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Heart racing in his chest, Killian peered through the hole in the ice. If only it weren't so blasted small, he considered ruefully, or I could crawl in and save the lass myself… As it was, he could do nothing but will Elsa to help Emma get to safety even faster.
Thankfully, with an arm around Elsa to steady herself, Emma finally staggered out through the hole. By the time she had emerged, Elsa was practically carrying her.
"Emma!" Killian cried, eyes wide with relief. He sped toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist, clutching her in a comforting hug just as her legs gave out and collapsed from underneath her. She melted into his arms. Cold, he thought with no small measure of concern. She's so very cold.
With a moan, Emma buried her head into his neck. His arms tightened around her protectively, as if their very presence could ward off the chill.
Beside him, David and Elsa discussed finding Elsa's sister. Their words held no interest to Killian, not with Emma in her current state. He lifted her into his arms and, following David, began to walk toward the car.
Killian settled Emma in the back seat of the car and slid right next to her, wrapping an arm around her. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. "Not yet, love," he murmured. "Stay awake for now." The sight of her skin so pale and her lips so blue frightened him. For the whole ride, he rubbed her back and whispered to her, trying to keep her awake. His heartbeat, once rapid with fear and panic, began to slow a bit at the sight of her curled into his side. She was safe. She would be okay. He tried to steady his breathing. Emma needed him to be strong for her, to get her back somewhere nice and warm. She's safe now, he reminded himself, safe at last.
~\*/~
The car ride was over shortly after it had begun. Killian adjusted his grip and then carried Emma into the house. He was loathe to set her down in the chair her mother had prepared, selfishly wishing to keep her in his arms, but he knew she would have a better chance at warming up fully if wrapped in the multitude of blankets. Despite that, once he had set her down, he couldn't quite bring himself to remove his arms from around her. She lifted her head to flash him a weary smile.
Her family surrounded her with hugs, relieved that she would recover. They fluttered around her, constantly checking to see if she had enough blankets, if warm chocolate was somehow necessary, if that strange box emitting heat was helping, how she was feeling, and so on. Their chatter filled the air.
Elsa initially stood off in the corner of the room, clearly a bit uncomfortable being around so many people. However, a warm welcome from Mary Margaret seemed to help. Soon, a shy voice joined in the cacophony of excited prattle.
As the others all discussed how to find Elsa's sister, Killian could barely keep his eyes off Emma. Once the excitement had begun to die down, Emma leaned her head against his arm again. She blinked once, twice, progressively slower. Her words began to slur. It must be the adrenaline fading, he mused with a grin. She was so cute when she was sleepy. As her eyes closed once more, he leaned his head against hers, nuzzling her hair.
While her breathing deepened and slowed, his sped up. The thought that he might lose her had been terrifying. With her trapped in the ice cave with Elsa, Killian had been willing to do anything to save her. He might actually need to get some sort of ice pick or pickaxe attachment for his hook hand if this kept up. He'd seen firsthand just how ineffective a hook could be at chopping holes into sheets of ice.
For the moment, nothing else mattered but that Emma was safe. He was only barely cognizant of his own drowsiness, lulled by tremendous relief and the comfortable warmth that only comes from an extended hug with someone one deeply cares about, even if that person had almost been frozen to death a short time earlier. Perhaps especially then...
His eyes flew open when a hand came to rest on his shoulder.
"Well, someone's had a long day," David said, "and we'll see that she gets some rest."
Killian immediately caught the hidden message. David was ready for him to leave for the night.
With a meaningful nod at Mary Margaret, David continued, "Henry, it's probably time for you to go to bed."
Henry stood and sighed, "Good night, Mom. I love you." He gave his mother one last hug. Although she didn't wake, a smile slowly spread across her face. With one last look, Henry ran up the stairs.
David wrapped an arm around his wife. "Would you make sure the guest room's ready for Elsa? I can take Hook home."
Killian lifted his eyes and, rather bashfully, admitted, "Actually, mate, I wonder if I might stay here for a bit?" At their wary looks, he added, "I'm rather trapped at the moment, and we wouldn't want to wake her up just yet."
Sometime throughout his speech, Emma had snuggled closer to him. Her cold nose now touched his neck. Although not nearly as frigid as before, her skin still felt clammy to the touch. He couldn't possibly wake her.
Silence ensued for a moment as David likely shared a look with his wife.
