Killian stood in the captain's quarters looking out the window, excited to expose the king's cowardice and his intention to use that unholy plant as a weapon and grateful that his brother was still alive and talking to him. He heard his brother groan in pain and turned to see his brother sinking to the ground, writhing in pain and a man dressed in crocodile skins and with rather scaly looking skin squeezing a glowing red heart.
"What are you doing? Stop!" Killian said rushing forward to help his brother.
"Now now now Dearie, can't save your brother now," the crocodile man said squeezing the heart into dust. Liam seized and groaned in agony before stilling, Killian crouched down next to him and pulled the body to him.
"No Liam come back please!" he begged and looked up at the man, "Why would you do this?" he questioned, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. The man bent down so he was eye level with Killian.
"Because you will take everything from me," the man whispered darkly, "So now I'm taking everything from you. First your dear brother, and now your life," he plunged his hand into Killian's chest and gripped his heart.
Killian screamed out in pain and fear and sat up in his bed at Granny's, a thin sheen of sweat coating his skin. He panted heavily as if he had just run a marathon and rubbed his face with his good hand, trying to calm himself down. It had only been a nightmare, something Killian was no stranger to, but they had stopped being that vivid when he came to Storybrooke.
"Killian?" a voice whispered next to him, Killian turned and saw Emma stirring next to him, her green eyes full of concern, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing love," he said forcing a small smile onto his face, "Just a bad dream is all, go back to sleep."
"Hey you don't have to do that, you don't have to keep everything bottled up like that, you can tell me about it if you want," Emma said before getting out of bed and rummaging around his room.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Looking for something, a ha!" she exclaimed before coming back to bed and setting a candle on the bedside table and lighting it with wave of her hand. Killian raised an eyebrow at her. "It catches the nightmares," she explained before leaning back against the headboard.
Killian leaned back next to her with a sigh, "I don't want to burden you with talks of silly nightmares, Swan let's just go back to sleep."
"Killian it's not just a silly nightmare, something is bothering you and you're not being a burden by talking about it. Trust me I know some nightmares need to be talked out," she said taking his face in her hands and running her thumb across his cheek.
Killian took a deep breath trying to think of a way to explain what he just saw, and relaxed at her touch.
"I'll tell you what, how about some cocoa?" she suggested.
"Is cocoa your solution for everything?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
"Yes, now do you want some?"
"Yes please," he smiled at her and with another wave of her hand there were two steaming mugs of hot cocoa with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon on top in front of them.
"Your magic is really coming along love," he said as they clinked their mugs together and took deep sips.
"Thanks, but flattery won't get you out of talking about your nightmare" she smiled.
"Really love I don't wish to bother you by unloading my nightmares onto you," he said scratching that spot behind his ear.
"Killian look I know I'm not very good at all this relationship stuff, but I do know that having your heart ripped out and then having intense nightmares can't be a good thing. How can I be the Savior if I can't even help you with something that is obviously bothering you?" she asked.
"All right I suppose you're right, as usual," he said and settled into his spot on the bed next to her and took a deep breath, "It was my brother Liam, I've had this dream, this nightmare, before we're in the captain's quarters right before his death and I can't do anything to save him but this time the Crocodile was there, squeezing his heart into dust right before trying to take mine. And it didn't make any sense because I didn't even know him back when I was in the Navy, he wasn't even the Dark One yet," he said blinking back tears.
"Hey it's okay, you're safe here and now Rumplestiltskin is somewhere outside the town line and without his magic he's powerless," Emma soothed him.
"I know Swan it's just that, you remember when you said that you couldn't loose me and that everyone you've been with is gone? It's the same for me; my brother, my Milah, even Baelfire, they're all gone. And if, gods forbid, you loose me you at least have your parents and Henry and nearly the whole town to lean on, but if I were to lose you? I have no one," he hadn't realized his head had found it's way into her lap and that she was running her fingers through his hair until he stopped talking.
"Hey first off I'm not going anywhere, I'm also a hell of a survivor. And there are people here in Storybrooke who care about you. Henry likes you and looks up to you, David sees you as one of his best friends, and I know Belle and you have been getting close while trying to figure out a way to release the fairies from the hat. So you're not as alone as you think you are," Emma whispered to him and planted a kiss on his temple.
"Thanks love," he thought for a moment "What did you mean when you said 'trust me I know some nightmares need to be talked out'?" he asked looking up at her.
Emma swallowed nervously and tried not to meet his eyes, "I used to get them a lot when I was younger, some of the foster families did things that a kid shouldn't see," she whispered but Killian felt she was holding something back from him. He sat up and stroked her arm lightly.
"Swan," he said quietly, pleading her to open up.
"And after that whole thing with Gold trying to crush your heart, I also started having some nightmares about what would have happened if I hadn't got there in time or Belle didn't find the real dagger. David was the one who would come up and get me back to sleep, he showed me the candle trick. He said they soaked up the nightmare," she explained.
"You've been having nightmares too? And you didn't tell me?" he asked.
"I didn't want you to worry about me! You had just almost had your heart crushed and you're still trying to find a way to free the fairies, I didn't want to add on to your list of things to worry about."
"Emma I don't want you to feel like you have to keep secrets from me," he said gently.
"How about this, we make a pact to always tell each other if we've been having nightmares, we shouldn't have to deal with those alone, we'll talk to each other," she suggested leaning into him.
"I can work with that," he said putting his good arm around her and pressing a kiss to her temple. She turned her head and kissed him softly on his lips.
"We have an early day at the library tomorrow, we should try to get some sleep," she said. They lay back down, his arms still around her hugging her tightly to him.
"Thank you Swan," he said quietly and she snuggled deeper into the space where his neck met his shoulder.
"Your welcome," she said sleepily and within a couple of minutes her breathing slowed and deepened as she fell back asleep.
"I love you," he whispered into her hair as he closed his eyes and feel into a dreamless sleep.