Title: Operation: Parent Trap

Author: Steph aka CaptainSwanLuver
Rating: PG

Pairing: Killian/Emma

Characters: Killian, Emma
Category: Romance/Drama
Disclaimer: I do this out of a love for this couple. No infringement is intended.

Spoilers: Nope!

Summary: Set 14 years in the future, Emma and Killian have been married 12 years, but are on the brink of divorce. Determined to reunite their parents, their 10 year old twins devise a plan to have them relive important moments in their love story.

Note: Thanks for your responses to the last part of "Accidentally in Love". I'm glad you enjoyed the ending! This story is not AU, but set in the future. It is complete at 6 parts, but it's possible I might add more when I tinker with it. Hope you enjoy it! ~ Steph

…Operation: Parent Trap - Part 1/6...

Emma Swan-Jones stared at the divorce papers in front of her, the words blurring through the tears in her eyes. She had received them three weeks ago, but hadn't been able to bring herself to sign them.

It seemed so wrong. More than 12 years of marriage ended with a flick of the wrist. She didn't even know how they had gotten to this point. She and Killian had so many happy years together. Then life happened, her job got in the way, being the savior weighed heavily on them. Before they knew it, they started looking at each other like strangers.

They had always been able to be open and honest with each other. They could spend hours talking about anything under the sun. Now, unless it involved their 10 year old twins, they didn't seem to have anything to say to each other. Any issues they had remained unspoken and never dealt with. She would have almost preferred to have arguments with him. Then at least they would be communicating.

Six months ago, they had mutually agreed to separate. Killian had moved out and found an apartment down the street. Their ten year old twins were splitting their time between their parents, but were devastated by the news. Emma was actually happy that Henry was living in California working as a writer. He had come to think of Killian as a father. She didn't think she could stand to look into one more of her children's eyes and see the pain this was causing them.

This was the hardest thing either of them had ever done and they were still picking up the pieces of their shattered life together.

Emma sighed, gathered up the papers, and stuffed them in a drawer in her nightstand.

"Mom!" Ella called from the living room.

"In my bedroom," Emma answered.

Ella appeared in the doorway. These days, her twins actually made her heart ache every time she looked at them. They reminded her so much of Killian. Ella had blond hair like her, but sparkling blue eyes like her father. Her twin, Liam, had dark hair and a smile just like his father's.

"What's for dinner?" Ella asked.

Emma sighed. She had forgotten to stop at the store and they currently had nothing but mustard in the refrigerator.

"Um, take out?" Emma replied.

Ella shook her head. "How about we go out to eat? We haven't been to Lino's in forever."

Emma smiled sadly. She knew exactly how long it had been. Six months and four days. It was their last family dinner and then they had gone home to tell the twins they were separating.

Lino's is where she and Killian had gone on their first date. It had always held happy memories for her. Now, that restaurant would also hold sad memories.

"Actually, I think I'm in the mood for Chinese."

Ella wrinkled her nose. "I really feel like Italian. Come on, Mom, please?"

Emma sighed. "Fine. Call your father and tell him to drop your brother off there after he picks him up from soccer."

Ella smiled knowingly. "Sure." She paused and then eyed her mother, scrunching her nose. "You're not going to wear that, are you?"

Emma looked down at her black sweater, jeans, and boots. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

"Well, it's just that Lino's is a nice restaurant and you've kind of been chasing bad guys all day in those clothes. Maybe you could wear a dress."

Emma groaned. "A dress? Really? I'm thinking sweatpants and Chinese is sounding better and better."

Ella grabbed her mother's hand and pulled her to the closet. "Come on, Mom, you hardly ever dress-up and you always look so pretty when you do."

Emma's face softened. Her daughter did know how to manipulate her. Ella began to dig through her closet. She finally pulled out a pink dress. It was the one Emma had worn on her first date with Killian at Lino's.

She blinked back tears. Ella smiled. "How about this one? It's so pretty."

Emma shook her head. "That old thing? I haven't worn it in ages."

Ella shoved it into her mother's hands. "Sounds like a good reason to wear it now."

Emma sighed in defeat, as she watched her daughter leave.

…

Liam answered his cell phone on the first ring. It was supposed to be for emergencies only, but he figured Operation: Parent Trap certainly qualified as an emergency. He and his twin had come up with the idea after watching, in his words: 'This super-old movie starring some girl named Lindsay Lohan'.

It was simple. They would make their parents remember why they fell in love in the first place by reliving some of the important moments in their love story. Then they would get back together. They knew they had to be quick. Their parents had received their divorce papers three weeks ago, but both were putting off signing them.

"How did it go?" Liam asked his twin sister.

"Good. We'll be there soon. You?"

"Dad should be picking me up soon. It took some convincing getting him to wear that old leather jacket though."

"Mom too with the dress."

"Ok, well, see you soon."

