This fanfiction is the sequel to Bring Me Home (my previous fanfiction, available on my profile page) but can be read independently. All you need to know is that the story is happening in an alternate universe. On the day of her twenty-eighth birthday, a book of fairytales appeared to Emma and brought her to the Enchanted Forest. There, she met Killian Jones, a lieutenant sailing the seas with his brother Liam, working for the Evil Queen; that was until she took Emma away from him. In his fight to get her back, he lost his hand and Liam got hit by dark magic; he survived but needed several weeks to recover, and Killian took over the captain's duties. He found Emma, the first woman he has ever loved. Slowly, he broke her walls down as true love simply happened.

Chapter 1 : Flares

Emma opened her eyes. The sunlight was already flooding the quarters. A smile instantly brightened her features when she realized the presence of Killian's arm wrapped around her. She could feel his chest moving against her back and hear his deep breathing; he was probably still asleep, but looking back to check would surely awake him. Her fingers softly closed on his arm and a light sigh escaped her while she closed her eyes again, thinking of these past few months. When she had made a wish on her twenty-eighth birthday, and this book had mysteriously appeared and taken her away from Boston to bring her to the Enchanted Forest, never could she have expected it to be the best thing which had ever happened to her. It had led her to the man who was now holding her in his arms, the one who had won her heart; the man she loved. Killian had always done everything for her, and this since the first day when they had met. When the book had made her travel between the realms, she had firstly met an old man calling himself the Apprentice. While wondering whether he was insane, or whether it was all a dream and she was about to awake, she had listened to him talking about this one prophecy. According to this prophecy, the one who could give her what she was looking for was Killian Jones. Though doubtful, she had left the Apprentice with only one thing in mind: she had to find Killian Jones. The prophecy was the first thing she had talked about: she needed him to bring her home, to lead her back to Boston. His crew was supposed to set sail, but he had not hesitated to put her first and postpone his departure to help her. Together, they had climbed a beanstalk, looking for a magic bean which would allow them to create a portal to Boston. But the only bean they had found was dry, devoid of any magical power. Killian had then invited her to come along with them, and she had accepted, joining the crew the time for them to find a solution. But nothing had turned out as expected. Enquiring into the reason of their lateness in their mission, the Evil Queen, who the crew was at that time working for, had paid them a visit. Confronted with the choice to follow her or watch her turn the ship into flames, Emma had not hesitated long, and had found herself locked at the top of a tower. But Killian had come to save her. And he had saved her again when the Evil Queen had taken her away from him for the second time, awaking her from this cursed sleep with a kiss.

On the first day when she had run into him, something had happened; from the beginning, there had been something between them. And little by little, he had broken down her walls, these walls supposed to keep out pain, but which had also been keeping out love. She could feel they were getting closer every day. She had awaken from the sleeping curse four days earlier, and these past few days spent with him had been nothing but good; never in her life had she been even close to feel as fulfilled as she had felt with him. During these past few days, he had shared with her his passion, teaching her how to sail or how to sword fight. They had become so close it had led them to intimately share the night for the first time. Emma bit her lip to repress a smile and her hold on his arm tightened as memories of this night flooded her thoughts. The next morning, she had found him on deck to finally tell him what she had known for a while but had been denying for weeks; she had talked about the prophecy again, about how on the first day when they had met, she had asked him to bring her home, back to Boston, and how she had been wrong about this: she needed him to bring her home, but home was not Boston. She had told him all he had been wanting to hear: she was not willing to go back to her realm. Not that they had found a solution to travel between the realms anyway; the magic bean they had found up the beanstalk had been the only price Rumplestitskin had accepted to help Killian find Emma. But this didn't change anything: Emma was not interested in going back to Boston, she only wanted to be where Killian was. How could she not, when the only thing she had felt these past few days was her love for him, a love which was reciprocal? With him, she had been feeling only loved and happy. That was if she didn't count this one time when he had driven her mad: the man she loved had risked his own life by willingly walking the plank, to try and trigger her magic. Blindly trusting her, he had not hesitated for a second. Luckily, it had worked, and her magic had saved him. Afterwards, he had told her he had been confident because he had known it would work.

