This is a one shot I got an idea for while listening to the song Waiting for Superman by Daughtry. It's a brilliant song, and I suggest you go listen to it if you haven't heard it before.
I don't own the song, or the characters of Once Upon a Time...really if I did, I would be making the whole show Captain Swan.
This takes place a few days after episode 3x11. I desperately need for this to happen on the show. Yep. This is me, trying to live out my hopes in a fanfiction.
Please read and review and tell me if you like it! (:
(PS this isn't beta-d so just bear with me if I make any mistakes)
"Excuse me miss," a voice says, jolting Emma out of her thoughts. She sidesteps the woman that spoke, still in a slight daze. She had dropped Henry off at school a few minutes ago and decided to take a walk to clear her thoughts. It had only been a few days since that psycho pirate looking man had shown up at her door, and Emma was still shaken up by it.
It wasn't really the fact that the guy seemed to know things about her that she's never told anyone, but the man himself. His piercing blue eyes and leather getup had stirred something inside her. Everything about him seemed so familiar. And in the moment when he had grabbed her and pulled her close to kiss her, she had actually enjoyed it. She had felt safe for a split second, and then the still rational part of her brain reacted and the door was soon slammed in his face.
Henry had asked her if she was okay, and she had told him everything was fine. She had licked her lips, and there was a faint taste of the sea. And again the feeling of familiarity hit her in the gut. So she had spent the past few days walking in a daze, trying desperately to forget the event and get rid of the foreboding feeling that seemed to follow her around.
A body moves quickly past her, shoving her shoulder and again bringing her out of her thoughts. Emma internally curses and tries to right herself. A hand reaches out and grabs her shoulder, steading her. She looks up to give her rescuer a smile but stops short when she sees his face.
"Hey sweetheart, did you miss me?" the man says, a wicked grin spreading across his face. He moves close to Emma's face, giving her a good look at the tattoos that spanned across his body.
"Frank Delayer," she spits out, wrenching her shoulder from his hand and moving away.
"Oh good to know that you still remember my face. Because I can't seem to forget any detail of that pretty one of yours," he growls, grabbing at her again and finding purchase on her wrist. Emma tries to tug away, but he was stronger.
"Let go of me," she snarls, letting her free hand clench into a fist and aim for his face. At the last second his hand reaches up and catches hers before it hit him.
"Oh you never learn," he chuckles, dragging her with him away from the crowded streets. Emma struggles, but with both of her arms incapacitated there wasn't much she could do. The two soon find themselves shrouded in the darkness of a nearby alleyway.
"I've been looking for you a long time Miss Swan. How long has it been? About 3 years since you stuck Greg in jail if my memory serves me right," Frank says, still dragging her further into the darkness.
"He deserved it," Emma says, still trying to pull out of his grip. At her words Frank pauses and turns back to look at her with dark eyes.
"I wouldn't say such things if I were you," he growls, and before Emma could react, he shoves her into the brick wall of the alley, hard. Stars circle around in her vision, and she lets out a groan. "Greg was a good man, with kids. And without even a second thought, you put him away. I've been waiting a long time for this," he says, fumbling with something in his belt. He pulls out something, and Emma flinches back when he shoves the metal thing in her stomach. "I almost didn't do this. I was going to take this gun and shoot your son right in front of you so you could feel what I felt three years ago."
"You're nothing but a-" Emma starts to say, but the gun was shoved farther into her stomach and she loses her breath.
"Shut up."
Emma started to feel panic seeping into her veins. There was no way that anyone would be looking for her until Henry got out of school and she didn't pick him up. What would he do if he found out his Mom got shot? He'd be all alone in the world. Her thoughts swirled in desperate circles, trying to find someway to get out of this situation. Then he mind got caught on the image of the psychotic pirate. One last hope, and let's hope she remembered his name right.
"Killian!" Emma lets out a scream, only to have a hand on her mouth a second later.
"Didn't I tell you to shut up?!" Frank yells, shoving her against the wall harder, and moving close. He looks at her, and what he sees in her eyes makes him smile. "You're afraid. That's good."
He moves the gun from her stomach up to her face, and Emma blinks back tears when the cold metal comes into contact with her temple. This wasn't the way she wanted to die. She tries to shift back, and moves to send her knee up between Frank's legs. He feels her shift and with a growl, presses his body to hers. "Don't you dare." A click shatters the fear in Emma, and she freezes her movements. Frank brushes away from her, smiling when he sees her frame shudder. "I've been waiting for a long time for this," he says, stepping back and aiming the cocked gun at Emma. She closes her eyes, bracing for the pain, and thinks of Henry.
A shot rings out, and Emma flinches, waiting for the pain. For a few seconds, nothing happens, and her eyes flicker open. Frank lay unmoving on the pavement, and the gun a few inches away from his clenched fingers. Emma leans forward, and kicks the gun away from him.
"Emma," a voice whispers. She whirls around to see another man in the alley, his face covered by shadows. He sways towards her, and his arm goes out to the wall to steady himself. Emma walks forward, closer to the man until she could see his face. When she makes out his features, she almost laughs in disbelief. It was the man from her doorstep...the wannabe pirate.
"You actually came..." she says in a whisper. A groan comes in reply to her words, and the leather clad man falls forward to his knees. Emma moves quickly to his side, and almost flinches away when he turns his fierce blue eyes to her.
