @csmarchmadness for the gun to the head and to the beautiful, lovely, amazing @the-corsair-and-her-quill for basically informing all story choices with the things she loves! I hope you enjoy the conclusion, darling!
And seriously, read all the awesome stuff being created by the talented ladies participating in March madness - I’m never online at the same time they are, but they’re bleeding out all these wonderful feels for us to enjoy!
Also on AO3
Remember when Emma wanted nothing more than to understand why Killian was acting so strangely?
Yeah, she was over that.
She officially wanted to bury her head in the sand and pretend none of this crazy bullshit was real, that fucking Tinkerbell wasn’t sitting in her living room, sipping a cup of tea, while her husband was asking after people Emma was apparently supposed to know, like her parents, who were also fucking fairy tale characters.
Part of her thought Killian had lost his mind, that maybe his books had created some kind of delusion that had led to this Tinkerbell taking advantage of him - maybe she was some kind of delusional fan who’d started talking to him because of his books. He was always too nice to his fans, especially the ones who seemed a little too into what he wrote.
She wanted to call a doctor, get Killian help, do anything to cure this delusion.
Except for that part of her, the really big one, that thought this ridiculous story sounded almost… familiar? Like on a gut level. And damn both their crazy asses, but neither Tinkerbell nor her husband thought they were lying. And neither of them behaved at all delusional, if you ignored every word that came out of their mouths. Which Emma was trying very hard to do.
“I don’t know who the note was from,” Tinkerbell added. “Just that it came by bird and said I needed to find the Savior. I confess that I didn’t spend much time analyzing it - the curse was coming and I used the last of my pixie dust to outrun it.” She held up a bottle. “This was attached to the note.”
Killian sighed. “A memory potion.”
“You always did have an eye for treasure,” Tinkerbell teased.
Great, and now Emma was also insanely jealous of the obviously old and easy rapport between her husband and a fucking fairy.
“Memory potion,” Emma said out loud. “Curses. Snow. Fucking. White.” She shook her head. “Killian, can I talk to you? Alone.”
“Of course, luv,” he said, having the decency to look chagrined for apparently forgetting she didn’t believe a word of this insanity.
Emma practically fled to their bedroom, hugging herself tightly around the middle as she looked at everything that made up their life. Pictures hung on the far wall, a wedding she remembered happening, when they promised to love, honor and always, always cherish. Henry and Killian behind the wheel of a sailboat, the most excited seven year old in history their first time out. Their first Christmas in Boston, the three of them sitting around the tree, happy and settled and a family.
How did he expect her to believe none of it was real?
Killian shut the door quietly behind him and Emma spun around to face him.
“You can’t expect me to just… accept this,” she hissed.
“It’s true, Emma.”
“It’s bullshit,” she countered. “Killian, it’s insane!”
He shook his head. “I admit, I’ve had many a day where I wondered if I had lost my mind, if I had imagined all this, if it really was just the book running away with me. But I knew in my gut it was all true. I just didn’t think we’d ever encounter it again. The curse… it was supposed to be forever. I’ve no idea what’s transpired, luv, but if your family is in danger--”
“I don’t have a family!” Emma yelled. “I have Henry and I have you and that is the end of my family and we are fine!”
Killian approached her slowly, in that way he had, like she was feral but he wasn’t worried about her hurting him, only herself when she inevitably lashed out. Then his arms were around her and she felt that same calm, that same safety she always felt, even in all this madness. His hand cradled the back of her head, his fingertips rubbing soothing little circles into her scalp as he pressed a kiss to her temple.
“I know you’re afraid,” he whispered.
“I’m not afraid,” she said, but that was exactly what it was. She was afraid her husband was crazy and even more afraid of the idea that he wasn’t. She’d spent her whole life knowing one thing for absolute certain: no one had ever wanted her, really wanted her, until Henry and having him changed her whole life. Her baby wanted her and then they met Killian and she suddenly knew what it was really like, having someone put you first, having someone be there, a husband and a father, the way no foster parent or assholes who dumped their kid by the side of the road ever could have.
“Aye, I agree, you’re quite fearless,” he chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t know fear. I promise you,” he said quietly. “The truth is nothing to fear. You may not be terribly happy with it just yet, but the only thing it changes are some of the details. You’re Henry’s mother. You are the love of my bloody life. And your parents… wanted you, Emma. They wanted you more than anything and if I know them, they’re waiting for you to find them one last time.”
He held the bottle up to her. The fucking memory potion. Like that was a real thing.
She looked carefully into his eyes. “You aren’t telling me something.”
“I’ve told you the truth,” he said quietly. “The one thing I can’t tell you is something only you can. And only when you’re truly yourself.” He pressed the bottle into her palm. “You’re a bloody hero, Swan. You’re incapable of doing anything but the right thing. Trust your gut, Emma. It’ll tell you what to do.”
Her gut. The thing that had kind of believed this crazy story from the moment she heard it. The thing that knew there was something wrong with Killian all those months ago.
Emma took the potion.
….
ONE YEAR AGO - THE TOWN LINE
“We’ll go back to the Enchanted Forest?” Emma clarified.
Regina shook her head slightly. “All of us. Except Henry. He will stay here because… he was born here.”
Dread sunk like a stone in Emma’s belly. “Alone?” No, no Henry would not be alone, abandoned by the side of the road - right where she was.
“No,” Regina said, echoing the denial Emma felt. “You will take him. Because you’re the savior. And you were created to break the curse. And once again, you can escape it.”
It should have been the answer to her prayers. Except… there was David and Mary Margaret, who had finally started to feel like her parents, the one she’d lain awake crying for more nights than she could count. There was Neal and he didn’t deserve to lose his son anymore than Henry deserved to lose his father. There was Regina, who had raised Henry… and there was Hook, who stood to the side, looking like something was dying right in front of him.
Emma knew how he felt.
“I-I don’t want to. We’ll both go back with everyone.”
Regina looked as gutted as Emma had ever seen her. “That’s not an option. I can’t be with him. If I don’t pay the price, none of this will work.”
“If someone who wasn’t part of the original curse were to try and escape with them… would it work?” Hook asked, a considering look in his eye.
Emma looked at him sharply. Some traitorous flutter of hope she hadn’t known existed flamed to life in her breast. Stupid hope. It never learned that life wasn’t fair.
“Perhaps,” Regina said.
“What if Neal and I accompanied them?” He held a hand toward Emma. “Not that I doubt your ability to handle any foe with your usual brand of punching and kicking, but perhaps you need not start totally from scratch when it comes to rebuilding your lives.”
