Six months. Emma stared at herself in the mirror. Her reflection looked pale and terrified in the light of the room. Six months since they had rescued Henry from Neverland. She remembered the kiss she shared with Killian. Remembered all of the magic and insanity of Neverland. She remembered Regina finding a way to bring David back to Storybrooke safely. All of it seemed like yesterday to her.
Emma scanned her face in the mirror again, looking at her slightly curled hair pulled back and pinned so it hung loosely in the back, but was out of her face.
The day they got back to Storybrooke was a day she would never forget. Everyone was happy. Neal had gotten down on one knee and asked her to marry him, and in the heat of the moment she had said yes. Now she was wondering if she made the right choice...
"Emma?" a voice came from the doorway. It was Ruby. "Ten minutes." She went to leave but then noticed something on the chair beside the door and picked it up. It was an envelope. "Did you drop this?"
Emma turned to see what it was, almost tripping over her long white veil. Stupid dress, Emma thought. She wasn't much for dresses, but this time it seemed necessary for her to wear one. She looked at the envelope in Ruby's hand. It had her name on it, so she took it. Ruby nodded and left the room. "Must have," Emma mumbled to herself, though she had never seen it before. She turned around and opened the envelope carefully.
The paper was crumpled slightly, like it had been crushed, but flattened back out again. Emma started to read.
I've tried my hardest to fight for you, but now it's up to you.
Marry him, or be with me.
Follow your heart, love
At the bottom was his signature: Killian Jones (Captain Hook)
There was a pit in her stomach. Killian had fought for her every day since the day they had kissed in Neverland, even after Neal proposed, and she had turned him down every time. She never truly wanted to turn him down, but she was going to be married to Neal, Henry's father. She wanted nothing more to see Henry happy.
She felt the paper on her fingers. But what if this won't make me happy? She asked herself. The pit in her stomach grew bigger. It felt like butterflies were hatching and eating her insides. It wasn't a good feeling.
Just then Belle entered the room, smiling brightly in her light pink bridesmaid dress. "Five minutes," she said, then Emma turned around, tears falling down her cheeks. "Oh! Hey, what's wrong?"
"I can't," Emma threw her hands in the air, the paper in her hand crinkling. She wiped some of the tears away, but they just kept coming back. "I can't marry Neal."
Belle looked down at her hands, then pulled Emma into a hug. "It's because of Hook, isn't it?" She whispered into Emma's ear. "You love him." She pulled out of the hug, smiling at Emma. "I see the way he looks at you, the way he fought for you, the way you looked at him."
"What are you saying?" Emma frowned slightly, wiping her tears.
"I'm saying you have five minutes to get out," Belle put her hand on Emma's shoulder and smiled. "Follow your heart, not your head."
"I need to do what's best for my son," Emma said, trying to push away the stupid notion of leaving her own wedding. What was she thinking?
"No," Belle said sternly, now putting both hands on Emma's shoulders. "You do what's best for you. Now, what are you going to do?"
Emma took a minute to think hard about everything. She and Neal had gone through so much, yet so had she and Killian. Neal was Henry's father, but that didn't seem to matter at this very moment. She thought of Killian, fighting for her. He had said in his letter that he was done fighting. It was up to her now. She knew what she wanted.
"Tell Neal and Henry that I'm sorry," Emma nodded, reaching up and taking her veil off. Belle nodded and let her hands fall to her sides.
Emma was about to go out the front door, but Belle stopped her. "Wait, you can't go that way!" She pushed her back. "They'll see you. This way."
They went to the back of the room where there was a second door. Belle opened it. The warm night air entered the room. A night wedding must be bad luck, Emma thought. She stepped outside and turned back to Belle."Thank you," she said quietly.
"Follow your heart," Belle smiled brightly and shut the door.
Emma turned and looked at the town. Storybrooke was a big place, but she knew exactly where to find Killian. She removed her high heels and carried them, walking barefoot across the pavement of the road. She walked for about a mile until she came across sand. She looked around, then spotted the docks, which were slightly lit up by the town's lights. She walked quietly down the dock, stopping about halfway and staring at the figure of a man at the end.
She stood there silently for what felt like forever, until she heard the man heave a sad sigh and turn around. It was hard to see, but Emma saw the glimmering of a tear on his cheek.
"I couldn't do it," she finally said. Had he really been crying because he thought she wouldn't come?
Killian was silent, staring at her.
"Say something?" Emma asked, the pit in her stomach growing. She tossed her shoes onto the dock, looking down at her dress. "I look ridiculous, I know."
"No," Killian finally spoke, walking towards her. His steps were quiet, smooth. "You look beautiful." He was standing right in front of her now. She looked into his startlingly blue eyes, then down at the wood of the dock.
"You didn't think I would come," Emma looked back up at him, raising her eyebrows. "Well, I'm here. I chose you."