The fact magic was a part of her was one of the things she had learnt about herself in this realm; a magic she was unable to control. The only times when her powers had revealed themselves were in situations of great danger, mostly when the Evil Queen had been involved. The Evil Queen was their most serious issue; lately, life had been better than anything Emma could have ever dreamt of, and she was feeling like this couldn't last. She was afraid the Evil Queen would appear aboard anytime, like she had done the second time she had taken her away from Killian. Emma was actually surprised she hadn't showed up yet; she had surely been warned by now that her love had rescued her. Killian's fighting skills and her magic were their only chance, they had no time to lose: she had to learn how to control her magic. The previous day, she had thought of a way to practice without risking anyone's life. She was not sure it would work, but she needed to try.

Killian's breathing was still deep and steady; he seemed to be still asleep. Emma softly trailed her fingers along his arm, and smiled as his embrace tightened and his lips pressed in her neck.

"Good morning, love."

Brightly smiling at the sound of his voice, she lightly pushed his arm and turned over to face him. "Good morning, captain."

"Worried about the Evil Queen again?" he asked after gazing into her eyes. Of course he had guessed what she was thinking about.

"Why are you always right? This is no fun," she playfully whined.

"How many times will I have to tell you, love? You're my open book."

With an amused smile, she leant closer and kissed him, both momentarily forgetting about the Evil Queen.

While Killian was on deck, Emma was in their quarters, sitting at the desk and staring at the book. She was so absorbed that she didn't hear him entering. Slowly coming closer, he tilted his head to examine her expression.

"Are you all right, love?"

Emma started with surprise and giggled lightly. "When will you stop surprising me like this?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I'm not doing it on purpose?" Leaning over to wrap an arm around her chest, he kissed her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Why are you staring at this logbook?"

"I want it to move. I'm trying to practice magic."

"And you don't need me to walk the plank?"

"I don't want you to do this ever again." She turned her head. He was so close that her nose brushed his cheek and she leant against him. They remained like this for a moment, until he broke the silence.

"Will you tell me how you intend to use your magic without needing me to face danger?"

"Our love." Keeping his arm wrapped around her, Killian raised an inquiring eyebrow and looked at her. Emma explained, "Like the first time when we faced the Evil Queen."

"But you were in danger. She was about to rip your heart out while I was tied up to the mast."

"I keep thinking it was our love which triggered my magic. I was looking at you and thinking of our first kiss when it happened. At this time, I had not even realized I was in love with you. But now, what we have is so strong… Magic is emotion, that's what I've read in books. I was thinking that if I focused on the way you…" A soft blush covered her cheeks before she talked quite fast. "If I think of our night together, maybe it'll be enough to trigger it."

"Sounds like a very reasonable plan." He couldn't repress his smile as he stood up. "Perhaps I can help? Since you were looking at me the first time, perhaps seeing the man you love will help."

With this crooked smile she was finding irresistible, Killian took her hand and skirted the table to sit in front of her. Their hands resting on the table, their fingers laced together, they gazed into each other's eyes. A smirk slowly made its way to his features.

"Don't forget you were trying to use your magic."

He chuckled lightly as she opened her mouth but no word came and she looked down at the book, realizing she had momentarily lost herself in this world belonging to the both of them. She gazed into his eyes again and let the memories of their night together wash over her, while trying to remember she wanted the book to move. Minutes went by. Staring at her, Killian was immobile. And so was the book. Keeping his hand in hers, she closed her eyes, lightly biting her lip as she tried to focus. It was not easy not to get lost in such thoughts, but wanting it to work, she was quite determined. But after half an hour, she sighed.

"The book won't move, it's not working. I am wasting your time."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "How could you be wasting my time? I could spend a lifetime staring at you without ever getting tired of it. I love watching you trying to use your magic, or wondering whenever a smile crosses your lips what exactly you're thinking of. Love, there is no way being with you could be a waste of my time."

