Basically I had this idea and needed to write it, hence this one-shot which I hope you like. P.S. To anybody who follows it, I promise the next chapter of Undisclosed Desires will be coming soonish. Enjoy.
Transatlantic flight 475 jolted slightly on a patch of turbulence causing Emma Swan to lose her place on the page of the book she was reading. It had been recommended to her by her boyfriend, which of course meant it was a page-turner that soon had her hooked and invested in every single little detail. Thinking of Killian brought a small smile to her face. He hadn't been able to get time off work to join her on her quick trip to Norway to visit her oldest (and best) friend Elsa so she had had to leave him behind with nothing but a few dozen kisses and the promise to call, text and Skype every evening no matter what the time difference was. Emma had really enjoyed her trip, it was rare for her to leave the states and seven days building snowmen with hot chocolate in front of the fire before bed was hard to resist, but she had missed Killian like crazy. Technology was one thing but it could in no way compare to the feeling of his arms wrapped around her as she sleeps or the warmth of his lips as they explore every inch of his skin. Checking the TV map on her screen she could see they were just flying over Canada and that she'd be landing in Portland International Jetport in just under an hour or so.
Leaning back, Emma went to scan the page for the line she'd been reading when the plane shook again. Over the intercom the Captain's voice sounded letting them know that they were coming into a little rough patch and that they should remained seated until told otherwise. Fastening her seatbelt and closing her book, Emma settled in to endure the turbulence trying to focus her attention on the moving figures on her neighbours screen rather than the unsteady motions of the plane.
~E&K~
Killian Jones had seated himself in the perfect position between the large arrivals board and gate 7 so that he could easily monitor the impending arrival of his girlfriend. Emma had been gone for a week only, yet it somehow felt like months. The apartment they shared had been unbearably quiet without her usual singing in the shower and swearing at the toaster. He physically ached to hold her close and simply take her home to share their bed together (her side having only been kept warm by his star-fishing) Checking his phone he saw there was about half an hour until she would walk through those gates and back to him...apparently, the airport had other ideas.
The board suddenly changed from on time to delayed and Killian was up in an instant to find out why with the woman at the information desk.
"The pilot reported a large patch of turbulence and upon further inspection it seems to be a small, unexpected ice storm left over from the snow last week, they have been forced to slow down for safety reasons and may be forced to turn back and land at a different airport if conditions worsen."
A spark of fear settled low in Killian's gut, "My girlfriend is on that plane," he whispered, almost to himself just catching the hint of sympathy in the woman's eyes.
"There is nothing to be worried about sir, our pilots are well trained in how to handle theses situations, I'm certain you'll be reunited with your partner soon enough.
Letting out something between a huff and a sigh, Killian pushed a hand through his hair, thanked the woman at the desk before slouching back off to his seat. His leg started to bounce and he unconsciously found himself locking and unlocking his phone just to look at his background picture of Emma smiling up at him from her place on the floor last year at Christmas.
"Come home to me Swan," he begged silently before leaning forward to watch the board once more.
~E&K~
The plane was still shaking and now some of the few children on board had begun to whimper. Emma clutched at her armrest with one hand whilst glancing at her phone with the other. She desperately wanted to call Killian so that he could comfort her through the bumps, she'd never been the best flyer only feeling truly comfortable with him at her side. Of course phone calls were out of the question, so she settled for flicking through her private album that was all about him, or them or their friends and family. She landed on one of her favourite candid moments.
They along with his brother Liam and his family had taken a boat out for the day to explore the coast a bit. In the shot, Killian stood at the helm with the sun reflecting off his aviators, the wind tousling his already mussed hair and the biggest smile on his face that was only usually seen around her. He had no idea that the picture had been taken or that even existed, she kept it all for herself and for herself only.
There was a particularly large shudder that had some of the passengers shrieking slightly. It was then followed by another, then another and another even larger than the rest. The cabin crew began to stumble through the rows making sure everyone was buckled in before collapsing into their own seats. The lights began to flicker and the plane suddenly dipped violently to one side drawing screams from everyone. The Captain's voice crackled through saying that they'd hit an ice storm and needed to land, that they should all hold on tight and try to remain as calm as possible. At that very moment, there was a loud bang and a stuttering noise followed by the Captain's heavy swearing.
