So what's the plan?
As he taps his finger on the table at Granny's, Killian Jones can't stop thinking about everything they have all just been through. The stabwound that Emma inflicted on his chest is now merely a lonely scar, deeply concealed in the depth of his abundant chest hair, the remaining pain from that and all the injuries Hades had caused in the underworld now long gone. But it's not the memory of the pain that still hurts his now red, beating heart; it's her. Her tears and the look of despair and heartbreak as she said goodbye to him, not once, not twice, not even three times, but FOUR.
The first, he remembers the last thing he saw before blackness took over, was her face, three round oh's, complete and utter disbelief, as he fell, and the sound of a loud, pained "NO!" was the last sound before blood reached the insides of his ears. Waking up after that was almost like waking from a long sleep with the memory of a bad dream. But the memory of her face, he rache, haunted him.
The second time, was as he lay dying amidst the middlemist fowers, her face the image of perfection, while blood and life left his body. He saw the tears roll down her cheeks, her hands caressing his face, as she begged him to stay to beign their future. He was unable to fulfill his promise of being there for her, the survivor and fighter she had fallen in love with. And his heart broke as her desperate wail, "That's not enough for me!", rang through the air, broken by the tears and the emotion of the loss caught in her throat.
And yet, he woke one more time. In a pit of darkness.
Albeit dark and twisted, life had given him yet another chance.
The third time, was in the middle of his darkest hour, when he, by his own doing, was about to condemn all the people he loved to a life in hell, and condemning his one true love to live an eternal life bound to neverending heartbreak. It took all the love he could muster up and what little strength he had left in him to conjure up enough will power to use that very darkness that consumed him against the evil that threatened his friends, his love… his family. And the Price of that, was his life… at her hand. Knowing tha she loved him despite his deeds fed him with enough strength to stand the lethal blow, the long wavy blade of Excalibur piercing a heart that had till then sat undefeated for three hundred years. Yet, he died a hero… and Emma Swan's wrecked sobs were the final tether to his mortal life, echoing as he drifted further and further away, through a mist, and then, into a dungeon, where a suited man awaited him with a wicked smile and a leather whip.
Finally, the fourth goodbye, had been the worst. She had come for him, down to the netherworld itself, to save him from an unfair demise, to undo her wrongdoings and redeem both their love and her own soul… but after a fight well fought, they both knew the time to say goodbye had finally come. It hurt more tan all the previous goodbyes, as he saw her slowly ascend over him, the feeling of her soft hand in his a final memory to take with him into his future, wherever that may lie.
It was the day he learned, that dead men can cry too.
Then, by the literal will of the Gods, he was back in her arms once more. But for how long? How long before she had to see him fall again, he, the "expert survivor"?
"Hook?"
He shakes his head and looks up, suddenly drawn from his thoughts, as a concerned Snow White looks into his eyes. "Are you ok?"
He huffs and presses his lips together as he silently shakes his head. "I dunno…"
Snow grins a tight-lipped grin and sits in front of him. "I know… It can't be easy." She looks back up into his confounded face. "You've been through a lot. But Emma will be back, Killian. She and Regina have been out before and Emma is really damn good at tracking people down. She'll find Henry and be back in no time."
He chuckles. Of course she would think that's it. "Aye… that Swan… She's a better survivor than me, it appears."
Snow can sense his tension and reaches out, touching his hook brace. "Killian, what's troubling you?"
The former pirate gulps and raises two languid cerulean eyes to Emma's mother's own. "I promised her I'd never die on her like all the others." He grins. "She was terrified something might happen to me. Somehow… she seems to believe that the people she's lost have perished because… well, because they came to know her." He swallows thick andshakes his head, speaking softly. "She was terrified of losing me like she lost Neal, and that chap Graham, and even…" He flourishes his hand. "…the monkey she was set to wed, she lost every man she ever dared open her heart to." He sighs and his shoulders slump forward. "So I promised her she had nothing to worry about. I am a… or was a survivor, I don't know. She trusted that. I wanted her to open up to me, to take a chance and see I was not going anywhere, but... it turns out I am the one who has hurt her the most."
