Work Text:
Mary Margaret’s eyes widened. She was finally able to move again, but something had changed in the clock tower. Rumpelstiltskin was gone. He had vanished while Emma and Mary Margaret had been frozen. It was impossible to know how long they were out. It seemed like blinking, but the telltale sluggishness in Mary Margaret’s limbs told her that they had been magically suspended.
Emma did not seem to have the same problem. She vaulted up the stairs, taking them nearly two at a time. It was not immediately obvious why. Rumple was clearly gone. His spell had either worked and he had left or something had gone wrong. The two obvious magic users could not have been involved, so that made the former possibility more likely. Emma was unable to move. Regina was focused on what had happened with Robin Hood. There had been no time to contact her and get her up to speed.
Emma fell to her knees once she reached the landing. Mary Margaret finally saw what Emma was so concerned over reaching. Killian Jones was kneeling on the ground, his heart outstretched in his hand. There was a macabre similarity to the traditional way men proposed, only instead of jewelry Killian was offering the power to control or kill him.
Emma grabbed his face firmly, yet gently, in both hands. She moved his head fractionally as her eyes scanned him for any other injuries. Mary Margaret climbed the steps so she could help out. It was awful seeing Emma’s anguish. It cut her deep to know her daughter was hurting like that.
“How long?” Emma whispered, her eyes on the glowing heart.
Killian let out a strangled sigh. His whole body slumped slightly in relief. “Since the night he tried to take your powers at the lakeside manor. He ordered me not to tell you or I would have. Whatever questions you may have, I’ll answer them all right now.”
Emma brought herself in close to him so their foreheads could touch. “You were trying to tell me earlier in the diner though, weren’t you?”
“Aye. Belle saved me. She came in with the dagger and freed me. It seems she finally realized her husband’s true nature.”
Killian wrapped his arms around Emma slowly so as not to crush his newly returned heart. His hand and forearm drew Emma closer to him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Her fingers combed through the hair on the back of his head, holding it close to her. That action made Mary Margaret smile slightly. It was something Emma had picked up from her father.
The moment tipped closer and closer toward something that required privacy. As the other two, whispered to each other, Mary Margaret backed down the steps, unsure that her daughter even remembered that they came to the clock tower together.
It only took ten or so minutes for Emma and Killian to emerge. The strange bulge in Killian’s jacket led Mary Margaret to believe that he had stored his heart there. Emma announced that she needed to ask Regina exactly how to return Killian’s heart. She had neglected that lesson when she taught Emma about stealing hearts back in Neverland.
It was time to give Killian back his heart; though Mary Margaret mused it had not belonged to him for quite some time now.
Learning about The Author and his mysterious library was adding more confusion to Emma’s already overloaded brain. The giant warehouse of storybooks created a whole list of questions none of them had answers to. There was something nagging in the back of Emma’s mind before they entered the lakeside manor. It kept making her aware of some mystery she had not yet unraveled. Everything with Ingrid was cleared up. Between the bottled letter and the returned memories, there was nothing Emma felt she misunderstood.
The circumstances with Rumple were a little less clear, but still fairly cut-and-dried. He had acquired a magic hat that could cut his connection to the dagger. It had needed to be charged up with magic. Killian had been feeding information to him. He even was forced to be present at the spell’s inception.
And that was it.
Emma felt as though the car had tilted. It initially had not occurred to her that Killian had been doing more than spying or trying to distract the heroes. What if he had been minutes from death when she found him? Ever since that night at the lakeside manor Killian had kissed her with this desperate edge Emma had not been able to decipher. He had been treating each time they parted as though it was their last goodbye because it very well might have been.
“Regina, if you were casting a big curse you wouldn’t have anyone around unless they were necessary, right?” Emma asked, already knowing and hating the answer.
Regina was driving them home so she couldn’t turn around to face Emma. She settled for making eye contact in the rearview mirror. Henry shifted in the passenger seat so he could see both women as they talked.
“I suppose. There’s less of a chance of interference,” she responded.
Emma grimaced. “And a spell like the one on that hat, it seems like it would require a big sacrifice like maybe a heart.”
Regina’s forehead crinkled in thought. It was apparent the second she figured out just what Emma was asking. She laughed without any trace of humor in her voice.
“I wouldn’t put it past him or that spell. He did use the hat to kill all the fairies.”
Emma’s heart convulsed painfully. With everything else going on she had almost forgotten about the dead fairies. It was a sure thing that Killian had been forced to kill them. As Captain Hook, Killian had killed before, but these were innocents, people he knew and liked. Emma could not imagine how agonizing that had been for him.
Henry cleared his throat. “I think we need to rest a little before hitting Operation Mongoose hard. Mom and I can meet you for lunch tomorrow at noon. We can discuss strategy and figure out what all we already know. You should update Killian and invite him to join us.”
Regina and Emma made eye contact in the mirror. The former queen arched an eyebrow in question at the Savior. Emma hated talking about her feelings, revealing just how vulnerable she was underneath it all. This would not be just some quick chat, but a thorough examination of emotions.
