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Chapter Text

"Can you grab my sword for me, I hid it under the cot in the right cell," Emma said, ducking quickly into her office, her mind racing. They were about to engage in what would hopefully be their last confrontation with the Wicked Bitch Witch and her flying monstrosities, and Emma had insisted Hook accompany her to get some last minute supplies and ammunitions from the station. 

"That seems rather an odd place for it, love," he commented dryly, and she could hear his boots scuff along the concrete floor of the cell. 

She only had a few seconds, so she pulled her sword from it's actual hiding spot, along with another handgun, tucking the gun into the back of her jeans. Emma hurried out into the main room to see Hook crouched down by the cot, back turned to her, fingers feeling out the bottom of it futilely. 

"It doesn't appear to be here, Swan," he said, groping underneath the cot more urgently now. "Perhaps you misplaced it."

There was no time for hesitation on her part. She closed in on the cell as quickly and quietly as she could, grasping the steel bar doors in her hands before slamming them shut. Hook whipped his head around, staring at her in shock just as she turned the key in the lock, and his expression gave way to horror as he jumped up. Emma backed away from the cell, her whole body seeming to tremble as the weight of what she'd just done descended onto her. 

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked, hand straining against the immovable bars. The expression of utter betrayal on his face was almost too much for her to bear, but she forced herself not to look away; that was her punishment and she would have to take it. "Swan-"

"I can-I can't take the chance that she'll come after you," Emma told him, her throat tightening slightly at just the thought. "You have to stay here where you'll be safe from her."

"And who's going to keep you safe from her?" he demanded. "You're the one she wants, not me!"

"I can take care of myself."

He shook his head frantically. "Emma, my place is by your side," Hook said, his eyes imploring her. "Don't do this!"

"I have to." Her voice cracked, and her vision grew cloudy with tears. He didn't understand. The witch had taken too much from her already. Henry was safely under Granny's and Ruby's protection and that only left one other loose end.

Hook banged his hand against the bar, his fear turning to anger. "Why do this to me now after everything we've been through?"

"Hook-"

His tone was unyielding. "Why?"

"Because I love you, okay?"

Her impassioned exclamation seemed to echo through the station. Hook's eyes grew wide, all color draining from his face, and Emma knew she probably looked the same. 

"What?" Hook whispered, and he searched her eyes for the truth, and for once she didn't throw her wall up. 

"I love you," she said again and pointed vaguely out the window, "And she knows that! She will use you to get to me and I can't let that happen."

"Swan, please-"

"I'm sorry. This is the only way." She backed away from the cell, an ache in her chest forming as she did so. "I'll be back soon, I promise."

"Swan, don't do this," he pleaded again, but she'd already turned away from him and was striding determinedly to the exit. "Swan! SWAN!"

Emma wasn't sure he would ever forgive her for this, but his angry shouts after her were music to her ears after nights of jolting awake to his screams of pain in her nightmares, and she held to that justification all through the battle.

His face, dumbstruck at her declaration of love was the last image in her mind when the witch's curse hit her. 

TBC?

Chapter Text

kiss of life

His heart hammered loudly in his chest, a constant reminder of what exactly was on the line. He fruitlessly tugged at the bars of his jail cell for what felt like the hundredth time but the steel would not give. Killian paced the length of the cell, eyes squeezed shut, his fingers gripping his hair tightly, emotions shifting rapidly from anger to fear to panic and back. 

His mind was reeling with disbelief. His Swan loved him. His Swan loved him enough to take such drastic measures as to lock him up in here because she was terrified that the Wicked Witch would harm him. It was almost too much; certainly more than he'd ever even dared to hope for. However great Killian's joy and awe was at her declaration, his ire at her actions was greater. 

He couldn't believe she had done this too him. It was too reminiscent of her leaving him on that bloody beanstalk, and he felt the same despair he'd felt then, only magnified tenfold now. Hadn't he proved to her time and time again that they worked best when together? How dare she lock him up here! Who was going to protect her? Who was going to watch her back, make sure that nothing happened to her? He was supposed to be out there with her, gods be damned!