"Killian…"
"I have, Snow!" He snaps. "As it happens, the one thing I promised, the one job I had which was to keep her safe from being alone and hurt… and I broke it! FOUR BLOODY TIMES!" His eyes fill with tears that remain unshed as his voice breaks. "I saw the look in her eyes, every… soddin'… time! I was the one that did it, that… that left her! Over and over! I told her repeatedly that she could be at ease, that I was an excellent survivor, that I could muddle my way out of the stickiest spots and cheat death every time… And look! Here I am, fresh out of the underworld out of sheer dumb luck! And I can't help but think she… she might be feeling that this is somehow because of her and it's not! IT'S NOT!" He shakes his head again and a tear finally finds its way down. "She is the strongest, most wonderful woman in all the realms, but even she has a limit. Just how much loss can an angel take before she breaks, I ask you? And now I can't… I can't promise her again, that I will not leave her, because as it has been repeatedly proven, even I can break that promise and her heart along with it, and I HATE being the one behind her grievance!"
Snow silently listens to her daughter's boyfriend open up and speak, and she slides her hand from his brace to his hook.
"The irony milady, is that I swear, I do believe that courting Emma Swan is courting danger in the flesh. She is the bloody savior, she will ALWAYS be fighting against some lethal foe and everyone who knows and loves her will innevitably be faced with uncertainty and be at risk of death. But I would not have it any other way. I cannot and will not will myself away from her… I can't. My heart is drawn to her, she is my…" He swallows again and smiles, the memory of thier test in the Underworld a single bright testament of their powerful love. "… she's my one true love."
"True love?"
"Aye." He sniffs and grins up at her. Snow finds it endearing to see the dreaded pirate Hook gets red-nosed when he weeps, and she grins back. "We faced that test to find the Ambrosia. Emma's heart had to be filled with true love to sabe me. And it was. We passed the test." He shrugged. "I suppose that getting a godly pardon from Zeus himself means I passed the test too, I don't know…"
"Well, there you go." She replies calmly.
"Wha'?"
"You did pass the test. You're here. You're alive. You survived again." She reaches out with her other hand and grabs his. "You didn't break your promise, Killian, you're back with us where you belong. You have both been through so much… but you made it back once more."
"Only because you lot went down there to haul my sorry arse back out!"
"Does it matter why?" She shakes her head and smiles.
Killian frowns bewildered. "Milady… I…"
"Shhh, you spoke your peace, now let me speak mine here, Hook. Ok…" Snow sighs and moves her head in a single circle, prepping for a speech. "When we first met you, we could all trust you as far as we could throw you. David once talked about ripping a brand new piercing through your… erm… nuts. I believe he said "with a rusty chissel." Killian winces as Snow continues her deluge. "But… When you offered to take us to Neverland, I began to wonder what prompted you. And everyone, including Emma, were too blind or busy or concerned with Henry's welfare to notice… But I noticed. I noticed immediately. A mother knows these things, Killian, and it didn't take long for me to notice how you suddenly… gravitated around Emma. And let me tell you, you were not alone. She had her eyes on you, that's for sure. By the time you made your confession at the echo cave, pff, it was blatantly obvious to me! And then, THEN I trusted you more, because Emma, she has this…. This thing that makes people WANT to be good! Look at Regina! They're friends now, Killian, a couple years ago she wanted to rip Emma's windpipe out her nose, and now, now they're out TOGETHER looking for Henry! And I also know love. Love can change you, deeply, in ways you never knew you could change! You, Killian, you left everything you believed in, your revenge, your survival instinct… for Emma. You traded the Jolly Roger for my daughter's sake! And unbelievable as it may be for most, the pirate we all doubted was now our ally and our friend. You became a good man, a man who is now family… a man we all love."
"Love?" Killian has a hard time keeping it together by then. He grins and looks down at his hand in hers. "Thank you Milady."