"So you don't mind if I try again?"

"Not at all. I have all the time in the world."

She smiled and closed her eyes again. Killian watched her with eyes full of love. He meant his words; he wouldn't mind spending the day sitting there and simply staring at her, just to be by her side while she was trying to use her magic. She couldn't control it yet, but he knew she would succeed at last; he had yet to see her fail. He had seen the power inside of her and knew her potential was great, even if sometimes she didn't seem to see it herself. This was not a problem, because he intended to be here to remind her whenever she needed him to.

She had come into his life at a moment when he had already been considering himself happy. Though wounds made when he was a child had tended to linger, time had finally eased them; he was not this young adult haunted by his past anymore. He had his brother, and had been spending years sailing with him. Sailing was what he loved and he thought he finally had everything he needed. That was until he had met her. Never would he forget this moment when she had run into him; this feeling like he just knew she was the one whose eyes he was born to gaze into. From the beginning, he had not been willing to let her go, but he loved her enough to consider doing so, if that was what she wanted to: she had come to him because of a prophecy telling he was the one giving her what she needed, she had asked him to bring her back to Boston. At this time, he had no idea how to travel between the realms, but he loved a challenge, and he wasn't willing to let her go: he had figured they would find a way to bring her home together. This was how she had joined the crew and how, in the meantime, she had brightened his life, making it much better than anything he could have ever dreamed of. He had promised himself he would always do everything for her, because her smile simply was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Of course it had not always been easy, because his love for her was as deep and true as the pain not to have her by his side was unbearable; these two times when the Evil Queen had taken her away from him, he had spent weeks walking through hell while looking for her. But it had been worth it, because she meant everything to him. He was a fan of every part of her. Her love was the best thing he had ever had, and her heart was the most precious of all the treasures, a treasure he would protect at any price.

His smile was filled with tenderness as he watched her, still focused on trying to move the book. He looked down at their fingers laced together and, with his thumb, softly brushed the back of her hand. He raised his eyebrows and she suddenly opened her eyes; the book had not moved but there had been a flare coming out of her hand.

"Did you see that?" Emma asked, looking at their fingers.

"Aye! You're almost there, love. You can do it!"

She looked up at him with a smile.

"I need to try again. Maybe next time the book will move."

"Aye, you will succeed." He slightly tilted his head on the side. "Emma, may I try something?"

Though obviously wondering what he had in mind, Emma nodded. Seeing how there had been a flare when he had brushed the back of her hand had given him an idea. Keeping his hand in hers, he stood up and came to her.

"Stand up," he told her with a smile.

Obviously having no idea what he was up to, she complied, curiously looking at him. He sat down on the chair she had been occupying a few seconds earlier, and pulled her down on his lap.

"Since there was a flare when I caressed your hand…"

"You think holding me like this will help triggering my magic," she finished his sentence. "Maybe you're right."

Sitting sideways on his lap, his hooked arm in her back, her hand still in his, she looked at the book on the table. He let her focus without distracting her, but minutes went by and nothing happened. She pushed the book away.

"Wasn't this what you were supposed to do by using your magic?" Killian asked with a smirk.

"I'm trying something else." She looked down at her hand resting on her thigh.

"What are you trying to do?"

"If it works, you'll see."

Again, he remained quiet as he watched her staring down at her hand. The temptation to pull her closer to him was strong but he stopped himself from distracting her. Other silent minutes went by, until she sighed and looked up at him. The sigh meant everything.

"I know what you're thinking, love, and you're wrong: you will do it. Don't give up." He took advantage of her looking up to cave in. "Stay focused on whatever it is that you're trying to do."

Before she had time to say anything, Killian leant forward and captured her lips, softly at first. The kiss intensified and soon enough became passionate. Emma shifted on his lap to face him, her fingers threading through his hair and reaching for the back of his head. She smiled against his lips and giggled lightly.

"How am I supposed to focus on anything but you when you kiss me like this?"