Killian shook his head, carding his fingers through his hair. He needed to calm down. A hot head would get him no where in this situation. In the not too distant past, he would have let the anger rule over him, allowing it to guide his actions, but he was not the same man he once was so he forced himself to focus. These jail cells weren't too dissimilar from others that he had broken out of in the past, and he had a few tricks up his sleeve, literally, so he broke out the handy lock picks he had stashed in his coat and set to work. 

It took some time but eventually he managed to jig open the lock, wasting no time in sliding open the door. He rushed outside the station to see that his Swan's yellow vessel was gone. The streets of Storybrooke were deserted, all those not engaged in the final battle appeared to be taking cover in their homes. Far in the distance, smoke was rising from the treetops, and Killian knew that was where the fighting was taking place. But how to get there?

The stables! Swan's lad had proudly shown him his horse at the stables one day, and they weren't located far. He hurried off in their direction, leather coat flying behind him as he ran, desperately trying and failing not to think about what was happening at the battleground. He had begun to care for these people, not just Emma, but her family: Snow, who truly was the fairest of them all in heart and soul; Charming, who reminded him so much of his brother it almost hurt; Henry, who was so quick and eager to be the hero that he leapt sometimes without looking. He mind jumped to the others who were undoubtedly there, the dwarves, Tinkerbell, Regina, Robin. It seemed the time for only looking out for himself was long gone, and he'd been strangely alright with that until now. Now, however, the thought of losing any of these people was terrifying. 

Killian burst into the stables and chose the first saddled horse, hoisting himself onto it's back with ease before putting pressure onto it's flanks and sending it galloping into the streets. He rode in the direction of the smoke, noting the darkening sky and the way the wind blew just a little more ominously. Something was happening out there, and he had a sinking feeling in his gut that it was something terrible.

I'm coming, Swan, he thought, pushing his horse as fast as the poor beast could go. He swept through the town until he'd reached the woods, setting out on a path the twisted through them.

He was only mere minutes away when he felt it. A pain so intense it felt like his insides had been set aflame. He cried out in pain and had to struggle not only to stay on his horse, but to stay conscious. He was in agony for about a minute and then, as suddenly as it had befallen him, the pain was gone, leaving only a growing sense of horror. 

"Emma."

He whipped the reins quickly, urging his horse on, feeling both fear and fury combine in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know how he knew it, but the witch had done something to his Swan, something she would surely pay for if any harm had come to her. Up ahead, there was an instant where he thought he saw a funnel of clouds forming, but when he looked back it was gone and the storm seemed to be clearing, though it had begun to rain.

Every second seemed to take a year as they finally came up to the meadow where the battle was. The blood was rushing through his ears, blocking out all sounds as he surveyed the carnage. Lots of flying monkey carcasses, most smoking slightly like they'd come into contact with one of Regina's fireballs. Urgently, he dismounted and walked through the meadow, the smoke clouding his vision and making his eyes water as he searched for any sign of red leather. 

He tilted his head to the right, seeing something in his peripheral view, and his heart stopped at the sight of a group of people huddled around a body on the ground. Killian almost dropped to his knees when he recognized Emma's golden blonde hair. 

His head shook back and forth, his legs propelled him forward, and he felt like a puppet on strings, someone other than himself controlling his actions. "No! No! Emma!" It took him a second to realize that the hoarse, anguished shouts had come from him. 

"Hook." It was David, the prince looking a little worse for wear with cuts here and there and dirt smudged all over him, but that was nothing compared to the devastated expression on his face. The man who'd become his best mate embraced him, and it was unclear who was comforting who as they clutched at each other. 

"What happened?" Killian asked, his voice cracking as he looked down at Emma, her eyes closed as though she were simply asleep. Mary Margaret was on her knees at her side, her bowed head in her hands, and her shoulders shook with sobs. "What happened, David, tell me! Is she-she's not-what happened?"

