Author's Note: So this is my first story for the OUAT fandom. More precisely, Captain Swan. I'm posting this at AO3 and then thought what the heck, this was the place that started my fanfiction addiction and it's housing my other stories so… Here it is. It's been 12 years since I posted my first story here in ... God I feel old! Lol. This is AU and the character's might seem OOC, I'm out of practice so feel free to tell me what you think. This plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to write it... Hope you enjoy!

Heart Beats

Prologue

"Every heart that has beat strong and cheerfully
has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world…"

- Robert Louis Stevenson

The only thing Killian Jones could remember about the accident was the color red.

Her crimson lips as he kissed her slowly. The beautiful smile on her face as he opened the passenger door of the car.

Her bright red stiletto shoes as she pulled them off and threw them to the back seat, because they were hurting her feet.

The red traffic light that was taking forever to turn green.

Her long scarlet nails scratching on his thigh softly, his own lips turning up in a seductive smirk as he turned his head slightly to look at her just in time to see the red SUV running its red light and crashing into them.

The first thing Killian Jones saw when he opened his eyes again was red…

Blood was everywhere.

He also recalled a loud buzzing in his ears, his head pounding… He couldn't move, he couldn't speak and he could hardly breath.

It seemed like an eternity later that he could make through the glass the red lights and the shape of the fire trucks and police cars as they arrived.

He remembered a firefighter breaking his door and speaking directly at him. His sight was blurry, and it was hard to make out the words…

But there was just one thing going through Killian's mind… A simple word that encompassed his whole world, "Milah!"

She hated the color white.

Even though it was supposed to be a symbol of purity and light, goodness… It was also the color of the walls, of the stiff bed sheet and the itchy gown she was wearing.

The sterile smell of the hospital burned her nostrils and there was no amount of flowers that could disguise it.

And the flowers were everywhere! The bouquets all various sizes and colors. Carnations, daisies, hydrangeas, daffodils, blue iris, chrysanthemums… every one of the flowers signifying the love and support of her loved ones.

She had been waiting for this moment for months, her health becoming more fragile, her life more sedentary and her fears growing with every passing day.

Emma Swan was not a coward by any means. But after all that she had to survive in her life, this had turned out to be her breaking point.

Only hours after being born, she had been abandoned on the side of the road.

Blond hair, green expressive eyes and rosy cheeks were irresistible to the married couples looking to adopt a baby.

The Swans fell in love with her at first sight, or that's what the social workers used to tell her. They were young and filled with dreams of having a big family. But nature had not helped them, so they had decided to adopt her. She spent two years in their home being loved and happy. But that happiness didn't last long.

The beautiful baby the Swans had brought home was damaged.

Emma had being diagnosed with a heart condition. Long stays in the hospital, sleepless nights and the uncertainty took a toll on the couple. But their troubles had been rewarded with a miracle. Without warning and out of the blue, her stepmother became with child.

Her pregnancy was high risk and the worry and troubles that came with taking care of a sick baby was too much. After much consideration they decided that they couldn't turn their backs on a miracle, so they sent Emma back to the orphanage.

Soon she got better from her condition. But that didn't mean that her heart got by unscathed.

Emma had suffered her fair share of heartbreaks. She never got adopted again. Being sent back and her medical history guaranteed her growing up in the System. A chain of bad foster homes later sent her on a tailspin and she ended up running away and living in the streets. Emma had grown up tough and independent so she did everything she could to survive… stealing food, sleeping inside parked cars and breaking into people's homes during especially cold winters.

Living in the streets made her resourceful, perceptive, tenacious, smart and untrusting.

Emma had fallen in love once, but was used and trampled by his lies… Sent to prison for a robbery she didn't commit.

Left alone and pregnant, something she didn't learn until later... She was sentenced to eleven months in prison and ended up giving birth to a healthy baby boy handcuffed to a bed.

At first she was certain she would give him away in adoption, offering him his best chance away from her screwed up life. But the moment she heard his cries and saw his little flailing arms she felt her heart swell with pride and love, a strong ache settled inside her chest, her heartbeats going a mile a minute, her breath coming in short pangs. A burst of true love like she had never felt before…

Later, Emma will learn that the ache in her chest hadn't been just a burst of love, but a deadly heart failure.

Right after the birth of her son, the straining heart muscle was damaged and caused her heart to become enlarged and it couldn't pump blood properly throughout the rest of her body.

Five months after giving birth, finally out of jail and ready to work hard to give her son, Henry, a better life she was given the news…

The diagnosis: Peripartum Cardiomyopathy.

She had been adjusting to being a mother and being a law-abiding citizen, but her new heart condition was a hinder in her plans. Just when she thought that she had made a mistake and that she was kidding herself thinking that she could do it alone… A Fairy Godmother or as Emma jokingly called her a Fairy Wolfgirl came flying down the street and straight back into her life.

Emma had met Ruby Lucas in prison. The brunette had served time for solicitation. They only spent 4 months in the facility together, but they had bonded over heartbreak and being abandoned by their parents. Ruby had said goodbye promising to keep in touch but that hadn't happen. Until faith had made them walk into each other.

After two years, Ruby had straighten her path and decided to go back home to her, very strict grandmother. She had gone to school and was taking part of the responsibilities in the family business… That day she met her son Henry and offered Emma a job in her Granny's diner. Completely desperate, Emma had accepted the offer. She left the city behind and followed her friend to the small town called Storybrooke.

During the next 9 years, her life had changed drastically. She took night classes and worked as a waitress. Soon she became a Social Worker and got a job helping orphan kids find a family, a home and a happy ending.

Besides her monthly visits to the cardiologist and the daily pills for her heart condition, her life turned out to be better than she ever imagined.

But one day, her luck ran out. She had been giving a conference at Storybrooke High School on teen pregnancy and adoption, when all of the sudden her world went black.

When her eyes opened again it was to white walls and white bed sheets. Her cardiologist, Dr. Robin Locksley, gave her the news… Her heart condition had worsened and her only hope of survival was a heart transplant.

The waiting list was long, but she was a good candidate. Still she had been scared. Not of dying, but of leaving her son Henry alone...

Emma Swan had been waiting for months for a heart, her health deteriorating with each passing day. Soon she had to be hospitalized, the excessive fatigue, chest pains, shortness of breath and palpitations unbearable.

And just when she was about to give up, the call came.

A heart had become available.

Someone died, so she could live.