The intercom hadn't been turned off in the rush so Emma along with everyone else could hear the shouts of mayday and engine failure. Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling as the plane started to fall. Emma made to pull hers on but could see that the young teen to her left sitting behind his parents wasn't doing so well. Without any hesitation, she ripped the boys mask down and helped him tighten it around his face. Reaching back for her own there was an almighty tremble, impact and then darkness.
~E&K~
There was something wrong. The phones had suddenly started ringing off the hook and the staff were running back and forth between them whilst calling out orders. Flight 475 went out on the board and Killian took off, racing over to the same woman as before.
"What's happening?" he demanded.
"Sir if you could please just take a seat and-"
"I bloody well will not take a seat until you tell me what the hell is going on!" he screamed grabbing the entire rooms attention. "Why has the flight been taken down, what happened?" silence, "TELL ME!"
The desk staff looked down trying not to make eye contact with the enraged man and the gathering crowds. Finally one spoke up.
"I'm sorry to inform you that flight 475 ran into a storm that resulted in an engine failure. The plane went down and we're not sure what else has happened. Authorities are headed to the scene now and will be getting news to us as quickly as possible."
Suddenly, the room erupted in shouts of terror and tears that would imply that hope was all but lost.
Killian was forced to take a few steps back with the impact of the news, the icy fear racking his body with shivers until he was backed against a wall, collapsing to the ground to pray to whatever deities were out there, to bring his love back to him.
~E&K~
"Miss? Miss can you hear me? Miss can you open your eyes? Miss?"
Emma's eyelids slowly pealed back to reveal one of the air hostesses leaning over her with a small torch shining directly into her eyes.
"Urgh," she groaned, rolling her head away from the light causing a huge spasm of pain to shoot through her skull.
"Try not to move Miss..."
"Swan, Emma Swan."
"Try not to move Emma, you have a pretty nasty bump on the head but otherwise, like the rest of the passengers, you seem unharmed."
"Is she awake?" chimed a voice to the left. The boy who had been sat next to her appeared in her field of vision flanked by a dark haired woman and a tall man with a younger boy held in his arms.
"You are awake!" the kid exclaimed, quickly regretting his decision to shout when she flinched. "Oops sorry. My names Henry, Henry Mills-Hood and these are my parents Robin and Regina, I really just wanted to thank you for helping me out on the plane."
"Yes thank you," said the woman Regina, "You saved our sons life, putting his own safety before your own and for that there are no words of gratitude that will ever suffice."
Emma felt her cheeks redden at such praise, "Really it was nothing, just what any decent person would do. Good form, that's what my boyfriends always telling me."
"Good form indeed," said Robin, "Sounds like a good bloke, glad to see that we'll be getting you back to him."
"We thought you were dead," cries Henry, once again forgetting her headache, "You were the only one who was passed out and they had to carry you off the plane, it was super scary."
"Don't you worry about me kid," Emma said whilst pulling a chain out from under her jumper. "See this? This here is a very special ring. It has the magical ability to keep you safe from any harm. It kept Killian- my boyfriend- alive during his time in the navy. Fortunately for me he gave it up and went into engineering instead, said he would rather not spend months apart on a ship when we could be together instead."
"He sounds like a real keeper," said Regina.
"He is, for sure...Oh god he's gonna be killing himself over this. I need to get to him now," Emma demanded trying to haul herself up only to be held back down again by the Mills-Hood family.
"Hold your horses there lass," said Robin, "The emergency services are going to be here any minute and they'll want to get you checked over. Then and only then will you be taken back to the airport."
"But-"
"No ifs, no buts, no coconuts," chorused Henry before setting himself down beside her to discuss the magical properties of her ring necklace.
~E&K~
Fifteen minutes later after a discussion of magic and a temper tantrum that according to Regina could rival Roland, over the fact that none of them were allowed to get their phones from the plane, Emma found herself sat on the back of an ambulance with a male paramedic fussing around her head.
"You were very lucky Miss Swan, no signs of concussion, just a small cut and a bit of bruising. A couple of weeks and a some Tylenol and it will be like it never happened."
"That's great," Emma sighed, "Now can you please clear me so I can get on that bus with the others and get the hell back to my family."
The paramedic smiled, "That's a very lucky man you have waiting for you Miss Swan."