The hopeful look in Neal’s eyes died almost immediately when Regina spoke again.
“The magic in this curse comes from Pan. He designed it to punish Rumple most of all and as his son, Neal would be unable to escape.” Regina glanced at Hook. “The pirate, however… should have no problem escaping with you, if that’s what you want.”
“I prefer making my own choices in this world and frankly… there’s nothing left for me in the Enchanted Forest,” Hook said, but the way he looked at Emma, the way he didn’t disguise the longing in his eyes, made it very clear to her exactly why he wanted to go with them.
The curse’s thunder sounded in the distance.
“Emma, you have to go,” Mary Margaret said firmly, holding back tears. “All of you, if you can,” she added, nodding toward Hook.
“No,” Emma said, the panic clawing up inside her. It felt like the social worker was coming again, forcing her to leave another home, another family, another life that she should have known would be like all the others, but she always let herself hope, why didn’t she learn-- “N-no. I’m-I’m not… done. I’m the savior, right? I’m supposed to bring back all the happy endings. That’s what Henry always said.”
Mary Margaret smiled at her, a strong but fragile thing. “Happy endings aren’t always what we think they will be. Look around you. You’ve touched the lives of everyone here.”
“But we’re a family,” Emma whimpered.
“Yes, and we always will be,” she promised. “You gave us that.”
“You and Henry can be a family,” David said, circling around them protectively. “You can get your wish. You can be like everyone else. You can be happy.” He jerked a thumb in Hook’s direction. “You can even take in a stray or two.”
Mary Margaret laughed a little. “It’s time to believe in yourself, Emma. It’s time for you to have hope.”
Regina moved closer to Emma, resolve written all over her face. “I’ve known you for some time and all I wanted was for you to get the hell out of my life so I can be with my son. But really… what I want is for Henry to be happy. We have no choice. You have to go.”
Emma put on her big girl pants. “Okay.”
She said goodbye to Neal, again to her parents, to everyone - Henry took it hardest, of course, blaming himself, losing the dad he’d just met. Then Regina brought out the big guns.
“When the curse washes over us, it will send us all back. Nothing will be left behind. Including your memories. It’s just what the curse does. Storybrooke will no longer exist. It won’t ever have existed. So these last years will be gone from all your memories. Now we’ll go back to just being stories again.”
“What will happen to us?” Emma asked.
Regina shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a happy ending.”
Regina chuckled. “It’s not. But I can give you one. I can give you all a chance at one, least.”
“You can preserve our memories?” Emma asked hopefully.
“No, I can… do what I did to everyone else in this town. And give you new ones.”
“You cursed them and they were miserable,” Emma reminded her.
“They didn’t have to be.” Regina took Emma’s hands. “My gift to you is good memories, a good life for you and--” She looked to Henry, who moved to her side. “Henry. You’ll have never given him up. You’ll have always been together.”
It was probably the first truly selfless gift Regina had given anyone in decades. The idea of it - of never having given Henry up - was something Emma would have said she wanted more than anything… until now.
Regina gestured toward Hook. “I know what to do with them, but what sort of connection do you want?”
Hook looked at Emma. “Perhaps… new friends? Headed on an adventure in the same direction? It’ll be up to us then, what happens next.”
Emma nodded her head slowly. “Up to us. Yeah. Good.” But something about it didn’t sit right with her. She hugged her parents again, said as much of a goodbye as she could get out, then she and Henry were shuffling to the bug. Killian was speaking with Regina in low tones, an insistent look on his face. And then he was piling into the car with them, the back seat, throwing her a pained smile. Regina had changed his clothes, given him a prosthetic hand in place of a hook. He looked… good.
“This is quite the vessel you captain, Swan.”
She returned his pained smile. It was probably the last thing he would ever say to her as… well, as him. This was the last time she was ever going to see Captain Killian Jones, Captain Hook. Where they were going… he was going to be someone else, more than she was. Because at least she would still be Emma Swan, just with a few years patched in here and there. She’d grown up in that world. Killian didn’t. He was from a literal fairy tale and he was going to be shoved into the Land Without Magic.
Who was he going to be?
But Emma didn’t have time to think about that. Because the curse was coming. She put the bug in gear. Kept her eyes on the rear view mirror as long as she could…
… Henry smiled at her. Emma shook her head, lost in thought. Killian was in the backseat, hoping to catch a few winks before they traded off in a few hours. He looked wide awake. His eyes met hers. She smiled. He tried to smile back. Something was bothering him.
Emma decided she’d ask him about it after they got to Boston.
….
They stared at each other for a long time. Emma felt the bottle drop slowly out of her hand. It bounced off the carpeted floor of their bedroom and she swallowed the last of its taste from her mouth.
“Hook,” she whispered.
“Aye,” he agreed sadly.
Both sets of memories were fighting in her head - the way she’d believed they met and fallen in love for the last year and the way they really met and…
It felt like her husband was dead, which was ridiculous, because he was right in front of her, staring at her without a drop of hope in his eyes - he looked as though his wife was dead, too.
In a way, she was.
“What the hell happened?” she muttered.
He shook his head. “I did nothing but consider that when we first arrived here. I can only assume something went wrong or perhaps Regina decided this would be easier for us and did what she liked.” He shrugged. “After awhile, the why of it didn’t seem to matter as much as what I was meant to do now. Assuming I hadn’t simply lost my mind, which I confess I seriously considered for a time.” He tapped the side of his head. “The memories were all so real and in this world, the idea that I’d invented a three hundred year old pirate often seemed more plausible than the idea that it was all so tragically real.”
“You lied to me,” she whispered, trying not to cry. It wasn’t a fair accusation - she probably understood what he’d done better than he ever would. But Emma didn’t feel terribly fair at the moment. She felt like everything she’d ever wanted had just been ripped away from her.
“I didn’t know what to do,” he pled. “Anything I chose would hurt you somehow. I didn’t think we’d ever go back, so in the end, it seemed the best option in a sea of bad choices.”
“So you just decided to fake it for the rest of your life?”
“Don’t,” he warned. “You can hate me if you like, but you know damned well what I feel for you is real.”
“What I know is that all of the fake bullshit in my head made me think I loved you,” Emma hissed. “It ruined whatever spark of something, of possibility that was between us. Oh, God - Henry. How the hell do we explain this to Henry?”
“We don’t,” Killian said quietly. “Not yet, at least. There was only one potion. My feelings for him haven’t changed either, so it should be no problem to continue faking it for the boy’s sake.”