Killian couldn't help but smile. He took her left hand into his right hand, then picked up her shoes with his hook and handed them to her. They walked to the road across from the dock, then stopped underneath a light. They looked at each other for a moment, then Killian put his hand on her face, pulling her in for a kiss, but it was interrupted by a shout.
"You son of a bitch!" It was Neal, running towards them. When he got close enough he crashed into Killian, knocking him to the ground. His fist hit the side of Killian's face.
"Neal, stop!" Emma shouted, trying to pull him off of the now bleeding Captain. Killian grabbed Neal by the shirt collar and flipped him over, now taking his turn to punch Neal. They both ignored Emma.
The sound of footsteps made her look across the street. David and Mary Margaret were coming.
"Help me!" Emma shouted. David ran over and pulled Killian off of Neal. Neal stood up and wiped the blood from his nose. Killian pulled out of David's grip and fixed his jacket.
"What's going on?" Mary Margaret asked, looking at the two fuming, out of breath men, then to Emma. "Emma, when you didn't show up we got worried."
"Mary Margaret," Emma said slowly, her eyes sad. "I couldn't do it. I was only going to do it for Henry, but I realized I needed to do something for myself for once." She decided to leave Belle's name out of all of this.
Mary Margaret walked over and hugged her tightly. David watched the two men who were now looking over at Emma, who had tears rolling down her face as she hugged her mother.
"Emma," Neal's voice cracked as he spoke. Emma broke the hug between her and her mother, looking to Neal. "Why?"
"I'm so sorry," Emma shook her head slowly, more tears filling her eyes. "Neal. I can't be with you. There's too many painful memories from our past. The only good thing that came from you and I being together is Henry. We have Henry, but we can't have each other. That's not how it's working this time." It was hard for Emma to say all of it, but it was how she felt. She walked over to Killian and looked at his bloody face. "I'm sorry this happened," she said, touching his face softly. He winced slightly at the pain, looking right at Neal.
"I said I would fight for you," he finally looked at Emma. "I stopped fighting so you could make your choice. You made it. Now I'm fighting to keep you."
"You have me," Emma said at once, pulling him close to her, ignoring everyone else. "I've never met a guy who's more determined to get what he wants than you are."
It was quiet until Neal spoke up. "So that's it, then? You left me for a pirate?"
"Looks like she has, mate," Killian smirked, holding Emma close to him protectively.
Neal looked down, frowning, then nodded. Emma looked over at him, breaking the tight embrace that held her where she stood. Killian watched her as she walked over to Neal.
"I'm leaving," Neal said, looking straight at Emma. "There's no point to stay if I can't have you."
"What about Henry?" Emma asked, frowning now. "You can't just leave your son. Just stay in Storybrooke, please? For him?"
"And see you living happily ever after with the pirate? No, Emma!" Neal was shouting now, his voice cracking even more, and David took a step toward them but Emma put her hand up. She let Neal continue. "I love you, but you don't love me. If I stay, every time I see you with him is going to kill me. Henry will be fine without me. I'm going to find Regina or my dad and have them give me a way back to The Enchanted Forest." He looked away from Emma and towards Hook. "Enjoy your life, pirate." With that, he walked away.
David and Mary Margaret stared at Emma, then they both eyed Killian as he stepped up beside her. His face was wiped clean of the blood now. Emma just stared at the spot where Neal stood.
"Emma," David stepped in front of her. "Why?"
"Why marry someone when you love someone else?" Emma's voice was shaky, but she shrugged it off. "You've always had Mary Margaret. You don't know what it's like loving someone else."
David didn't want to say anything more. She was right. He had always loved Mary Margaret.
"Go home and sleep," Mary Margaret put her hand on Emma's shoulder.
"No," Emma shook her head. "Find Henry, take him to your and David's place. I'm staying out late tonight."
Mary Margaret knew better than to argue with Emma, so she took David's hand and started to walk off. He was reluctant to leave, but she tugged him away from Emma and Killian.
"Hey," Emma turned to look at Killian. "Weren't we just in the middle of something?"
The smirk played on Killian's lips until he put his hand on Emma's face and pulled her into a soft kiss. She expected it to be fiercer, but she liked this better. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back softy. They stood there for a long time, staring into each other's eyes.
"Come on," Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the dock. She felt around with her foot, then felt the invisible step. She climbed up the steps onto Killian's ship the Jolly Roger. The deck creaked slightly as they walked on it. Killian stopped and looked into the starry sky.
"What're you looking at?" Emma asked, looking up at the stars as well, still holding his hand.
"Last night I looked up into the stars and matched each one with a reason why I love you," Killian looked to Emma now, and she looked back at him. He pulled her close to him, looking into her beautiful eyes. "I was doing great until I ran out of stars."
Emma grinned and hit his chest playfully. "That's cheesy," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck again. "It may be, love, but it's true," he leaned down and kissed her once more.
They stayed on his ship for that night, awake until the sun rose, then fell asleep in each other's arms.