A Quiet Moment

On reflection, Emma had begun to appreciate the quiet moments. They were so rare. She used to enjoy the solitude of them, but now she didn't have to be alone. In fact she had more than one person to enjoy those moments with now.

Henry had asked if he could spend the day helping Belle in the pawn shop. He didn't want her to be alone after sending his Grandfather over the town line. It had struck Emma in that moment how grown up her son had become, not to mention unselfish and she wasn't about to tell him no when he was being so thoughtful.

Confident that Belle would not be alone over thinking her decision she had made, Emma decide to make the most of the fact that nobody she loved was in danger. Asking her Father if she could borrow his truck for the day, she went in search of her Pirate.

He was as she expected, at Granny's. Ruby shot her a knowing smile when she walked in. "I think he's been waiting for you. He must have it bad considering you only left here a couple of hours ago."

Emma blushed. Henry had gone home with Regina after he had shown them the library of blank storybooks, seeing as she had said goodbye to Robin that day. It had hit her as she drove away from the mansion that she had come way too close to losing Killian. Sure his heart was back where it should be, but it was the fact that Gold had been able to take it in the first place that terrified her.

She had become overwhelmed with the need to make sure he was fine and in one piece. The bug had seemed to drive itself to Granny's and she had practically run up the stairs to his room. In hindsight she should have known that Ruby would have heard her no matter how quiet she had been.

Killian had been surprised to see her when he had opened the door. He had taken one look at her expression and pulled her into his arms. "I'm fine Love. You don't have to worry about me." He had kissed the top of her head to reassure her, but she had only clung on tighter which was so unlike her.

In the end he had simply walked her to the bed and they had held each other until they had both fallen asleep. Of course she had woken that morning embarrassed as she had never been that clingy and snuck out of his room. He had let her run knowing she would be back. He knew she was fighting emotions she wasn't used to feeling and he wasn't going to push her if she wasn't ready.

Now here in the diner he seemed to sense she was there. She saw him smile to himself before pushing a cup of hot chocolate to the end of the table for her without looking up. Damn it, Ruby had been right. Sliding into the booth beside him, she thought about how much he had given up for her and knew where they were going to head. Somehow a future with him wasn't so frightening.

"You want to go for a drive with me?" She rested her chin on his shoulder ignoring that she had bolted on him a couple of hours before.

"I'd go to the ends of the earth with you." He gave her a quick kiss hello. "Where exactly are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Emma quickly downed her hot chocolate before taking Killian's hand leading him out to the truck. When he tried to go back inside for his coat, she simply handed him the coat David had left in the truck.

They probably could have walked, but Emma had a plan and didn't want any uninvited visitors. Driving just out of the main part of town where the road met the river, she parked the truck and sat on the hood. Following her lead Killian climb up beside her.

"Do you miss the sea?" She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer, but she also wanted to know more about him. Although she had no idea what he would do if he said yes and that he had a ship waiting for him at the docks.

"Sometimes." He admitted. "Not as much as I thought I would. I missed you more in that year I was in the Enchanted Forest. You're not an easy woman to forget and I did give you my word that there wouldn't be a day I wouldn't think of you."

"What do you miss about it?" How was it that he could make her feel like a teenage girl with a crush?

"The wide open spaces. The freedom. The blue the sea turns on a clear day." He nervously scratched behind his ear. "They weren't the same without you though. I thought if I got the Jolly Roger back I could move on, but I couldn't. It was an empty life without you."

Emma felt a little guilty that she couldn't remember him when he had turned up in New York. "I didn't completely forget you in New York." She felt oblige to admit. "I kept being drawn to the water but I didn't know why. When I was working I would leave Henry with friends I had made at the docks. For some reason it just seemed safe."

"It's in the past Love." He allowed a small smile to grace his lips as she laid her head on his shoulder. There was such peace with it being just the two of them staring at the river.

"I'm sorry I ran." She was grateful he hadn't mentioned it. Even now he was still letting her set the pace.

"It's alright. I'm not going anywhere." Perhaps someday the pull of the ocean would become too much, but not anytime soon. "At least not without you and Henry."

Everything seemed to be clicking into place. Tilting her head up to kiss the man she could not live without, she enjoyed their quiet moment. After all, she had no doubt that it would not last.

THE END