The bitterness in his voice was as heartbreaking as it was infuriating. Emma had a powder keg of rage inside of her and absolutely no one else to direct it at.
“Your feelings may be real, but I feel taken advantage of, like we were both taken advantage of,” she whispered. “I get that you were backed into a corner, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel like an idiot who got tricked.”
His face looked stricken. “I didn’t - I never intended--”
But Emma didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Mostly because she was afraid of how terrified she was - it felt like nothing in her life was real, was hers, definitely not in her control. She was going to keep lashing out at him if they kept talking and she’d already done enough damage. Deep down inside, she knew this wasn’t his fault - but the emotions that were in the driver’s seat didn’t particularly care.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “I was kidding myself. This life? It was never real. It was never in the cards for the Savior. We have to go back. I have to save everyone. Because that’s what I do.”
She spun away from him before he could say anything else and pulled down suitcases for both of them by habit. She knew what they’d both need.
“Pack a bag for Henry,” she ordered. “We’ll pick him up early from school and head back to Storybrooke. Assuming it’s actually there,” she added bitterly.
At the last moment, Emma grabbed the one thing she knew she’d need - her red leather jacket. Her armor. The reminder she needed of who she really was and who she was never meant to be.
…
The drive seemed to take a lot longer than it actually did, given Storybrooke was only a couple of hours from Boston. Henry had been ecstatic at the idea of a spontaneous work trip, “just like old times!” and he’d been quite taken with sharing his backseat with Tinkerbell, who kindly confirmed for him that yes, it was her real name. They made up a story about her being a big fan of Killian’s books and that’s how she found Emma. It made her skin crawl, lying to Henry. It made her skin crawl how easily Killian did it. Then again, she was no slouch - she basically lied for a living. Everything made her skin crawl, really. She was ashamed to admit that if someone told her everyone in Storybrooke would be safe without her, she would take the fake memories over reality in a heartbeat.
She was almost surprised when the town line was there, right where she’d last seen it.
They crossed over without incident, dropping Tink off at the convent to check in with the other fairies, assuming everyone was back again. Killian offered to get Henry settled while Emma went to check in with her parents - if everyone was under another curse, they agreed, it would be best if she tried to reason with them alone.
Something she didn’t have to do, it turned out. Her father hugged her, and it was so strange and so comforting all at once that Emma had to stop herself from bursting into tears. Her massively pregnant mother hugged her, too, and Emma tried to keep all the confusion and jealousy and reluctant happiness at bay. She needed to focus on the problem at hand - whatever had brought everyone back had also taken the last year of their memories away, which meant everyone still needed to be on red alert. Emma didn’t have time to feel like an outsider in the only family that was supposed to be real to her. She had Henry and that would always, always be enough.
When she returned to the room they were renting at Granny’s - Henry would never understand why they were staying with David and Mary Margaret and the loft was cramped plus Emma was avoiding the Hook-is-sort-of-my-husband reveal as long as possible - Henry was fast asleep on the pull out bed in the main room. Killian was sitting in a chair in the bedroom, staring out the window - brooding.
On his left arm, was a familiar silver hook.
He gestured toward her with it after she’d shut the door. “Belle confirms it turned up in the pawn shop when the town did. No sign of the Crocodile. Or Neal.”
Neal. She hadn’t given him much thought, something that made her feel guilty - he was Henry’s father and even if Henry didn’t know him now, he would again.
“There are more people missing,” Emma said quietly. “David says they’ve had a hard time getting a head count because there are new people, too.”
Killian pursed his lips. “New people could mean the person who cast the curse. No one really thinks it was Regina, as her memories seem to be as lost as the rest.”
“You don’t believe that?” Emma asked.
He shrugged. “I made my desires for our curse very explicit to her and again when she took my hook and gave me modern clothing. I’ve no idea why she decided to torture me this way, but it was quite effective, don’t you think?” It was then she noticed he’d also found his old flask and by the looks of him, he’d been indulging since Henry went to bed.
“I doubt she was trying to torture you,” Emma argued.
“Who knows why the Evil Queen does anything she does?” He shook his head. “At any rate, whatever her reasons, the blame still lies with me.”
“Hook,” Emma admonished, and his moniker felt as sharp on her tongue as the hook that was once again reunited with his left arm.
“I swore that I would win your heart without any trickery and the first chance I got, I made a mockery of that vow.” He took a heavy swig from his flask. “I assure you, Swan, however much you hate me, I hate myself more.”
I don’t hate you. I don’t think I ever could. I’ve just never been able to take the chance that every instinct I have about you is wrong, the way they always are about a guy I really, really like. And nothing in the whole world feels real to me anymore.
Her heart was the one place Emma was not brave, at least not the Emma who hadn’t been cursed by Regina. So she went into the bathroom to change into pajamas and when she emerged, he was still brooding out the window, like some kind of guardian gargoyle.
She climbed under the covers. “Come to bed,” she ordered. “Henry won’t understand if you sleep somewhere else.” That wasn’t why she wanted him to come to bed, of course, but it was the only reason she could admit out loud.
He was silent for a long moment, then muttered a bitter “As you wish” and joined her in bed, atop the covers.
Emma refused to let herself cry.
….
Regina was devastated Henry didn’t remember her. Emma felt bad for her, particularly when she witnessed a very angry Killian - once again sporting his prosthetic instead of a hook - obviously interrogating her about her role in his half cursed state of being. Emma imagined she told him a version of what she’d told Emma herself - that she hadn’t done anything other than what they’d asked and if things got screwed up, it wasn’t her problem. Emma tended to believe her, mostly because Regina never could give up a chance to gloat when something she’d done had made her enemies miserable.
Which wasn’t really fair, because Regina was as miserable as a person could be with Henry not knowing who she was, but Emma still didn’t feel much like being fair.
David looked like he wanted to murder Hook when they dropped the marriage bomb, but Emma quickly diffused the situation by very loudly reminding him they were both cursed. Killian opened his mouth to stupidly confess his sins, but Emma elbowed him in the ribs to keep him quiet.
“The last thing we need is David going psycho protective dad on you,” she explained later. “Besides, this part is between you and me. No one else.”
That was also the excuse Emma gave herself not to mention the status of her relationship to Mary Margaret. The Queen of Hope would probably pounce on the idea that Emma still had feelings for her fake husband and that was the last thing Emma needed to be distracted by when they had a town to save.