Killian kept his eyes trained on Emma. He raised a hand to stroke her cheek. Soon, he hoped, color would return to those lovely cheeks. He'd been separated from her for far too long, and he wasn't quite ready to give her up yet.
Mary Margaret cleared her throat, "All right, but you'll be staying on the couch."
Killian nodded silently. Hope shined in his eyes. He was almost afraid that if he said anything, the spell would be broken.
She continued, "Well, I'll need to get the guest room settled for Elsa, and then we can make up the couch for you. When I come back, we'll get her settled in her bed. I'll bring up a heater for her room." She turned to David. "Could you check on Neal? He's been awfully quiet since we put him down. I don't want to wake him, but—"
David rubbed her shoulder. "Absolutely."
With that, the Charmings went their separate ways, David to see Neal, and Mary Margaret to get Elsa settled.
Well, he had a short time before Emma's mother would be back. He might as well get comfortable. After unscrewing his hook and setting it down on the table before him, a difficult feat with only one hand and with an arm around a sleeping Emma, Killian gently gathered her into his arms once more, ever careful not to disturb her. After standing for a moment, he decided the couch was his safest bet. It was, after all, the place he'd been told he could stay for the night, and he'd never been to the upstairs rooms. He would have no way of knowing which one was Emma's, he reasoned to himself. That decided, he settled into the couch, lowered Emma onto his lap, and adjusted her blankets. Her head lolled against his neck once more.
Warmth spread throughout his body. She fit perfectly in his arms, like she belonged there. He spent some time merely watching her, assuring himself that she was actually all right, that she would be perfectly fine with rest.
Something about having her there, snuggled against him, comforted him. He could feel her heartbeat against his chest, steadying his own. With a sigh borne of contentment, he lay his head back, angling it so he could keep an eye on her. His arms tightened around her, as he reminded himself that she was safe. He lost all semblance of time, resting there with her. At length, sleep tugged at his heavy eyelids. His breathing slowed. Shortly thereafter, his eyes slipped closed without his consent.
~\*/~
"I'm sorry that took so long, Hook." Mary Margaret chattered, running down the stairs. "I couldn't find our extra bedsheets and—" She paused at the sight before her.
Sometime after she'd left, Hook had moved to the couch. In his lap, burrowed in a cocoon of blankets, lay Emma. She looked cozy, wrapped in his warm embrace with her head against in the crook of his neck and her hand on his chest. Hook's own head had come to rest upon hers. Both slept soundly.
His silver hook lay on the coffee table, gleaming in the low light. Mary Margaret assumed he’d removed it to lower the chances of hurting Emma.
"Oh," Mary Margaret breathed.
David walked behind her and slipped an arm around her waist. "Ah. I see the pirate wasn't lying when he said he'd take the couch."
She grabbed her husband's free hand. "Do… Should we wake them?" she asked.
He squeezed her hand gently. "What do you think?"
After a moment, Mary Margaret spoke, "I…I think he's changed, and she loves him. Plus, I don't really think he'd try anything on our couch. So it should be okay."
David nodded. "I've never seen him so worried as when he found out Emma was trapped in the ice cave with Elsa. He actually tried to use his hook as a pickaxe," he chuckled.
She let out a sigh of happiness. "So it's like we thought. It's true love."
"Speaking of true love," David's voice trailed off temptingly. He wiggled his eyebrows.
Mary Margaret winked at him. "Just a second." She fetched the one remaining extra blanket in the house and then began to tuck in Emma and Hook with the fuzzy blanket.
Although Emma barely stirred, Hook shifted and began to open his eyes. He muttered softly, "Emma?"
David froze.
Mary Margaret hardly breathed. Her heart melted at the tender look in Hook's eyes when his gaze landed on her daughter. David was right. It really is true love.
Hook's eyes remained at half-mast. He didn't seem to register their presence. The moment his eyes landed on Emma, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's it, love," he slurred. "Rest. I've got you." He pulled her closer to him for a brief moment before his eyes slipped closed. His breathing deepened with sleep.
Mary Margaret waited a good few minutes to make sure he had truly fallen asleep again before tiptoeing over to join David. Their eyes met.
"True love," he affirmed with a smile.
She kissed his cheek. "Well, then." Slipping her arm around his, she steered him toward the stairs. "I think we should leave them for now. We'll have a lot to talk about in the morning." Her eyes danced with happiness. Emma had found her true love at last.