Liam hung up and scanned the field for his father.

Killian Jones sat in his car at the soccer field, staring at the divorce papers. He'd gotten them three weeks ago, but they had yet to make it into his apartment. He remembered opening the mailbox and seeing the large yellow envelope. He'd felt his throat start to burn, as he realized what it was. He'd opened it in the car, tears spilling down his cheeks as he stared at the documents.

He wondered how had they gotten to this point. They had been so in love. He still loved her with all of his heart, but things just didn't seem to work between them anymore. Still, he couldn't bring himself to sign those papers and end his marriage to Emma.

He took a deep breath and dropped the papers onto the passenger seat. Slowly, he got out and waved at his son.

Liam came running over. "I'm starving, Dad."

Killian nodded, suddenly feeling as if his son's suggestion of Lino's for dinner was not the best. Too many memories, good and bad.

"Perhaps we could have hot dogs at Frankie's instead?" Killian suggested.

Liam shook his head. "No, I feel like Italian. I even brought nice clothes to change into."

Killian sighed. "Fine, let's go."

…

Emma tapped her fingernail against the table and looked at her watch. Ella had been in the bathroom for a while. She wondered if she was feeling okay. She got up to go check on her. As she rounded the corner, her head was down and she slammed into someone's chest.

"Sorry," she said in embarrassment, her eyes still focused on the floor.

"It's okay, love," Killian replied, his eyes scanning her face.

God, how he'd missed her beautiful face.

Emma looked up at her husband. Even now, the mere sight of him caused her heart to do flips in her chest.

She forced herself to take a step back and break contact with him.

"Oh, Killian. Hi." She looked around him. "Where's Liam?"

Killian looked down. "He was just here a moment ago. Where's Ella?"

"I was just checking on her. She's been in the bathroom a really long time."

Emma was just about to head to the bathroom and Killian was about to go in search of Liam, when they both received texts. Emma's was from Ella and Killian's was from Liam.

They had identical messages. "We forgot Belle promised to take us for pizza and ice cream. So we met her outside and she'll drop us off at home later. Enjoy your dinner."

Emma and Killian read the messages aloud and then stared at each other.

Emma sighed at her soon-to-be ex-husband. "It looks like we've been set-up."

"What?" he asked, confusion etched into his features.

"Think about it," she said, gesturing around the restaurant and at their clothing. "Notice anything familiar?"

Killian glanced around, then looked at her.

"Bloody hell. I can't believe I didn't see it before."

"They're recreating our first date. Same restaurant. Same clothes."

Killian nodded, realization washing over him. "Now I know why Liam insisted I wear this old leather jacket," he said.

"I always loved you in that jacket," she said softly.

"And I you in that dress," he replied, his eyes sweeping over her appreciatively.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

Emma swallowed hard. "So we both have to eat and I already have a table. Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Killian smiled. "I'd love to."

He followed his wife to the same table they had sat at all of those years ago.

"Brings back memories," he said, as he pulled her chair out and then sat down across from her.

She smiled gently. "Wonderful memories."

They fell into an uncomfortable silence as they perused their menus. It continued after they ordered.

Killian finally broke it with a clearing of his throat. "So, uh, what do you suppose is their endgame here exactly?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "My guess is to get us back together by reminding us why we fell in love. They're our kids so I'm sure this is only part one of a multipart plan."

Killian looked at her tenderly, his voice softening, "I don't need reminding. I remember every moment of falling in love with you. I remember every reason. And I never stopped loving you, Emma."

Emma felt tears appear in her eyes, as she whispered, "And I still love you, Killian."

"Then how did we end up here?" he asked, his voice breaking with emotion.

Emma thumbed at a tear in the corner of her eye. "Because it wasn't enough. We let life get in the way. I was constantly putting my job and being the savior ahead of you."

He bobbed his head. "And I didn't know who I was apart from being the savior's husband. I lost purpose and I suppose I became resentful of you because of it."

"We stopped talking about anything important. We never addressed our issues directly. We grew apart, instead of together," she said.

"I never imagined that would be us. I always thought that happened to other couples," he added.

"And yet here we are," she said softly.

Killian sighed heavily, as he nodded. "Now our children have taken it upon themselves to try to repair things."

Emma nodded. "They want what every kid wants: Their parents together."

Killian leaned forward. "So what now, love?"

Emma shrugged her shoulders. "We sit them down and tell them we will always love each other but we can't be married anymore. We tell them it's not their fault and that we will always love them. We will always work together to take care of them."

A few long moments passed before Killian said anything.

"Or perhaps we could play along," he suggested.

"Play along?" Emma repeated, her brow furrowing.

He nodded, his voice emerging just above a whisper, as he reached across the table and linked their fingers, much like their first date. "Aye. Emma, the love we have comes around once in a lifetime. We'd be bloody fools to throw it away without trying everything."