It surprised no one but Emma when their new foe was revealed to be the Wicked Witch. They still had no idea who she was, but tensions were running high and everyone had started snapping at each other. Emma knew she was the number one offender, but that did little to cool her always at the ready temper. She didn’t know how to stop being so angry, how to stop grieving her broken heart over her fake marriage, how to separate the Killian she’d lived with for the last year from the real thing, how to just get over it already.
It was after a particularly heated argument Emma and Killian had in front of everyone in the middle of their room at Granny’s over Henry’s wellbeing - Emma wanted Killian to take him back to Boston and Killian argued the boy was safer here, with both his magical mothers and the rest of his family around him - that Regina apparently finally had enough. She waited until the others had filed out before she pulled Emma aside.
“I didn’t want to say anything. It’s not my place. But Emma, you have to realize what this was.”
“Why?” Emma muttered. “What was it?”
Regina shook her head sadly. “You really don’t know, do you? Funny how I’d forgotten how stubbornly rigid you are.”
“If you have a point, I’d appreciate you getting to it.”
“Fine.” Regina mirrored her defiant stance. “I gave Hook cursed memories along with yours, that’s why he had them rolling around in there. But he wasn’t supposed to be your husband, he was supposed to be an author Henry admired that moved in next door who was victim to the same fire that ruined all of your things - an experience that bonded you and had you agreeing to share a ride to your new home in Boston. That was the reality I put in your heads. He definitely wasn’t supposed to remember he was a 300 year old pirate Captain who specializes in making googoo eyes at you.”
Emma shook her head. “You already told us this--”
“My magic didn’t do this,” Regina said, raising her voice. “Yours did.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “What? I didn’t do--”
“You’re like a baby with a blowtorch,” Regina muttered. “You have no idea how powerful you are and you refuse to learn. You didn’t want Hook to be someone you could lose, someone who could fall through the cracks. So you made sure he was tied to you and Henry, tied as deeply as possible in the Land Without Magic. You made him Henry’s father so he didn’t have to grow up without one and you made him your husband because you wanted him.”
“Look, I don’t need your pop psychology--”
“And,” Regina said, louder still, “you made sure he kept his memories because you didn’t want the fake version of Killian Jones I would have had to create for him to exist in the modern world. You wanted the real thing. You wanted him to love you the same way he always has. No substitutions for Miss Swan, hm?” Regina shook her head. “Get a handle on your magic. We have something wicked to fight. And get a handle on your love life, because the way things stand right now? Your mopey, guilt ridden pirate is going to get himself killed. And while that wouldn’t exactly be the worst thing that ever happened, I imagine Henry would be fairly upset by it.”
Emma tried to fold her arms in the intimidating way she’d used since she was young, but she feared they were more cradling her chest, forcing her heart to stay in place than anything else. . “You’re just guessing,” she said stubbornly.
“Maybe you’re right,” Regina said suddenly. “Maybe I am wrong. Because the only way you’d be able to override Pan’s curse and my alterations to it, would be if you truly loved one another. And to be frank, I’m not sure you believe in anything enough to truly love someone other than Henry. I’m not sure if I do anymore, either.” Regina gestured toward the door. “He’s staying with your parents tonight. He’s excited about having the loft bed to himself. I suggest you use the time to put your house in order.”
Rolling her eyes at Regina’s imperious tone, Emma tried to deny everything she’d just said as the other woman left her alone.
The trouble was, it all rang frighteningly, embarrassingly true.
Emma sank down to the end of the bed and forced herself to sort through her shit. The last year, Killian’s behavior, how hard he’d tried to both stay away from her and be with her. What the hell did she expect him to do? She had as much as told him so - he had to make a choice and then live with it. And if Regina was right -- and goddamnit, she is, she’s right -- Emma had done this to him either because she was so selfish that she wanted him, the real him, even if he wasn’t getting entirely the real her… or, even more terrifying, it had happened unconsciously because she loved him.
Truly.
Before she could think about it much further, the outer door opened and closed quietly and she heard Killian’s hesitant footfalls come closer.
“Swan,” he said tightly. “Henry’s with your parents. Since he won’t be with us, I thought I’d give you a night of peace by seeking my accommodations elsewhere.”
He was very carefully looking just over her head, his expression intentionally blank. She’d been hurting him, punishing him the way he’d always feared she would and all he’d done was the best he could in an impossible situation. He’d tried to protect her heart at every turn, even when his own was hurting and confused and at war with that strange moral compass he’d always had.
This had to stop. Now.
“Regina said something to me tonight,” Emma said, her voice hoarse.
Killian finally looked at her. “Swan, are you crying?” he asked, the worry flooding his tone.
“Am I?” Emma reached her hand up to touch the tear tracks that had made their way down her cheeks. “I guess I am. It’s funny, when you make it a rule that you won’t let anything make you cry anymore… it kind of sneaks up on you.”
“What the hell did Regina say to you?” Now he looked murderous again, which was kind of sweet, actually. That was her life - a murderous pirate fake-husband. For a kid who grew up alone and unloved, it actually didn’t sound too bad.
“This is all my fault,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. Killian, I’m sorry.”
“Hey,” he soothed, flipping from murderous to concerned in a heartbeat. “If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that none of this is your fault.”
“Killian, I’m so damaged that even my magic is repressed and it only comes out when I’m desperately afraid of losing something,” she explained. “Regina thinks - and I do, too, I mean, I don’t think, I know - all of those walls I have, those stupid walls, it’s why you were basically tortured for a year. I did it. I didn’t want some fake version of you living down the hall. I wanted you. And my magic just… did it. You didn’t trick me. If anything, I’m the one who tricked you, except… I guess I didn’t, because you always knew how you felt.” Emma didn’t know what else to say and Killian was looking at her with the most inscrutable expression. “I could use a little feedback here,” she prompted.
He shook his head, as if coming out of a daze. “You called me Killian.” His voice was tinged with wonder.
She narrowed her eyes. “It’s your name.”
“You haven’t called me anything but Hook since you remembered,” he said. “You haven’t…”
Her chest hurt again from how much she’d hurt him. “Stupid walls,” she offered, the only explanation she had.
Killian took a step toward her, then another, until he could fall to his knees at her feet. He took her hand in his, brought the back of it to his mouth for a kiss. She was still wearing her fake wedding ring. So was he. She still had Liam’s ring around her neck. His actual ring, if she was a betting woman - her magic had made sure the moments they shared with false memories were still as real as a land without magic could allow them to be.
