What the hell just happened?
Emma scrambled up the small set of stairs, the pain in her left leg winning in a battle for which part of her body hurt the most. The second she reached the deck, she no longer had the strength to support herself, collapsing to her knees. Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding its way out of her chest, and after a moment, she realized that her entire body seemed to be wet and sticky with blood, the source of which she couldn't find.
One second she was wandering through the jungle, scavenging for anything edible and looking for any possible sign of Henry, and the next thing that she knew, something was attacking her. Pain came from every direction, but whatever was inflicting it was moving so quickly that Emma could never focus in. A whirlwind of color whipped across her field of vision, and she did the only thing she could do. She unsheathed the sword she'd managed to procure from Hook's chambers while he slept soundly, the first moment of rest he'd found since their journey to Neverland had started several days before, held it out before her, and hurled it around as she turned in a full circle, separating herself from whatever it was that had descended upon her. She vaguely recalled wails of what sounded like pain as she felt the metal slice through something…flesh? And as quickly as she could despite the injuries she knew she'd sustained and had no time to stop to examine, she ran, tearing through the jungle as fast as her legs could carry her. She nearly fell, twisting her ankle in a maze of vines, but the sword made quick work of them, and ignoring the new source of pain as best she could, she retreated back towards the Jolly Roger.
"Swan!" she heard a voice call out to her the second her knees hit the deck. She couldn't place the all-too-familiar sound as her entire being seemed to shut down with agony and exhaustion. "Emma!" the voice called again, louder this time…stronger. This time she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who was speaking. But as much as she may have wanted to look up, she couldn't muster the strength.
Suddenly, she was being lifted to her feet, all of her weight supported by someone else. She was wrapped up tightly in a pair of strong arms, and for a fleeting moment, she made the connection that this was an uncommon…and entirely impossible occurrence. She must have passed out, or she was hallucinating. Only those two options would account for this particular moment…with this particular person.
"Killian," she managed to say, though even the strength of speaking seemed to cause her pain in her current state. Before she knew what was happening, she was standing on her own two feet, though she wasn't quite sure how given that her reserves of strength that she had been slowly building her entire life seemed entirely depleted. And for the first time, she managed to focus her gaze on the captain, whose blue eyes were brighter than she'd ever seen, standing out against the pale, ghostlike white of his skin. His face was contorted in a way that nearly made him unrecognizable until she realized that she'd never seen him this way before. Afraid.
"Why did you go out there on your own? You're the most foolish…you could have been…" he said, Emma noting the panic and pain in his voice before she was pulled back into his arms. As they stood together, Emma pressed tightly against Killian's chest, she was suddenly aware that he was trembling. He managed to tangle his shaking hand into her hair, though it was soaked with sweat and matted with drying blood. He pulled back from her slightly, though his hook never left its place at the small of her back, as if he may lose her if they were no longer touching. Just as Emma had focused in on his blue eyes, still electric with shock and fear, he crushed his lips against hers.
Unable to fully comprehend what was happening and now entirely certain that she was having some sort of hallucination, Emma embraced this moment she'd dreamt of since she'd first met this man who knew her in a way that no one ever had yet at the same time had pushed into the furthest reaches of her heart, as it was probably the closest she was ever going to get to Killian Jones now that she was obviously dead or dying. Still, if she were hallucinating…or dead…she wouldn't have been able to feel this sudden flame burning its way from where her lips met his all the way down to the tips of her toes, spreading a warmth she'd never known throughout her body, and reviving her in a way that she never expected. When he pulled back moments later, his panic had subsided somewhat, replaced with yet another brand new emotion that Emma had yet to see on the pirate's face. Overwhelming joy.
"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" she asked, her voice sounding stronger now as she realized that the pain had subsided almost completely, replaced by the heat that still burned inside her. The pirate smiled for the first time since...well, Emma had never seen him smile quite like this. The kind of smile that reached those ocean blue eyes.
"This is very real," he answered. "And you, Love, are more foolish than anyone I've ever known."
"Foolish enough to fall for a pirate," she replied, her strength returning with every moment that passed. She still wasn't sure what had just happened or what lay ahead for them now, but one thing that she knew for sure as she closed the distance between them again, pressing her lips against his, was that despite how close she could have been to death, she'd never felt more alive.