"Don't thank me. It's only the truth." Snow sighed. "We were all devastated when you sacrificed yourself. Imagine seeing your daughter…" she shakes her head at the memory. "Emma. After you died and they came to remove your body from the park, David and I had to hold Emma from falling to the ground. She was… well… I have no words, but I never want to see her cry like that again. Ever."
Killian huffs. "Aye… and I did that to her."
"No Killian, you didn't." She squeezes his fingers. "People die. It's life, it's the way it is. Robin did not deserve what he got, but he made a choice, a heroic, beautiful choice, to save his children and the woman he loved. You are here, though… you have another chance."
"But how can I promise that I…?"
"You can't." She cuts in sharply. "You never could. It was always an illusion, Killian, you are not immortal. At least not now. Emma knows that now, but I honestly don't believe she is scared of losing you again, because now she knows that that is a chance worth taking when you love someone the way she loves you. And you know… it was her idea to go all the way to the underworld for you. She is THAT determined. We couldn't let her go alone. We wanted to help her, for her sake and because… well, we missed you."
"You did?"
"Of course! Henry was pretty crushed as well, David kept saying he was going to miss fighting beside you, even Regina was…. Well, she looked the part, anyway. We all saw a chance to get you back and we were NOT about to let you go without trying." She sighs. "So we followed Emma. She never made us go. She thinks she's responsable for our choices a lot of the times, but she isn't."
"So… You really believe that? That she won't feel… guilty?"
"Oh she will." She flaps her hand. "Emma always will, because she has it in her stubborn head that she is responsible for everyone in this town." She huffs and shakes her head. "I suppose we're to blame for that. She is the savior, but… she is also human, and she has earned herself her rest. So I would suggest…" She leans forward. "…that you two make the most of your time, no matter how long or how short it may be. I know she has a hard time opening up when the shit is not hitting the fan, pardon my French, but that's what YOU have to focus on right now. You have a god-given chance, literally, to start over, to love her and be loved."
"Be loved?" he chuckles and shrugs. "You think I deserve that honor?"
She smiles at him. "Yes, Killian. You both do. You love Emma…"
"Aye…. With all my heart."
"And she loves you too. True Love isn't found every day. But you two did. And if there is ANYONE David and I are proud to have Emma give her heart to, Killian… it's you. You won it fair and square."
And she means it.
Killian smiles wide for the first time in days. "That means a lot to me Snow."
"Good. So… what's the plan?"
Killian shakes his head slightly. "P… plan?"
"Yeah! Plan. Or are you just gonna continue living here at Granny's trying to decide whether or not your relationship is at that level where you actually have a life together? Because if you two kids keep on wasting time…"
"Oh, aye, that! Well, as soon as Emma and Regina are back with Henry I intend to move my things into her house. With your blessing, I'm now happy to say."
"And if she stalls…"
" I will give her a chance to think."
"Killian!" Snow releases her hands, frustrated, "Did we just spend twenty minutes talking about not wasting chances for you to come up with an answer like that?"
Killian laughs, and snow realices the pirate's laughter is loud and highly contagious. She grins.
"Milady Snow, I will NOT impose my will on Emma, all that has happened has done so at her behest and that will not change. However…" He nods in her direction. "A little friendly nudge from her mother might be helpful. Perhaps even some encouragement from old Dave, or am I pushing my limits?"
"Oh, no, David loves you, trust me."
"So it's done?"
"Count on it!" She smiles and stands up.
"Snow?"
The beautiful pale face turns back around. "Yes, Killian?"
Killian stands up behind her. "Thank you… for your kind words… and for… the whole… telling me I'm family. It does mean a lot to me."
She smirks again and touches his scruffed cheek with gentleness akin to her daughter's. "You are much more needed and loved tan what you think. Now…" She sighs and holds her head up high. "You are family, start acting as one. Grandchildren, Hook. David and I want more of those. Get cracking."
She walks away, and Killian Jones is left standing in the same spot, flustered, flushed… and with a heart swollen with hope and love.
He is "family" now, families can sometimes be a little awkward.
He just came back from the world of the dead; he can deal with a little awkwardness.
H:\My Documents\so whats the