“I like your walls,” Killian confided, as if telling her a secret. He looked up at her with the tenderest expression in his blue, blue eyes. It didn’t really matter if she met him on a crowded sidewalk or under a pile of bodies - it was understanding at first sight and everything they’d shared had been real, even the things that weren’t.
“I think I was right before,” she whispered back. “No one else could have loved me well enough to bring them down.”
“Oh, Emma,” he chuffed. “I don’t know if you give me too much credit or yourself too little. Perhaps both.”
“How do you do this?” she muttered. “How do you love me like this? Like it’s just… easy? I’m not… i’m not easy. I know I’m not. But it’s as if you just… like me this way.”
“Funny, isn’t it?” he murmured. “Almost as funny as you liking me the way I am - all tortured, revenge obsessed-turned-Emma Swan obsessed, so much that you forced me to stay exactly who I was even in the face of an unbreakable curse.”
Emma groaned. “Your ego is never going to come back down to earth after this.”
“Aye,” he agreed cheerfully. “But this is the monster you created. You’re going to have to live with him.”
Emma brought her palms to his cheeks; stroked his ridiculous cheekbones with her thumbs, paying extra attention to the scar on his right. He was perfect, even in the places that weren’t. Real, even the ways he hadn’t been. No one else would have been right - would have been this right. No one else would have had her magic crying out at the idea of taking any part of him away.
“I guess I can do that,” she promised, resting her forehead against his.
She had to play it a little cool. He still had to be the grown up in the relationship.
…
They buried Neal.
Henry got his memories back. Everyone did.
They beat the witch.
Emma’s little brother was the most perfect baby she’d ever seen.
Until eight months later, when little Hope came screaming into the world.
Henry was the best man at their wedding - the one the whole town and one very fussy baby attended.
The fake memories had been good. Really, really good.
When the Black Fairy’s curse cut Emma and Killian’s wedding celebrations short, they missed out on many of the newlywed traditions. Now that the curse is broken they both make secret plans to rectify that.
for @csmarchmadness My next posting date is actually March 24, but I plan to post the last chapter of this story (chapter 5) on that date.
My sincere thanks goes to @hookedmom who was a wonderful beta for me. I’m so glad you reached out to me & that we got to know each other!
And a big thank you to my good friend @kymbersmith-90 who once again walked me through the posting process. You’re the best!
Also found on Ao3
Find Chapter 1 here
When Killian pushed the door open, he wasn’t met with a dark, silent rooftop as he’d expected. Instead, it was decorated just as it had been on their wedding day, with twinkling lights and bouquets of flowers. In addition, every person he had ever met in town was milling about, whispering to one another. Suddenly, Leroy looked toward the door and loudly announced, “The happy couple! They’re here!”
The silence was broken as everyone burst out in cheers of congratulations. People jockeyed for a spot to declare their best wishes to the couple. Killian just stood with his mouth agape for the second time that day. He turned and looked at Emma, who was watching him with an uncertain look on her face.
“Did you know about this, Swan?” he asked.
“Know about it? She planned the whole thing!” Mary Margaret declared, as she put her arms around both of their waists to pull them into a hug.
Killian reached for Emma’s hand as he asked, “Truly?”
“Yeah. I just hated that the Black Fairy’s curse cut our wedding reception short. We missed out on so many traditions that I was really looking forward to. I mean, I loved that day and everything that it represented, but…”
“I completely understand, my love.” He lifted her hand to his lips to brush a kiss across her knuckle, right above her wedding ring. “This is amazing!” he added as he pulled his eyes away from her to look around at all the people who were gathered.
Music began to play and the crowd started to break into groups to dance, or to help themselves to some of the food that was set out on long tables. Emma and Killian found the rest of their family immediately and shared hugs with all of them. Then they started to take notice of some of the other people who were on the outskirts of the circle.
“Is that Elsa? And Anna and Kristoff?” Emma questioned.
At the same time, Killian was noticing Ariel, Eric, Jasmine and Aladdin standing together off to his left.
When the newlyweds turned back around, they saw Emma’s parents chatting with Ruby and Dorothy, while Aurora stood nearby beside Phillip, who was holding a toddler in his arms.
“Mom, Dad, do you know how all these people from other realms got here?” Emma inquired.
David answered, “Well, now that all the curses have been broken, communication and travel between the realms is pretty easy. As long as there’s access to a portal or a magic bean, everyone can travel freely.”
“When you started planning this a couple of weeks ago, I contacted everyone and asked them to come. Almost everyone was able to make it. They were so happy to be able to celebrate with both of you,” Snow added.
It was Emma’s turn to stand with a slack jaw. She thought she had pulled off the ultimate surprise on her husband, but now her parents had added to it even more.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Go start enjoying your party!” Mary Margaret exclaimed.
The next hour was spent greeting and talking to as many guests as possible. They found everyone from Merida, to Lancelot and Guinevere. Ursula sang a special song for the couple in her clear, beautiful voice while her father Poseidon looked on, beaming with pride.
Then, Henry was standing on the bandstand with a microphone in his hand.
“May I please have everyone’s attention?” he said, somewhat nervously. All became quiet and turned to look at him. “Um, I was the best man for Mom and Killian’s wedding, but I never got to give my speech, so I’d like to give it now.”
Emma started to feel tears welling up in her eyes as her husband wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her snuggly into his side. Her little boy was so grown up, and she couldn’t be more proud of him, or so she thought.
“My mom is the most unselfish person I know. She proved this from the moment I was born when she allowed me to be adopted so that I would have my best chance at a good life. When I found her and brought her to Storybrooke, she started being the savior almost right away, and she’s always put other people first. Nearly everyone here can honestly say that she has helped them in one way or another.”
Henry paused, then moved his eyes from his mother, to his stepfather.
“When my mom first started dating Killian, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. But he was so good to her, and she was happy with him. He put her first and stood behind her through every challenge and curse that they had to face. And he’s also become a real father figure to me. He’s been there for me time after time, and treats me as if I was his own son.”
Emma glanced up at Killian and found his eyes swimming in tears as well.
Henry continued, “I love both of you guys so much, and I’m really happy that you found each other. I hope that you have a very long and happy marriage. Please join me in toasting Mr. and Mrs. Killian Jones!”
Everyone raised their glasses and gave a cheer before taking a drink.
“And now, Mom and Killian, it’s time for you to share your first official dance together.”
Killian swiped at his eyes and turned to his wife. “May I have the honor, Mrs. Jones?” he asked, giving a slight bow.
