She had seen him there, still and barely moving, covered in blood.
"Killian" Emma said softly, lightly running towards him. She heard him try to move, to get up. He groaned.
"What have they done to you?" She asked lightly, trying to help him get up. A stumble later, and having him lean towards her back while holding his waist, he was sort of able to stand up.
"Emma" He murmured, not being able to speak properly. He still couldn't tell if he was dreaming or if this was another bloody trick. He didn't have the strength to take in his surroundings and just kept his feet moving with the motions.
"I'm here. I'm here" She whispered, softly shushing him to not make any efforts to speak.
He felt his body rocking and he guessed they were on a boat. Emma couldn't find the strength to stop from crying. As she held him in her arms, silent streams of tears were moving down her cheeks and a few dropped down to meet the wounded flesh of his skin. Freshly cut wounds were barely washed away with the tears as they trickled down his skin. Killian wanted nothing more than to reassure her it was going to be fine. She was here now, she had come for him, and the rest didn't matter.
"We're back" Snow proclaimed as they appeared back at the lake in the real Storybrooke.
"This was easy – too easy" Regina said to none in particularly.
"I don't expect this to be over yet, if Hades wanted to stop us he would have done so. He must have something else planned." Rumple tried to say. Emma couldn't really care if Hades were following them or what his plans were. What mattered is that she had her pirate back in her arms, alive.
At the door to her house, their house, the others left her and Hook to themselves. She helped him upstairs to the bathroom. She sat him down at the toilet seat and found the medical kit in the cupboard. She brought a fresh cloth and let it run underneath the lukewarm water before she brought it up to his face. He hadn't really looked at her since she found him, now she could see how swollen his left eye were. She cupped one hand and lifted his head up slightly and wiped the cloth over his forehead with her other hand. Lightly trying not to scrape on his skin afraid it would hurt him more if she pressed harder. She didn't want to see him hurt anymore. She worked her way down his face and neck when she threw the cloth back into the sink. The jacket came off and she started working slowly on his buttons. He winced loudly when she was about to take off his shirt, and looked down and realized why. A part of the shirt had stuck to inside of a wound on his shoulder, and with shaky fingers she tried lightly to tug it apart. He flinched and winced making it very hard for her to tear it apart carefully.
"Just rip it off" He said between gritting teeth. She did so as fast as she could and a part of his flesh tore apart with it. He screamed ever so slightly, and Emma couldn't bear listen to him in pain no more. She fell down to her knees in front of him and took her hands cupping his face, and kissed his bruised lips, a bit forcefully but trying not to hurt him all the same. He didn't respond as well to the kiss and before she had thought it was due to the physical pain, but now she wondered if there was something else behind it. Emma slowly trailed her finger from his neck and down to his chest and rested her hand where his heart should be. It was just a hollow room, not a heartbeat to be felt. He was alive, but he wasn't. She wondered if this was the same as when he just didn't have his heart, because his real heart was gone now. Had it taken its feelings with it?
Even the slight possibility that Killian could be sitting there in front of her, emotionless and empty, not feeling a thing for her felt like a stab to her own heart. She didn't have the strength to move and Killian sensed she was upset. He lifted his right arm, even when it hurt, and let his good hand stroke the side of her cheek. She leaned into his hand, trying to remember this was her pirate, and his love for her would never fade. It gave her enough energy to get up and continue cleaning his wounds on his chest. Not bothering going further down than to his chest, she lifted him back up and walked over to their bedroom. He opened his eyes and took in the sight of the room.
He hadn't even seen the bedroom of their house before. The bed was in the center to the back of the room, two windows high above the bed. Windows decorated with stones, shells and a mini bottle with a ship inside. On the bedside table there was a picture frame, a picture of the two of them taken by Henry at Granny's. The two of them weren't even looking at the camera; they were smiling at each other.
She let his half naked body rest on top of the covers, as she whispered she would be back after a quick shower. She was worried to leave him alone, but she was cold and not so good looking herself. She took off her beanie, red jacket and stripped down the rest of her clothes and stepped into the warm shower. Emma quickly rinsed her hair free of shampoo and conditioner and brought a towel to herself. Not even bothering to dress herself, she walked back into the room and lay down on the bed next to him. She hadn't been sure if he had fallen asleep but when she let her arm rest around his chest she felt him stir. He opened his eyes to look at her, seeing she was only in a small towel beside him. They looked into each other's eyes and she felt her emotions overwhelming her again. Everything they had been through, all since Camelot, and now they were both free of the darkness and back from the underworld. All the guilt, anger, the sadness between them and she knew it no longer mattered.
"I love you" She whispered to him, desperate and hopeful he would return it.
"I knew you'd find me, swan" He replied. Not exactly what she had hoped to hear, but it was enough to know he still cared for her, as hollow his chest may be. She went to sit upright.
"I want to try something" She said, before she graced her hand over her chest, pulling her hand inside her own chest, searching for something that already belonged to Killian – her heart. Emma took her heart out and stared at it, she couldn't believe she could feel its heartbeat and see her own heart for the first time – even Killian looked at it with his one functioning eye, mesmerized.
Killian knew what she was about to do and brought his hand up to stop her.
"Emma, I can't let you give me half your heart" He explained. Even when he had no heart himself he always did what was best for Emma, all down to his weakest moments.
"I can if it already belongs to you" She explained.
She concentrated all she could and felt the heart split in half in her palms. She brought one half down back into her own chest and felt a rush. One half left in her hand she graced it over his chest, a slight push and it went straight into his chest. He groaned. Both stood there for a few seconds in silence, when Emma noticed something. One by one, his wounds started to heal. When it was all healed, she trailed her fingers were his wounds had been. His blue eyes back to normal staring back at her.
"It doesn't hurt anymore" He said and sat up, testing movement in his hand, arms. He turned back to Emma and kissed her so hard she fell onto her back to the bed.
"I love you, Swan" He said, and she knew all was well between them. She had been through literally hell and back for him, and she knew he would have done it in less than a heartbeat in return if the situation was reversed.