Chapter 1

Liam's eyes quickly darted away from me for just a second, yet I could see the confusion that twinkled in them. We were sat outside Granny's – or at least the hellish incarnation of that place - it's where we always were, never changing, never moving. I had no idea of what time I had spent here, there was no night nor day where we were.

I kept my gaze fixed on Liam, his concern increasingly worrying. "What is it? I sense that you want to say something," I said to my brother, willing him to say what was bothering him.

"Little brother," he began as he tore his eyes back to me, "you talked a lot about your love, didn't you. Her shining blonde hair and clear blue eyes,"

"Younger brother," I replied quickly, "I first of all told you not to speak of her, I cannot bear the pain of it. Please just cut to the chase and tell me what you want me to hear." I clenched my jaw just thinking of Emma. Her tear-stained face looking down at me as I died. Though my heart would never repair itself, I could only hope that hers would. I'm sure that by this point in time she has found her place with someone more honourable and good than I. Perhaps she is with August now. He was always a better man than I and it is not like I hadn't noticed the way they look at each other.

"I doubt my mouth could tell you the words you want to hear could be uttered out of my mouth, but you will hear what you desire if you cast your eyes over there." He told me, pointing to where his eyes went just minutes ago.

"You don't understand that I don't want to hear anything that comes from this miserable realm…" I stopped short in speech when I looked where he was pointing. My heart flooded with so many emotions that I could barely comprehend in that fraction of a moment. I felt a single tear fall down my cheek as I stood up, struggling to get words out of my throat.

"Swan…" I whispered, barely able to make a sound. She ran up to me, red leather jacket and all, and embraced me so tightly, as if I were about to leave. But I stood there, paralyzed. More tears began streaming down my face when she looked up at me, an expression with such despair, as if she'd thought that I had forgotten her, or hell had turned my heart cold. I quickly pulled her back into my arms, feeling at home once again. She wept into my shoulder as we stood there, I could feel all her pent up emotion wash away into my shirt. And I did the same. I cried out, feeling all of the sadness and despair ebb away like a lowering tide.

I pulled away gently, looking into the face that I had fallen in love with what felt like decades ago. Her beautiful eyes were studying my face, trying to work out what I was feeling. "Swan, I have missed you so much," I uttered to her shakily, before pressing my lips against hers. The feeling was totally unimaginable. I would have given anything to feel it again, feeling my love's kiss after believing that I would never see her again.

"Okay, eww." Said a familiar voice from behind us. I looked up to see the one and only Regina standing there, pretending to vomit. I wish that I could have said that I would never smile at the Queen, but that isn't true. I couldn't help but smile as I saw a part of what I could call Home. "We came here to pick up Captain Guyliner, now let's go, Emma."

"Never thought I could say that I missed you and your comments, Regina, but here we are." I said, beaming. She actually smiled too, it seemed that despite the front she put up, Regina really did care about her friend.

As Emma began to lead me away, realization hit me. "No, no Emma. If you're here too then it must mean that you're…"

"Dead? No. Gold managed to tether himself back to the dagger and is the Dark One again. He could open the portal to the Underworld." I breathed a sigh of relief at Emma's words. But there was still a thought nagging at my mind.

"But in order for me to be released from this place, a life has to be taken in payment."

"Yes. I figured that if my parents could share a heart, we could too." She said to me with pleading eyes.

"But what about Liam? I can't leave him here. He's my brother."

Liam walked over to us, saying, "Killian, I have been dead for far too long now to leave. And anyway, I don't truly belong here in this twisted Storybrooke. My place is somewhere far different. I am only here because I felt your soul calling out to me. All I want is for you to be happy, little brother, and I see that this lady of yours is precisely that."

He began to turn away with a knowing smile on his face. He flicked his hand and suddenly what looked like a tear in the very universe appeared, bright white light streaming out of it. "Goodbye, my little brother." He said before stepping into the portal he had created.

"No!" I cried as the portal closed, leaving this world just as it was before. I started to feel alone once more, until a hand I knew so well slipped into my own. Emma looked up at me and smiled slightly, reminding me of the love that would always surround me.