Emma gave a watery smile and moved into his arms. The band started playing “I See the Light” and as soon as Killian recognized the tune, he looked at her and raised his eyebrow.
When the two of them had started living together, Emma had introduced him to Disney movies. They’d made a playlist and were working their way through it. Nearly every Disney movie made was on it, except for “Peter Pan”, because Emma told him that there was no way that either one of them would enjoy that one. They liked comparing the characters in the movies to the people that they knew personally.
One of the first films they had watched was “Tangled”, which had been recommended by Ashley. She said that Alexandra loved it, and that so many things about it reminded her of Killian and Emma’s relationship. The first time they watched it, the couple had to agree that Ashley actually did have a point, and by the time the song “I See the Light” came on, Emma was sniffling in his arms. Killian had just tightened his hold on her as he held his own emotions in check. Ever since then, that song had held a special place for them both. Often, they would play it while they swayed together in their living room, with Killian murmuring the lyrics into Emma’s hair.
So when the band asked for her playlist, specifically the song that she wanted played for their first dance that evening, Emma hadn’t hesitated. Others might have thought the choice of a song from an animated movie a bit odd, but for her and her groom, it was the perfect one. The rest of the crowd faded away as they moved around the dance floor together. Not only were the song lyrics falling on Emma’s hair that night, but also Killian’s happy tears. He had come so far from being the ruthless Captain Hook, and it was all because of the wonderful, brilliant woman that he held in his arms. She had indeed shown him the light, and had changed his dark world completely.
The song came to an end, but the couple continued to dance, oblivious to the silence and all their guests watching them. The band fidgeted awkwardly until Aladdin nudged Jasmine toward the stage. She picked up the microphone and motioned for the band to play the song again. This time, she sang along as Emma and Killian remained in their own little world with each other. As the second verse neared, Prince Eric joined Jasmine on stage to add his deep voice and harmony to the song.
As the last notes faded away, the crowd began to clap, which seemed to bring the loving couple back to the real world. They shared one last embrace and kiss, then turned to their friends with wide smiles on their faces.
Killian felt a tap on his shoulder and heard his father-in-law clear his throat. “Do you mind if I have a dance with my daughter?” David asked.
“Not at all, Mate,” Killian answered, as he placed Emma’s hand into her father’s.
The two of them headed back to the middle of the dance floor, and Killian turned and caught sight of someone that he hadn’t seen earlier. “Nemo?” he questioned, walking in his direction.
“Hello Killian,” the sea captain greeted. “I’m sorry to be arriving late, but submarines can only travel so fast, you know.”
Killian reached out to shake his friend’s hand as he replied, “That’s no problem. I’m just very glad to see you.” Then he glanced around a bit before he added, “Is my….”
“Hello, Brother.”
Killian spun around quickly to find his younger brother standing there. He pulled Liam into a firm hug and pounded him on the back a few times. “It’s good to see you, Brother,” he grinned.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Killian. I was so sorry to miss the actual wedding, so when Emma’s mother contacted us about this party, Nemo and I started back to Storybrooke right away so that we could make it. Congratulations! I’m very happy that things worked out for the two of you.”
Killian turned to scan the dance floor, where he saw Emma’s father spinning her around. “So am I. But our wedding day got cut short, which is why my wife planned this whole thing to surprise me.” He went on to tell Liam and Nemo about all that had happened immediately following the wedding ceremony.
“Your wife is a brave and strong woman, Killian,” Nemo noted when the story had been told.
“That she is,” Killian responded proudly.
At that moment, the subject of their praise appeared back at his side.
Killian slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulders and made the introductions. “Emma, this is Captain Nemo and my younger brother Liam.”
“Oh!” Emma exclaimed. “I’m very glad to meet both of you at last! Killian has told me so much about you. When did you get here?”
“Just a few minutes ago as you and my brother were having your dance,” Liam answered, pulling her into a hug. Then he passed her off to his Captain so he could do the same.
The four of them chatted for a long while until Emma stated, “I’m glad you both came! I’ll be back to talk with you some more, but right now there’s someone else that I need to dance with before the night is over. Please excuse me.”
All the men nodded, and she started searching the crowd. When she spotted Henry, her face lit up and she walked over to him quickly.
“Hey Kid. Would you mind dancing with me?”
“Of course not, Mom. I was planning to ask you after you were done dancing with Grandpa, but then I saw you talking to Liam and Nemo. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
He took her hand and Emma swallowed the lump in her throat that formed when she realized his hand was that of a grown man, and that he was nearly taller than her. The band started to play and the two of them began moving to the music. As they danced, they chatted about their upcoming trips, among other things. Then Emma said, “Thank you for that wonderful toast, Henry. It meant so much to both of us. I can’t tell you how proud we are of the man that you’re becoming.”
“I love you, Mom. You and Killian. I was happy to have the opportunity to do that. Operation Best Man has been my favorite operation of all.”
Just then, the song came to an end and Emma pulled her son into a tight hug. “I love you, Kid. And I know that Killian does too.”
They started to walk off the floor together, but before they reached the edge, Regina appeared and asked for a dance with her son. Emma gave him a kiss on the cheek then turned to try to find her husband. She didn’t see him immediately, until she looked across the floor and saw that he was dancing with her mother. Emma smiled as she watched the two of them talking and laughing with each other. She loved that he got along so well with both of her parents.
******
The rest of the evening passed in a blur of dancing, eating and catching up with all their friends. After they bid goodbye to everyone and things were magically cleaned up by Emma and Regina, the happy couple started home arm in arm.
“You’re not upset with me, are you Killian?” Emma asked quietly.
“Whatever would make you think that I’d be upset with you?” he replied.
“Well, we leave for our honeymoon tomorrow, or rather, later today,” she said, glancing up at the clock tower to see that it was nearing two o’clock in the morning. “And now we’re going to be exhausted from this party. I don’t want to ruin the plans that you’ve made.”
“Emma, we are not on a time schedule. We can sleep in and leave any time we like. Tonight was wonderful, and you’re a bloody marvel for planning all of this. I loved every second of it.”
Emma stopped walking to turn and face him. “You really did?”
“Of course I did, Love. All of the thought that you put into it, and then to have your parents invite all those people with whom we’ve shared so many memories? It was the perfect night.”
“Well, nearly perfect,” his wife giggled as she leaned in to kiss him. “I can think of a few ways to make it even better. That is, if you’re not too tired.”
Killian answered with a growl as he swung his bride up into his arms to carry her the rest of the way home.