"My apologies," he said with a smirk, obviously not sorry at all. "I was just trying to help. Alright, I'll behave. Or at least try to. Focus, I know you can do it."

"I'll try."

Emma looked down at her hand, again resting on her thigh, its palm facing the ceiling. Trying to focus more, she closed her eyes. Killian smiled; the temptation was just too strong, and he had kept in mind the flares had come out when he had caressed her hand at a moment when she didn't expect it. Now that she had her eyes closed seemed to be the right time to try again. He slowly leant forward, keeping his eyes open, on the lookout for any sign of magic, and pressed an open-mouth kiss in her neck. Instantly, flares burst, brighter than the first time. Killian had not doubted for a second that she would do it, but his eyes still filled with love and tenderness when he saw the flares.

"I did it!" She beamed and it made him smile even more.

He followed her gaze and that was when he saw it; in her hand was his hook. He glanced down at his wrist and chuckled; she had indeed removed his hook.

"That's what you've been trying to do all this time?"

"I considered taking off your shirt, but I thought it may be bad form, so I went for the hook."

"Since when do you worry about good form?" he asked, repressing a laugh.

Ignoring his question, she tucked the hook in the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her.

"Quite the convenient attachment!" she commented.

She giggled and, not letting go of the piece of metal, avidly pressed her lips against his for another passionate kiss. Breathless, she leant her forehead against his.

"May I have it back? My hook?" he asked with a smirk.

Removing it from his shirt, she took care of putting it back in its place before leaning against him to hug him, her face in the crook of his neck. "Thank you, for being so patient."

"You're welcome," Killian said, tilting his head to peck her cheek. "I told you, Swan: when it comes to you, I have all the time in the world."

The night had fallen. Gazing at the horizon ahead of them, her blonde curls dancing in the cool breeze, Emma was holding the wheel of the Jolly Roger. Though she enjoyed sailing, the main reason why she had got into the habit of holding the wheel was that it allowed her to be in her favorite place: in Killian's embrace. His arms were wrapped around her waist, his fingers under her shirt softly caressing her hip, his cheek pressed against hers. Emma's eyelids were growing heavy.

"Do you want me to take the wheel?" he asked, looking at her from over her shoulder.

"No. It's just that, with all this focusing on my magic, I'm feeling slightly tired. But I'm fine. Keep me in your arms."

Emma kissed his cheek and focused back on the horizon, which was visible only because the moonlight was reflecting off the surface of the ocean. She was fighting sleep; the night was still young and she didn't want to have to leave already, because she knew Killian was supposed to stay on deck until his brother would come and replace him. But after a few minutes, like every time she was fighting sleep while being in his secure and warm embrace, she lost: before she had time to realize, her eyes closed and her hands slipped off the wheel. Killian woke her up with a kiss in the neck.

"You seem to be more than just slightly tired," he whispered in her ear. "You should get some sleep."

"When the captain has fulfilled his duties, will he come to me?" she asked with a sleepy voice, looking up at him.

"Of course, love. Liam should awake soon, he'll take the next watch and I'll come straight back to you."

"Good." Emma turned in his arms to kiss him, lightly tugging at his lip, wishing he could come with her. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, love."

Emma let herself fall on the bed, and soon fell asleep. But the smile which had been on her features all day quickly faded away as she found herself in this place again, this red room with no door and no window, and with curtains on fire. Somehow, she knew she didn't have to be afraid, because she knew it was only a nightmare; in the past few nights, she had visited this same place already twice. But though she knew it was unreal, she could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she was close to give into panic. She had come here, but the memories of how she had escaped were unclear. Looking for a way out, she scanned the room. And she screamed when she saw a silhouette in the shadow.

"I didn't mean to scare you, don't be afraid!"

Slowly, the silhouette came out of the shadow and it turned out to be just a boy; a boy who was looking up at her.

"Are you Emma Swan?" he asked before she had time to say anything, and she frowned, wondering how he knew her name.

"Yeah, who are you?"

"My name's Henry, I'm your son."