A/N: I know Emma was worried about Hook, but let's face it she wasn't exactly nice to David either. So I had to… expand it just a tiny bit.
The burning kiss still lingers on her lips as Emma walks home. Alone. She's left Killian standing there, telling him to give her a little more time. His kiss, she can't deny that, has burnt everything else away. Emma knows this feeling won't last and the anger returns slowly, gradually. She's angry with herself for letting herself feel – again – and she's angry at him, because he just knows how to push her buttons. Emma hadn't meant to admit her deepest, darkest fear to him. But it was true; when she loved someone, they'd leave. They'd die. And it's not just Hook she's pushing away; she's doing the same with her father. She's seen all these questions in his eyes and occasionally there'd been a flicker of pain. Hadn't she made some kind of promise? To be their daughter, finally, to accept who she was? Emma doesn't mean to do this again – to push away – but she feels like she has to keep them safe.
She's almost running, even though she's not in a hurry. She is going home. This is her home, including her parents, her son, her new baby brother and even Regina. Hook, she knows, fits in there as well, but he doesn't have a fixed place yet. Because as soon as she gives him one… her feet accelerate. Emma runs up the stairs and tears open the door more violently than she'd planned.
"Emma? Are you ok?" Her father is in the kitchen, looking at her. He's holding a dish towel and the rest of the family is nowhere in sight.
"Where are the others?"
"Your mother and Henry took your brother for a walk, because he refused to fall asleep," a dreamy smile appears on his face that challenges Emma to turn around and run in the other direction, "I thought you might run into them."
"Funny choice of words." Emma mumbles.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Something's bothering you. You've been acting strange all day."
Here's this chance; she can open up to her father, or she can do what she always does, because old habits die hard. Despite all her best intentions. Unlike her mother, David never pushes. He waits. He looks like he has all the time in the world. There's a Snow Queen rampant and all their lives are, as always, in jeopardy. But David just stands her as if his daughter's mindset is the most important thing in the world. And maybe right now it is, Emma thinks. She sighs and slumps down on at the counter. Her feet welcome the break.
"It's just…Regina, you know."
"It's not just Regina, though, is it?" He underlines the question with a smile; he doesn't want to push, but he doesn't want to let her get away with it either.
"It's… what she said… and…" Emma looks at him and doesn't know where to find the words. She's never had to explain her feelings to anyone.
"And?" David helps her along.
"I keep…keep losing people." She ends in a whisper.
"Hey, you're not losing anyone. You're not alone in this."
"I'm the savior – I'm supposed to be the savior. I couldn't save Graham, Neal – they're all gone. All the people I love… they leave. They die." David is by her side in an instant. He takes her into his arms and hugs her tightly. Emma shivers and he needs a moment to understand that she's crying. He cradles her head – the only thing he knows how to do – and whispers soothing words into her ear. It's the same thing he does with little Neal these days; he would have learnt how to do it back then, when she was little. But they can all learn still.
"That's why you kept pushing Hook away."
"And you." She admits against his shoulder. Instead of saying anything, he just holds her even tighter and Emma feels warm; she feels loved. For a moment she forgets the fears that she knows will be back sooner rather than later. She begins to understand that she hasn't just become part of a family. She really isn't alone in any of this; Emma might be the savior, but her father will always have her back. Hook will always try to save her (and she'll always save herself first). Maybe this time her men are here to stay.
THE END