******
After they had added even more beautiful memories to their already special evening, the two of them lay in each others arms. Emma rested her head over her husband’s heart, which was still beating at an erratic pace. She trailed her fingers lightly over his bicep as he pressed kisses into her hair, whispering his love for her.
“When did you know?” she asked.
“When I opened the door and saw everyone.” Killian said.
“No. I mean, when did you know that you were in love with me?” she inquired, propping her chin on his chest so she could look at his face.
Killian got a faraway look in his eyes as he stroked his hand up and down her back. “When we were on our way to Neverland. You had jumped off the Jolly to stop all of us from fighting with one another, and it seemed like an eternity before your father found you and got you back on the deck. You weren’t conscious and I was afraid that you were gone. Then when you were revived and opened those beautiful eyes, I could breathe again. I realized at that moment, that I didn’t want to live in a world without you in it. I had already lost my heart to you.”
Emma searched his face. “That long ago? I mean, I knew in Neverland that you were starting to have feelings for me, but I didn’t know that you were actually in love with me.”
“Aye. I knew I couldn’t express those feelings to you outright, though I did allude to them in the Echo Caves.”
“Yeah, I remember that. I also remember you telling me that you would win my heart, and you certainly did.”
Killian chuckled. “May I inquire when it was that you finally realized your love for me?”
“That night outside of Granny’s, after we returned from the Enchanted Forest. When you admitted that you had traded your ship so that you could find Henry and me in New York, I knew that I couldn’t deny my feelings any more. That ship meant everything to you. It was your home. I couldn’t believe that you would give it up.”
“She was my home. But her place in my heart was replaced by a certain lovely but fierce lass.” He looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, but then his voice took on a more serious tone. “I told you that I never wanted to live in a world that didn’t have you in it, and I had to endure that for over a year. I was willing to do anything to find you and bring you back, no matter what it cost me. You are my home now, Emma, and you always will be.”
Emma let out a happy sigh. This beautiful man never failed to melt her heart.
They lay quietly for several more minutes, thinking about the declarations that each had just made.
“We’d best get some sleep, my love. Everything is ready for our trip, but it will take a while to get to our destination.”
“Still not gonna tell me where it is that we’re going, huh?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Good night, Darling. I love you tremendously.”
“I love you too, Babe. More than I could possibly tell you. Good night.”
When the Black Fairy’s curse cut Emma and Killian’s wedding celebrations short, they missed out on many of the newlywed traditions. Now that the curse is broken they both make secret plans to rectify that.
For @csmarchmadness
Thank you to my wonderful beta and new OUAT friend @hookedmom. You’ve been so great to work with!
Also a great big thanks to @kymbersmith-90, who has had the patience of a saint as she’s explained (over & over again!) how to post on here and on Ao3.
You’ll find Chapter 1 here and Chapter 2 here
Despite how late they had gotten to sleep, Emma & Killian were up by mid-morning. While Killian made a light breakfast for them, Emma called Henry and her parents to tell them what time they were planning on leaving.
“They want to see us off, so you’re gonna have to tell me where we’re leaving from,” Emma said smugly.
“They know where we’ll be,” Killian answered with a smirk of his own, as he watched his wife’s brow furrow.
“Seriously? You tell everyone else, but you won’t tell me?” Emma pouted.
“Just trust me, Swan.”
Twenty minutes later, their luggage was loaded into the VW and Killian was behind the wheel to drive them to their place of departure. Emma grinned with satisfaction when she realized that he was indeed headed to the docks. Her parents, baby brother, and Henry were already waiting for them when they pulled into a parking spot beside David’s truck.
Before they exited the car, Emma turned to her husband. “I had a feeling that we would be sailing off on the Jolly Roger.”
“Aye, that we are. The real secret is where we’ll be going, though.”
David and Henry walked to the front of the car and started unloading their suitcases. Killian joined them, and Emma left them to their work as she walked over to her mother.
Mary Margaret handed Neal over to Emma who squeezed him tightly and kissed his chubby cheek. “Hey, Buddy. Are you gonna miss your big sister and brother-in-law?”
Neal blew a loud, sloppy raspberry and Emma chuckled. “I’ll take that as a yes. I’m gonna miss you too. Now don’t do too much growing while we’re gone, ok?” She kissed him one more time, and then passed him back to their mother.
Snow reached with her free arm to wrap Emma in a hug. “I’m going to miss both of you too, but I’m so happy that you’re going to have this time together. After all you’ve been through, you really deserve to get away.”
“Yeah, I know. I just wish I knew where we were going.”
“You’re going to love it, Sweetheart. Killian is so proud of what he has planned. Just try to relax and enjoy the surprise.” She released her daughter and backed up a step so she could look her in the eyes. “It will be worth the anticipation, I promise.”
Emma sighed. “If you say so. I guess I’ll find out really soon, anyway.”
She turned to see her father and son coming back down the gangplank. Apparently they had already transferred their luggage onto the ship. David reached her first and pulled her into a hug, cradling the back of her head.
“Have a great time, and don’t worry about what’s going on around here. We’ll handle anything that comes up,” he whispered.
“I’ll try not to. Thanks for taking Henry for the last week.”
He pulled away and grasped her upper arms. “We’re really looking forward to it. He’s growing up so fast and we just don’t spend enough time with him anymore.”
“Tell me about it. I almost hate to leave him because I’m afraid he’ll be three inches taller than me by the time we get back.”
David laughed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I doubt that. Safe travels and have fun. I love you.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
Before moving on to bid farewell to her son, Emma saw that Killian had disembarked from the ship and was making funny faces at Neal. She smiled softly at his antics, then turned and strode over to where Henry was double checking the VW to make sure they had gotten everything out of it.
“So are you all ready for your trip?” she asked, though she already knew that he was.
Henry grinned. “Yeah, I’m pretty excited. I’ve never left Storybrooke for a real vacation. Maybe next year, you, me and Killian can travel somewhere together.”
“That sounds great, but we’ll see how things go on these trips first. I’m still a little leary about leaving Storybrooke for so long.”
Henry stepped closer and hugged his mom. “It’s gonna be fine. Just try to relax and enjoy it. Killian has put a lot of work and thought into this trip and you don’t wanna ruin it by worrying about things back here the whole time.”
Emma sighed. “I know, Kid. I just wish there was a way to communicate with you. Three weeks seems like an eternity to not talk to you at all.”
Henry pulled back and gave her a sly smile. “Oh, you never know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Swan, are you nearly ready to go? I’d like to get out on the open sea by early afternoon,” Killian stated as he walked over to his wife and stepson.
