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Killian should have left already. Emma watched as he settled in behind Regina and Henry. He stood far enough back to be polite, yet close enough to let Emma know he was waiting for her. His expression was remarkably patient, like he had all the time in the world. It annoyed Emma that he was so calm when she was feeling anything but. She needed to focus on the task at hand: Henry’s safety.
The curse was coming. She was leading the charge as Savior once again. In order to defeat the Snow Queen they would need to divide and conquer. She would be separated from her parents and Killian as they tried to end the spell. Regina wanted to take Henry with her, but Emma was not okay with that. Under ordinary circumstances Regina was the obvious choice for Henry’s protector. She was the best with magic and was willing to do almost anything to ensure his survival. The rub was that this particular spell was designed to make people hate each other. Henry needed to be with someone who was wouldn’t lash out at him, someone immune.
In the end it was Henry who convinced her. Emma was almost there with Regina’s promise to be around only as long as it was safe for Henry. She knew that when push came to shove the former queen would send Henry somewhere safe if the curse was about to start. Plus, Emma might put him directly in the path of the Snow Queen. Henry’s affirmation that he would be okay was what truly made Emma think things would be alright for him.
Killian was at Emma’s side as soon as Regina and Henry walked away. He did not touch her, just angled his body so he could look at her as they walked.
“Would it be possible for me to share your conveyance back into town? It’s a long trek back to the docks and you would get me halfway there in little time.”
Emma pressed her lips together to keep herself from smiling. Everything he was saying was very logical, but she could not help feeling that he was doing this to spend a little more time together. Emma was okay with that. She was not looking forward to this curse separating them if it did fall. This car ride wouldn’t distract from their mission. She would even drive a touch over the speed limit to prove he wouldn’t slow her down.
“This whole thing sucks,” Emma stated. She bumped her shoulder into Killian’s, wanting a little bit of contact.
“Aye, it does indeed suck,” Killian parroted the word back, making Emma snort.
They reached the car and climbed in. Elsa was right behind them. If she was upset about being relegated to the backseat, it did not show. It probably helped that Killian did not steer the conversation in the car. In fact, he didn’t say a word the whole drive. Elsa and Emma went over everything they had learned thus far. Killian spent the ride with his only hand crossed over his body so it could hold onto one of Emma’s.
When Emma parked her car in front of the pawn shop Elsa immediately bolted from the car. Emma wasn’t sure if it was eagerness to continue their investigation or to allow them some privacy. She leaned over and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss.
“Good luck. Call me if you find anything,” Emma said before attempting to leave the car.
Killian’s hand darted out to lightly rest on her shoulder. “Shouldn’t we say goodbye, love?”
Emma’s forehead crinkled in confusion. “We still have all day to break the spell.”
Killian averted his eyes and played with the tip of his hook. His fingers danced over the cool metal. Emma’s superpower was the ability to spot a lie not to read minds, but in that instant she knew what Killian wanted to ask her.
What if we don’t get a chance to say goodbye?
Emma leaned in a kissed him soft and slow. Killian didn’t try to rush her or push for a deeper kiss. Instead his hand gently cupped the side of her face. His fingers nestled in the hair just behind her ear while his thumb made lazy circles on her cheek.
Emma pulled back and looked Killian straight in the eyes. It was sometimes hard to think with the full intensity of his gaze directed at her, but she managed.
“I’m not saying ‘goodbye’ until I absolutely have to.”
Killian’s eyes crinkled at the corners. He removed his hand from Emma’s cheek to pick up one of her hands. He flipped it over so the palm faced him as he, without any trace of irony, kissed the skin there. Emma’s heart fluttered a little. She was still unused to this level of attention, romantic or not, from another person.
It was tempting to stay with him and count down the hours until the curse hit. That was not Emma’s style though. She needed to fight back and make sure her loved ones would be alright.
Plus, if all went according to plan they would have some uninterrupted quality time very soon.
“You call Henry and Regina. Neal and I’ll call Emma,” Mary Margaret told her husband.
They had just agreed upon their best course of action for enduring the curse. The jail cells in the sheriff’s office would allow them to be together, but unable to harm each other. If True Love’s Kiss, their perennial Get out of Jail Free card, worked then it would be easy to use. Mary Margaret figured their odds were fifty-fifty for it to work. True Love’s Kiss required both parties to be in love. It didn’t work after Mary Margaret had used that memory potion because she no longer loved her husband. If the spell made them hate each other, then the kiss had a chance for failure.
Mary Margaret tried not to dwell on the ‘failure’ part as she called her daughter. The line went straight to voicemail. She kept it brief, but conveyed that they had a plan and needed Emma at the sheriff’s station. David was still on the phone with Henry and Regina when Mary Margaret finished. She thought over whether there was anyone else she needed to contact.
A name came to mind instantly, but Mary Margaret was not entirely sure if it was her place. Would this be way overstepping boundaries?
Mary Margaret found the contact in her phone and began the call before she could talk herself out of it. She chewed the side of her thumbnail as she waited for the beep.
“Killian? Hi, it’s Mary Margaret. Emma’s going to be meeting up with us at the sheriff’s office just before the curse hits. I just, well, I just thought maybe you’d like to know in case you wanted to say goodbye to Emma. We’ve got– um let me check my watch – somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty minutes left. No pressure to show up obviously, I figured she wouldn’t tell you because I mean you know how Emma is and I would want to know and make the decision myself instead of-“
Mary Margaret pulled her phone away from her face. The beep that cut her off was really loud. She rolled her eyes at the offending device. The mechanical voice on the other end asked if she wanted to keep her message or record it again. An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she hit the ‘stop’ button. She had bigger things to worry about than how ridiculous she sounded in a voicemail.
Killian’s heart damn near burst out of his chest. His phone rang seconds after Emma and company closed the door to the diner. He was moments from being discovered by them. Mary Margaret’s name flashed across the screen.
Killian let the phone keep ringing. He had learned that trick from watching Regina with her phone. She called it ‘screening.’ A single beep alerted him to the fact that he had a new voicemail. It seemed like a long time had passed since he received the call, but Killian shrugged it off.
Mary Margaret’s voice was breathy and high-pitched in his ear. It took several times replaying the message until Killian understood the whole thing. It numbed him so deeply he almost did not notice the text he had received from Emma.
I failed. Get to your hiding place and STAY THERE.
A flood of guilt swept like acid through his gut. It churned there as he processed the fact that Emma blamed herself solely for the spell making landfall.
A second message popped up.
Please don’t die.
The guilt he felt soon morphed into anger. The Crocodile made him destroy the fairies. If Killian had been in full possession of himself, he could have helped not hurt Emma’s mission. He knew exactly what was going on and had been made an accomplice to it all. He was done with this whole thing. The hat was now full. It was time for Killian to bargain for his freedom.
All seemed to be going to plan when he found the Crocodile. Killian demanded the return of his heart and his freedom along with it. He had forgotten one key thing though: his role in the Crocodile’s spell. His hours, not days, were numbered now. The time would go by so quickly.
Killian made the decision then. He had mere hours to live and this could very well be the last time he had with Emma. If the roles were reversed, it would devastate him if she was not able to say goodbye. This act would give them both some closure.
And if he was being totally honest with himself, Killian’s final request was to have one last kiss with the woman he loved.