Emma blinked back tears. "We have tried everything, Killian. We've been to marriage counseling. Couple retreats. Second honeymoons."

"We haven't tried this," he replied.

"Whatever we have tried has worked for a little while, but then we always slip right back into our old habits," she said.

Emma felt his thumb running circles on her skin and it gave her goose bumps.

"Emma, if there is even the slightest chance we could reunite then we have to take it. We owe that to our children. We owe that to ourselves."

"They've been through enough. I don't want to give them false hope, Killian." She paused and said, "When Henry was first trying to convince me of this fairytale world and who I was and who my parents were, I told him: Not having a happy ending is painful enough, but giving someone unrealistic hope is far worse." She stopped and then continued, "I stand by that, Killian."

Killian tilted his head and looked at his wife. "Consider that for a moment, Emma. Henry was right. Everything he told you turned out to be true. You eventually learned that the only thing more powerful than hope is love. And the two always go hand-in-hand."

"Killian," Emma breathed, as she swiped at a tear on her cheek.

He squeezed her hand in his. "Have you signed the divorce papers yet?"

She dropped her eyes, but didn't respond. That was answer enough for him.

"Neither have I," he said. "Why do you suppose that is? It's been three weeks, but neither of us has signed the papers yet. If this is the right thing, Emma, then what's stopping us?"

"Killian, please don't make this any harder than it already is," she said in a whisper.

He shook his head. "These last six months without you and our children have been absolute hell. I am miserable and I believe you are too. I'm not ready to lose you, Emma. That's never been more clear to me. If this is our last chance, then I propose we take it."

Emma sighed and swallowed hard. He was right. She was miserable without him. It had been so hard to let him go the first time, even though they both agreed it was the right thing to do. She didn't think she could go through it twice. On the other hand, the thought of never being with him again tore her heart apart too. Maybe he was right. Maybe they owed it to themselves and their children to give it one more shot. Maybe they could find a way to reconnect and rediscover each other.

Slowly, she nodded. "Fine. But we give them one month. We play along

until then. If, after one month, things haven't changed then we both sign the divorce papers we've been avoiding for weeks. Deal?"

He smiled. "Deal."

She offered him a grin, seeking to lighten the moment. "Now, do you

plan on overreacting to some British thief interrupting our date tonight?"

He shrugged. "We'll see."

Emma laughed.

…

Killian watched Emma shiver in the cool night's air as he walked her back to their house. He hesitated a moment, before removing his leather jacket and placing it around her shoulders.

She glanced at him, a smile upon her lips. "Thank you."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the home they once shared. This was the home they had begun their family in, the home they raised their children in. It was where they were supposed to grow old together. As children, they had both been lost, never finding a place that truly felt like home. Now, their children would have to deal with being torn between two homes. It was the last thing they wanted for them.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Emma felt her face start to burn.

"This feels so weird," she said.

"I know," he replied with a nod. He tilted his head, a slow grin appearing on his lips. "I remember that night like it was yesterday. I wanted to come in for coffee so badly."

Emma nodded, a smile upon her lips. "Coffee. Yes. But it was a full loft with prying eyes and zero privacy." She paused, her voice lowering, "But I didn't want that night to end."

"I remember how wonderful it felt to hold you with both hands, even though I was battling my dark side."

Emma reached down and took his hook in her hand, running her fingers across it. "I loved feeling your hands on me too, but I wouldn't trade your hook for anything. It's a part of who you are."

Their eyes held for a long moment, both feeling an intense desire to kiss each other. But they resisted, knowing that the physical aspect of their relationship had never been the issue.

Killian smiled. "It was certainly a special night and one I will never forget."

"I knew that night, Killian," she said softly.

"Knew what?" he asked, brow furrowing.

"I knew I loved you. Up until then, I had been denying it, burying it deep inside of me because I was scared. Scared of losing you, scared of getting my heart broken again."

"And you're frightened now," he said.

Emma nodded her response as their gazes held. She found herself getting lost in his eyes, so she averted them and took a deep breath. She began to slip his jacket off her shoulders, when he held a hand up.

"Keep it, love," he said.

She shook her head. "I couldn't. It's yours."

"I'd like you to have it. Whenever you look at it, I hope you'll remember me and that night all of those years ago."

Killian then leaned forward and placed a tender kiss to her cheek.

"Goodnight, Emma," he whispered, before turning on his heel and heading down the sidewalk toward his apartment.

Emma watched him go, as she clutched the jacket against her heart. It ached every time he walked away from her.

…

End of Part 1

Oh and don't worry. We'll be going back all the way back to when they met. I just started with their first date for storyline purposes. Oh and I couldn't find if they ever named the restaurant they went to for their first date, so I made it up. If anyone happens to know if it was given a name on the show though, then please fill me in! Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought! ~Steph