Emma continued to look at Henry, waiting for an explanation.
“Never mind, Mom. Just go and have a great time.”
Killian pulled Henry into a hug, telling him to behave himself and to make sure his Aunt Zelena did too. Then he allowed Emma to give her son one more hug before he took her hand to lead her up the gangplank to the Jolly Roger.
******
As her husband expertly maneuvered his ship out of the Storybrooke harbor, Emma leaned on the railing at the front. She was still trying to take everyone’s advice to relax, but years of being on constant alert made it difficult. The gentle waves rocked the Jolly in a soothing way and Emma closed her eyes and turned her face to the warmth of the sun.
Once Killian had the ship clear of any potential obstacles, he focused his attention on the beautiful figure in front of him. He knew that Emma was struggling to let go of her anxieties, and he truly hoped that she would be able to do so soon.
They sailed on for almost half an hour before Emma finally turned and made her way back to the ship’s helm. Killian had taken her out on the sea many times, so although the ship was rocking as it moved across the waves, she was able to walk surely and steadily.
Killian let go with his right hand and allowed his wife to step between himself and the wheel. She leaned back against him, placing her hands over his on the handles. He brushed a kiss against her temple, then rested his cheek on top of her sun-warmed head. No words were spoken as they traveled on until there was nothing but open water in front of them.
“Are you hungry, Love?” Killian asked, his voice rumbling against Emma’s back.
“Did you pack something to eat?”
Killian chuckled. “Oh, we’ve got plenty of food in the hold. We’re not really going to be close to a store where we’re going.”
Emma whirled around. “Seriously? Are we gonna be out in the wilderness somewhere? Because as much as I like watching “Survivor”, I really don’t wanna do that on my honeymoon!”
“Would you just trust me already, Swan?” Killian said with another laugh. “I’m not going to make you build a fire and live in a cave. We are, however, going to be in a secluded place, and will have limited contact with anyone else. I hope that you’ll be able to withstand being with only your husband for the better part of three weeks.”
“That actually sounds really nice. And to answer your original question, I am getting pretty hungry.”
Killian nodded, checked his compass to make sure they were headed in the exact right direction, and tied off the ship’s wheel to hold the course. Then he turned and rummaged through a wooden chest behind him until he emerged with a blanket.
“Lay this out on the deck and I’ll be right back,” he instructed, before disappearing below.
As soon as Emma had the blanket straightened out, her husband reappeared with a honest-to-goodness wicker picnic basket. He set it down on the blanket and settled himself beside her, then flipped both sides of the lid open.
Emma peered into the basket to see wrapped sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips, and bottles of water. “This looks really good, Babe. Did you pack it yourself?”
Killian reached into the basket and took out the sandwiches, handing one to his wife before answering. “No, your mother is responsible for this. She knew that I’ve had a lot of details to take care of in the past couple of weeks, so she volunteered to pack our meals for this first day.”
“You’ve got her wrapped right around your hook, you know that?” Emma giggled.
“Well, I tend to have that effect on people,” Killian smirked.
******
They sailed on for the rest of the day, finally dropping anchor when the sky started to turn into shades of purple and pink. After admiring the sunset together, they lay on their backs on the blanket and looked at the stars.
“It’s so peaceful out here,” Emma observed. “And even though the Storybrooke lights don’t really obscure the stars, there’s nothing like seeing them out here on the open water.”
“Aye, it’s a sight that I never tire of,” agreed Killian. “I think the only sight that I love more is that of my lovely wife.”
“You’re so corny.”
“And I’m all yours.”
“You’d better believe it, Buddy.”
They gazed at the sky until they both started to doze off. “Swan, we’d best go below and get into bed. It’s not going to do either of our backs any good to sleep on this wooden deck.”
Emma yawned and sat up. “Yeah, you’re right. Especially for a three-hundred-year-old back like yours.” She jumped to her feet and danced across the deck to escape her husband’s hook as he reached out to grab her. He chased her toward the doorway that led down to the cabin, catching her just as she got to the opening. He used his body to pin her to the door as he tickled her on her left rib cage, right where he knew she was the most ticklish.
“K-K-Killian! S-stop!” she gasped out.
He immediately pulled his hand away but continued to lean against her, grinning widely. “I think that I need to show you just how strong this three-hundred-year-old pirate’s back still is, my love.” He guided her to the ladder leading down to the cabin, and proceeded to show her for the next couple of hours.
******
“So are we going to sail all day again today?” Emma questioned after they had enjoyed some breakfast the next morning.
Killian leaned back on the wooden chair on which he was sitting and reached up on the shelf to his right. He pulled his hand back, clutching a small, blue pouch.
“We still have a little sailing to do, but we will reach our destination later this morning.”
Emma looked at the pouch with curiosity, but knowing that asking what was in it was probably going to be answered with “wait and see”, she decided to do just that.
They emerged on deck to a beautiful, calm morning. There was a slight chill in the air and Emma shivered. Her ever-observant husband noticed and pulled another blanket out of the wooden chest to wrap around her.
“Don’t worry, Love. It will be much warmer where we’re going.”
Emma cocked her head at him. “But if we’re not sailing for very long today, how are we going to end up in such a warm place?”
Killian ducked his head and looked up at her from under his eyelashes, knowing that when he looked at her like that, it made her weak in the knees. “Must I tell you again to trust me, Swan?” Then he set about raising the anchor and adjusting the sails.
When he finally had everything situated to his satisfaction, he returned to Emma’s side and handed her the blue pouch. She tugged it open and poured the contents into her palm. Half a dozen crystal beans fell out and she looked up at him with a smile.
“I forgot that Anton gave these to us as a wedding gift,” Emma said.
“Aye, he’s got quite the crop growing, and they’re in high demand.” Killian plucked one of the beans out of her hand. She deposited the rest of them back into the pouch and pulled the strings to close it. He traded the bean in his hand for the small bag and tucked it into his pocket. Then he turned and headed toward the helm.
“Go to the front of the ship and throw the bean as far as you can off the starboard side,” he directed.
“Why can’t I just throw it straight ahead?”
“Because the ship will reach the portal too soon and I won’t be able to keep it under control as well,” Killian explained. “If you throw it off to the side, it gives me time to turn the ship and slow it down a bit.”
Emma nodded her understanding and then went to the front and threw the bean as she’d been instructed. Killian gestured for her to join him at the wheel, and the two of them braced themselves as the Jolly Roger dipped down to enter the portal.