“Yeah, let’s do that. Can you drop me at Granny’s?” The words fell out of her mouth despite her unease.
The whole way back Emma replayed the timeline of the last few weeks in her head. Every time a new puzzle piece slotted into place the ache in her heart intensified. Her mental excavation of the evidence revealed layer after layer of how much trouble Killian had been in. The worst part by far had been the moment she realized that Killian almost died with her looking on. Emma was the Savior, a title Killian believed one hundred percent that she deserved. He had watched her freeze, so close yet unable to do the one thing her title proclaimed she could.
Knowing Killian had been that close to death and that she had been powerless to stop it was what finally caused Emma’s tears to fall.
Killian pulled back from Emma. His lungs were starting to protest their current lack of air. He was not sure how long it had been since Emma had given his heart back and they started kissing, but it was not long enough. That kiss was everything he needed to tell Emma. It was proof he was still alive, a declaration of love, a promise, and a ‘hello’ all rolled into one.
Emma was also breathing heavily. She leaned almost all of her weight on the wall behind her. “We probably shouldn’t be making out here.”
Killian knew it was a long shot, but he had almost died so the risk seemed worth it. “My temporary residence is close by. It’s much more private.”
Emma shook her head with a smirk. “As tempting as that sounds, I should probably go check on Regina. She had to watch Robin cross the town line earlier. It would be selfish to go with you.”
Killian hated that she was leaving, but nodded in understanding. “Well if you decide to be selfish later or that your obligations have been fulfilled, come by.”
Emma brushed his lips with hers one last time. “I’ll keep that in mind. Breakfast tomorrow at Granny’s? Call me when you get up and we can go over all of your extracurricular activities from the last couple weeks.”
Killian tried to hide his grimace. Telling Emma, while necessary, would not be fun. It was like when the ship doctor had been forced to cauterize his forearm after he lost his hand. In the long run it had kept out infection and promoted healing, but in that moment it had been so excruciating it made him want to punch everything in sight.
In the end he agreed to a breakfast slash debriefing date, no matter how painful he knew it would be. They went their separate ways, though Killian wanted nothing more to follow Emma. He was absolutely exhausted, which Emma had pointed out as she left him. It seemed his almost death had taken a lot out of him. Killian was starting to feel every one of his three hundred some odd years.
It felt like mere seconds, a quick blink of his eyes, between when Killian went to bed and when he was woken up. The rapping was so light that he was not sure at first that it was at his door. It soon grew in volume, prompting Killian to get out of bed.
The door opened to reveal Emma. The light of the hallway almost made it too hard to look at her, notice what was different. It did not take Killian long to see how her eyes were watery and red-rimmed. He could tell from the tilt of her chin that she was trying to be brave, be strong like always. Killian stepped back into his dark room, allowing Emma to pass him so they could shut the door. The moon was the only thing lighting the room.
The dark seemed to calm Emma down some. Killian figured it was because she could not see his face.
“I failed you,” Emma whispered.
Of all the things he thought she might say, that was not even on the list. Killian felt his eyebrows knit together in confusion. He could not see Emma’s face since he had shut the door, but he could hear the agony in her voice.
“You didn’t fail me, love,” Killian stated, injecting as much certainty into his voice as he could.
Emma scoffed. “Well I didn’t save you either. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? Save people?”
Killian’s newly returned heart broke a little at that. “You helped. The Crocodile had his claws in my heart just as his wife appeared. Seconds later and I would have been dead. You distracted him and that gave Belle the time to get to me. It might seem like a small thing, but it was enough.”
“What if it isn’t next time? What if I can’t save you or my parents or Henry?” Emma asked with frustration evident in her voice.
“I still have yet to see you fail. You’re extraordinary.”
Killian reached for her. His hand grabbed air twice before finding Emma’s arm. He used it to gently guide her into his arms. He held onto her for several moments. He was able to feel the shaking that she had been hiding from him.
“Are you okay?” Emma asked.
Or maybe he was the one shaking. The reality of his almost death was finally catching up with him. If it had happened he would not be holding Emma in that moment. Every second they now had together was a gift Belle had given them.
“It’s been a very overwhelming day. I thought I would die, then didn’t. I thought I would never see you again, but I’m now holding you, safe and sound. I have so much to tell you about.”
Emma yawned widely. Killian chuckled at how loud she was. It was something so normal in the midst of their not so normal chaos.
“Don’t think that this gets you off the hook forever. I just need to recharge my brain a little. Tomorrow we can talk and think about things. Tonight I’m just going to be thankful you’re still alive and enjoy it.”
Killian smiled wryly. “Enjoy it how?”
Emma chuckled lightly. “Let’s trying sleeping next to each other before we try sleeping together.”
Killian pressed a light kiss to Emma’s temple. “You’re staying. That’s enough for me.”
Emma tightened her hold on Killian. Her fingers dug into the skin of his back then relaxed as she melted into their embrace. She yawned again.
“Bed time.” Emma mumbled into Killian’s shoulder.
Killian held her a little closer before he had to let go. “As you wish, love.”