"Are you okay?" he says, pain lacing his voice.
"I think the better question here would be are you okay?" she asks, kneeling down next to him. His hand comes up to her face, and brushes a stray blonde strand out of her eyes.
"No...are you okay?" he asks again, swaying towards her.
"I'm fine, but I don't know why you would care so much about me," she says, reaching out a hand to steady him. He sways even further towards her, causing her to grip the lapel of his leather coat. A spark travels from her fingers to her arm, and she snatches her hand away. "Did you feel that?" she asks, the sense of familiarity almost stifling now.
"Do you mean the burning pain traveling through my arm right now? If so, yes, I do feel that very strongly," the man says, his hand moving up to his right arm. He lets out a hiss when it comes into contact with a small hole in his jacket. Emma leans forward, trying to see in the dim light of the alley.
"You're shot!" she cries, her eyes flickering to his in surprise.
"Oh lovely," he whispers, giving her a weak grin.
"You took a bullet for me," Emma whispers, shock spreading through her body. This man, whom she barely knew, took a bullet for her. He risked his life for her. A feeling of warmth spread through her, and she felt a rush of affection for this strange man. No one had ever done anything like that for her.
"I would do it again in a second, love," he says, his voice fading away as his eyes began to flicker closed.
"Hey, hey, you have to stay awake," Emma says as she wraps her arms around his broad chest. She tries to shift him so he could lean against the wall, but her thoughts kept catching on the feeling of his muscles on her arms. Emma pull yourself together. Yes, he is completely ripped, but he's also bleeding out.
"Em-"he lets out a hiss of pain when she leans him against the wall, accidently jostling his injury.
"Sorry! Sorry!" she says, her hands fluttering to his arm, and he lets out another groan. His eyes are closing again, sending a wave of fear through Emma's body. "Killian...you need to stay awake for me," she whispers. His lips twitch up at her use of his name and he lets out a sigh.
"You've no idea how long I've waited for you to say my name," he mumbles. Emma opens her mouth to respond, but police sirens echoing down the alley. Flashlights blind her, and voices all yell at the same time.
"Miss are you alright?" Someone asks her, pulling her up away from the pirate.
"I'm fine, but he's been shot!" she says, pointing down at Killian. The police shift around in the small space, trying to see who she's talking about.
"Miss you need to come with me," an officer says, pulling her away.
"You have to help him!" she yells, trying to get their attention. Fear for Killian flowed freely through her, and she couldn't exactly decide why she felt so strongly for this man she barely knew.
The next few hours blurred together for Emma. Police officers interrogated her about the incident, and always deflected her questions about Killian. When they finally finished asking her questions, she begged to know what happened to him. They told her that he was being held at the hospital, but under close watch because they found a weapon in the satchel strapped to his waist. She then informed them that they were all idiots in thinking he was dangerous, because he did save her life, thank you very much.
The next thing she knew, she found herself standing over Killian in the hospital room. A nurse had told her that he just had a flesh wound, and would be fine within a few weeks. Emma sat down on his bed, and had to clasp her hands together to keep them from trailing through the hair that was falling across his forehead.
"Why would you risk your life for me?" she whispers, staring hard at the man in the bed.
"Because I love you," a whispered reply comes, and Emma stands abruptly and turns to see his blue eyes flickering open. He gives her a small grin, and moves to grab her hand. A clang echoes and he looks down at the handcuff on his wrist with disdain.
"I'm beginning to think this is a habit of yours," he mumbles, trying to free his wrist from the offending thing that kept him chained to the bed. His words triggered that all to familiar feeling in Emma, and she gasps. An overwhelming feeling of deja vu flows over her, seeming to take all the oxygen from her lungs.
"Are you okay love?" Killian asks her, his eyebrows furrowing in concern at her panicked expression.
"I'm not okay! Why would you take a bullet for me? Why do you say you love me?! You don't even know me! I don't know you! I keep feeling like I should know you, but I just can't seem to remember anything! You risked your life for me...no one has ever done that," Emma's thoughts spill out of her mouth, and she can't seem to stop them. "I've felt alone all my life, until Henry. That kid is one of the only good things in my life. Suddenly you show up in all your leathery glory and kiss me. I haven't been able to think straight the past few days because there is this feeling like I'm forgetting something. It grows stronger every second I'm with you, and I feel like it's trying to strangle me."
"It feels familiar because it is, Emma," Killian replies, and she looks up at him with a frown. "I know things might not seem like they make sense now, but they will...if you would just kiss me."
"Kiss you?" she asks, trying to be mad, but it came out in a whisper.
"I promise you'll enjoy it, love," he says, a grin spreading across his features. Emma felt an overwhelming feeling flow through her, and suddenly she was leaning over him, her face inches from his. Her hair hung over them, creating a curtain between them and the world.
"You took a bullet for me," she whispers. There was a voice in her mind screaming at her telling her she was being ridiculous and she couldn't kiss someone she doesn't even know.
"Yeah. It's called being a hero," he replies, the wide grin still on his lips. Emma hesitated before kissing him, thinking of how wrong this whole situation seemed to be. She couldn't just kiss a random guy off the street. A small voice echoed in her mind, saying that he wasn't a stranger, plus he did save her life. Cutting off all her train of thought, Killian leans up, and their lips meet. A warm rush of air seemed to blow through the room and out into the world beyond.