"What?" she asked, "I didn't say anything about a man."
"Ah no you didn't but you see, I've been doing my job for quite some time now and it tends to be the people who are in love that fight the hardest to get to where they were going even if they have two broken legs and have to drag themselves. You Miss Swan are one of those people, so I stand by the fact that your man is very lucky."
"My man will currently be tearing his hair out, so any chance I can scoot on over to the coach?"
"Go ahead and remember to clean that wound!"
With a quick salute Emma dashed over to the steps of the coach, trying not to smile to smugly at the man who had originally sent her off for inspection. She found a seat as close to the front as possible as the engine slowly roared to life.
I'm coming Killian.
~E&K~
Killian had given up on his huddled break down phase and moved right into nervous pacing. He had also taken to harassing official looking passers by whom he believed would have the information he seeked. Safe to say he had accidentally grabbed some fairly important man who wasn't staff and nearly been wrestled to the ground by his body guards. However so far he had discovered that the plane sustained minimal damage due to the pilots excellent flying, the emergency services were at the scene and there were no fatalities.
That had been the biggest relief of his life. Emma was safe. She might be a little roughed up, but she was alive and eventually she would be safely back with him.
"If the friends and family of Transatlantic flight 475 would like to head to the main desk, we have some news for you."
The waiting crowd moved as one, some jostling to get to the front but Killian suddenly found infinite patience that allowed him to remain calmly in the middle.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," the receptionist called out, "We are very pleased to inform you that there have been zero causalities besides a few scrapes and bruises; but,more importantly, there are currently a series of coaches heading this way transporting your loved ones on them. They have been given a police escort and should hopefully be here within an hour."
There was a loud chorus of whoops and many hugs exchanged, Killian didn't join in though. He smiled naturally but knew that there would be no cheers from him until his woman was in his arms once more.
~E&K~
Emma spent her time on the coach chatting to the Mills-Hood family, getting to know them and why they had been on her connection flight in the UK. Having them there made the time go faster until she could see the lights of the airport ahead and focused all of her attention on the best way to get to Killian.
They pulled in and the police converged around the mass to guide them through the airport where people clapped as they passed. Gate 1, gate 2, gate 3, escalator, gate 4, gate 5, travelator, gate 6. Gate 7.
~E&K~
Killian heard the applause and the sounds of dozens of feet followed by relieved cries and called names. He was instantly on high alert, scanning the area for the head of long, blonde hair.
"EMMA!" he yelled.
~E&K~
"EMMA!"
Her name was called somewhere ahead of her, and only one person in the whole world said her name like that.
"KILLIAN!" she called back.
As if by magic, the crowd parted and she saw him. He was looking straight at her; his hair a mess and his eyes slightly panicked, but it was all erased when the smile lit up his face.
She took off running and saw him doing the same.
They collided in the middle, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her up and into him, hers locking around his neck as she sobbed joyously into his collarbone.
He was kissing a path up and down from her ear, across her cheek, to her forehead anywhere he could reach really. She could feel him quivering with repressed anxiety but that didn't matter now.
"Emma," he breathed, finally letting out the breath he'd been holing for hours now, "Emma, oh god Emma. I was so scared, I thought-god I thought...but you're safe, you're safe, you're here, you're home. You came back to me, oh god Emma I love you, I love you so damn much."
"I love you too Killian, I love you too. I'm so sorry, I'm so-"
"Sssh," he interrupted, "Don't you dare apologise. It wasn't your fault. You are safe and that's all that matters."
He quickly lunged forwards to seize her lips in a display that was very nearly indecent for a public location, but hey, she could have died, they had no right to complain.
She sensed rather than heard the massive cheer going off around them and slowly pulled back, embarrassed by the attention. Killian soon had her safely tucked into his arms, face against his chest, safe from the prying eyes of their audience.
"Come on love," he murmured into her hair, "Lets get you home."
Turning, he lead them purposefully from the airport, thanking the staff, the paramedics and the police, anyone really who had helped them really until they were in his car and driving home.
Emma had her left hand clutched securely in his right and he couldn't help but think it looked a little bare.
The End.
Well there it is. I hope you liked my first attempt at a one-shot feel free to give me any response you like; good, bad, ugly I don't mind.
Stay beautiful lovelies.