A/N: I am in no way affiliated with Once Upon A Time and I do not own any of the copyrighted material mentioned or referenced in this story. This is written purely for entertainment
purposes and any and all mistakes are my own.
#: This is a slow burn, multi-chapter Swan Queen story that deals with memory loss and trauma relating to a car accident. My inspiration for this story came from the movie The Vow and therefore this story is based on that however, there are a few twists
that may be unexpected.
##: All normal text denotes the present day. Multiple paragraphs of italics will represent flashbacks to events. However italics contained between separator lines indicate a change in narrative whereby the story is now being told from Emma's internal
perspective. Separator lines may also be used to differentiate between different scenes in the present day. Any changes in time - from past to present - that moves across chapters will be marked clearly.
Please read and review! I hope you enjoy it!
They say that life is full of defining moments. The moments that create every experience we've ever known. With all of the people we've ever met. The moments that become our history. Our past, and every tiny detail we remember of it. Like our own personal playlists that we play, and rewind, and replay in our minds, over and over and over again. Moments of contentment and euphoria, where we remember smiling so hard our jaws ached. Moments of despondency and grief, where we remember the feeling of our hearts sinking in our chests. Moments that we hold on to, and the moments that we'd care to forget. Moments of high intensity and moments of complete stillness. Though I find that it's the moments of impact that, through flashes of unforeseen time and space, completely turn our worlds upside down. And it's these moments of impact that ultimately define who we are.
The snow had now settled itself on the paved streets of Boston. A whitened haze hung heavily over the city; suffocating buildings, swallowing each distant object and vanishing around every corner. A brisk wind whipped across Emma's face as she pushed
open the door of the movie theatre. The thick layer of snow crunched beneath her black leather boots as she stepped out onto the sidewalk, Killian following closely behind her. The two of them stopped for a brief moment, Killian's arm draping around
Emma's slender shoulders, allowing the still silence to consume them. The over familiar sounds of honking horns and roaring engines no longer filled the city air. A content sigh escaped Emma's lips subconsciously as she felt gentle flakes of snow
land upon her skin, before they quickly melted and disappeared.
"Wow…" Emma uttered as she admired her surroundings; the snowflakes continuing to dance in the wind.
Emma couldn't remember the last time she had felt this content and at ease. Her life up till now had only consisted of uncertainty. Never having a place to call home, never having a place where she felt she truly belonged, never having anyone she felt
she could wholeheartedly trust. She'd spent the majority of her life relying on herself, and only herself. Being shipped from one foster home to another, being treated poorly by every family that she was forced upon. But now, at this stage in her
life, Emma finally felt like she had found her place. Her home. And that home was with Killian Jones.
When Emma first met Killian, she never would've envisaged herself falling in love with him, let alone wanting to build a life with him, especially since the two had met through such unforeseen circumstances. It just happened that Emma had been the one
to post Killian's bail after he was arrested for embezzlement and after he skipped bail, Emma went to track him down. If she hadn't have gotten involved with his case at the beginning, she'd have never met him.
That's the funny thing about moments. Even the simplest moments have significance. These seemingly unimportant moments have the potential to change everything that we know, or thought we knew. They have powers far beyond what any of us can possibly predict, and no matter how hard any of us try, we can never control how they're going to affect us or our lives. All we can do is allow these moments to manifest and evolve whilst we wait for the next moment.
"There was barely an inch of snow on the ground when we went inside." Killian said as he held Emma close to his side, giving her a gentle squeeze as the chilling breeze swept past them.
"It looks so beautiful…" Emma continued to let her eyes wander before looking up at Killian and giving him a warm smile. Leaning down, he pressed a tender kiss upon her forehead, chuckling at Emma's almost childlike expression of awe as she watched the
tiny flurries of snow gracefully cascade to the ground.
The two walked arm in arm towards the car, shivering in unison as the cold wind began to bite. Neither one of them spoke; the need for conversation not necessary, both of them enjoying the absence of noise and commotion that ordinarily filled the streets
of Boston.
As they both clambered into the car, Killian turned on the heating and Emma rubbed her hands together, breathing hot air onto them in attempts to warm herself up. "I can't feel my fingers." Emma spoke between chattering teeth, her body shaking slightly
as it started to warm up from the heater.
"You'll be warmer in a minute once the heater kicks in love." After buckling up, Killian put the car into drive and the two set off on their drive back home; the misty breaths fading as the car began to billow out hot air.
The car ride was slow, the ice and snow on the roads causing Killian to drive cautiously. But the two of them made the most of it; singing along to the radio, laughing at one another and stealing risky kisses when they could. Emma spent most of her time
just staring at Killian as he concentrated on the road, admiring the man that she was lucky enough to call her husband. Her heart swelled with love for him, for he was the only person in her life that she knew truly loved and cared for her unconditionally.
Every now and then he'd catch her staring and reach over to squeeze her thigh, or tickle her side, eliciting a hearty chuckle from her as she squirmed beside him. They really were smitten with one another and Emma couldn't possibly imagine her life
any other way.
Pulling up at a stop sign, Killian eased his foot down on the brake before he turned in his seat to face Emma. Emma grinned at him cheekily as she crossed her arms and rested her head against the seat. "So… I was thinking…" Killian raised his eyebrow
at her, wondering what she could possibly be about to say. The left side of his pink lips tugged upwards into that all familiar smirk that Emma loved so much, and he raised his eyebrows encouraging Emma to continue.
"It occurred to me that we've never had sex in a car." Emma now mirrored her husband's expression, only her eyes were now speaking for her. She waggled her eyebrows at him playfully before unbuckling her seatbelt and leaning over the centre console towards
him. "Really love?" Killian was a little taken back by Emma's suggestion but excited nonetheless. "Mhmmm…" Emma breathed out as she pressed her lips against his softly, melting into him as his hand cupped her cheek.
And just like that, those ever defining moments of impact. The moments where particles collide together, bringing them closer than ever before, sending some spiralling off into wondrous journeys, but sending others fracturing into places you hoped you'd never find them. These unforeseeable moments are the ones that truly shape our futures, the ones that change our direction and present us with events that we'd have never imagined.
As their lips continued to mould and move together, neither one of them saw the truck approaching in the rearview mirror. Before either of them could blink, the truck had made contact, colliding violently into the back of their car. The windows shattered
as the force of the truck caused the car to surge forwards, sending fragments of glass flying into the air. The tyres hissed as they were dragged across the ice, the wheels spinning out of control as the lifeless shell careered into a nearby tree.
As the car made contact, Emma was sent hurtling forward like a ragdoll, her limp body piercing the windshield. Deadly slivers of glass covered the hood of the car and Emma's body followed, slumping down heavily on top of it and crushing the glass
beneath her.
Then there was silence. That same silence that had enveloped them as they left the movie theatre earlier that night. Only now the silence was chilling. Everything was still.
It was this moment of impact; this moment of high intensity, that turned my world upside down. A moment of total physical, mental, and every other type of pain. But a moment that ultimately ended up defining who I am.