David pulled away, his face contorted with grief. He choked on his words, and shook his head, tears streaming down his cheeks unchecked. Mary Margaret moaned his name, rising unsteadily, and he hastened to her side, pulling her into his arms, rocking her gently. "We've lost her again," Killian heard her cry. 

Killian moved passed them and fell to his knees by his Swan's side, drawing one arm around her back, and pulling her into his embrace. She was still, and as he looked down at her, he couldn't tell if she was breathing or not. 

"Zelena, we were able to banish her back to Oz," Regina whispered shakily. "But she cast one final curse before she left. Emma, she, she pushed me out of it's path. She sacrificed herself...for me."

Killian barely heard her, his eyes scanning Emma's body for any sign of life. Drops of water splashed onto her cheeks, and he thought it was the rain until he realized he was crying. 

"If it's a curse, what about True Love's Kiss?" Tinkerbell tried, and Killian bit back a bitter laugh. 

"I'm not her true love," he told them, eyes never leaving his Swan's face. Was he destined to lose every single person he loved? Liam, Milah, Bae, and now Emma? "I tried back in New York. It didn't work."

They were all silent for a moment, and then, "True Love's Kiss doesn't work with memory loss."

This made Killian look up, and he scrutinized the Crocodile, noting that he seemed to have been released from the witch's thrall. "What?"

"He's right," Belle said softly, looking up at her beast. "When I lost my memory, Rumple tried True Love's Kiss on me, but I couldn't remember myself, nor could I remember our love, so it didn't work."

Behind him, David gasped, and Killian's head snapped to him. The man looked as though all hope had been renewed. "The same thing happened when Snow took that memory loss potion," he said, and Mary Margaret picked her head up from her chest, her eyes suddenly alive. "Hook-"

Killian shook his head, ignoring all of their expectant faces. "It won't work."

"Not if you don't have faith," David said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Believe in yourself, in your love for Emma, and her love for you. You can do it."

He turned back to Emma, half-agony, half-hope. Pushing a few strands of hair back from her face, he thought about how far they had come from that day in the Enchanted Forest when she'd found him. Killian had never meant to fall in love with her, but somewhere between her knocking him out with that compass and seeing her almost drown in Neverland, he had. She was stubborn and closed off, witty and brilliant, beautiful and brave, and a million other things, some good and bad, but more than that, she was his heart. 

He took a deep breath, cradling her cheek in his hand and leaning his head down towards hers. "I love you, Emma," he whispered, before pressing his lips gently to hers. 

It happened almost instantaneously. A wave of pure magic swept outwards from their lips, and Killian, having never witnessed True Love's Kiss, pulled back in surprised at the jolt of energy. He gazed down at his Swan, waiting with bated breath, and was rewarded by her abrupt gasp of air, her green eyes popping open. 

Around him, the others were cheering, the dwarves hooting and hollering, and David and Mary Margaret exclaiming with happiness. Killian didn't pay attention to anyone but Emma though, and she looked up at him with the same happiness that he was sure was found on his face. 

"You're here," was all she said, her fingers brushing a stray tear off his cheek. 

He laughed a little, sniffling, his smile wide as he recalled her saying those same words after she'd regained her memories. "Does that surprise you?"

She shook her head, her smile stretching to match his. "No. No, it doesn't surprise me at all."

Emma pulled his face down to hers again, and he let her lips comfort his raging soul, his heart aching at the thought of how close he'd come to losing her. She was his now, well and truly, just as he was hers, and he would never make the mistake of letting her go. 

It was still raining slightly, but suddenly the clouds parted and the sun shone down on them all in the meadow, a rainbow appearing above the mountains. Emma laughed when he pointed it out to her, and when he inquired as to what was so funny, she simply smiled and said, "Remind me to tell you some other time," before drawing him into another kiss. 

and they lived happily ever after :)