This is my first attempt at any kind of fanfiction! Reviews are encouraged and welcomed, please please let me know any thoughts/ mistakes you've spotted as this will only help me to improve. Really hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, they are the property of the wonderful Adam and Eddy.
Currently a one-shot, but I might add more in time!
She stood there, watching the door slam shut behind Regina moments after she had stalked from the diner, turning to throw one last, angry look at Emma before she left. Her heart sank, and a wave of fear clouded over her thoughts. They had just started to get along so well, had started to plan a life for Henry together in Storybrooke together, before it had all gone so horribly wrong. And whilst she knew, deep down, that what she had done was unquestionably right, the devastated look on Regina's face as she had watched her true love holding another in his arms quickly consumed all other thoughts in Emma's mind. How could she have been stupid enough to forget all the warnings Hook and Rumpelstiltskin had given her, and to have brought this women back from the past, without expecting any serious consequences?
Emma walked slowly back to the bar stool she had just vacated, and sat there, her head in her hands. Hook allowed her a few moments of reflection before reaching for his bottle and pouring its contents into an empty tumbler. Quietly, he slid it across the table towards her and she accepted it, without really knowing what she was doing.
"Emma..." he began tentatively, not wanting to push her while she was upset, but she cut across him.
"Don't say it!"
"Don't say what?" he retorted, confused by her sudden outburst.
"Don't say I told you so. I know you were right, I know you said this would have unforeseen consequences and I didn't listen, but I just can't hear that right now, Killian!" As her voice broke on the last word, he drew his chair closer and placed a protective arm around her shoulders, shielding them from the rest of the party.
"Emma," he said quietly again, propping his hook under her chin and gently yet determinedly forcing her to look into his eyes, "don't be so stupid. You did the right thing." When she shook her head at him, he sighed and continued, "look lass, I know it's hard to see past Regina's hurt right now, but think about it this way. Had you left Marion to die back in the Enchanted Forest, the truth would have come out between Regina and Robin at some point in the future, be it a month, a year, or ten years from now. We cannot run from our past; you and I certainly know that better than most," he said, giving her a wry smile which she tried, but failed, to return. He began again, "by bringing her back, you may have just have given Regina and Robin their only chance of happiness, whilst bringing Roland his mother back. You've done it again, Swan. You're a hero, and if you still don't believe me, turn around and see for yourself."
She did as he said, her eyes were drawn immediately to the little family seated across the room from her, in the booth next to her own. Robin had been reduced to tears by the reappearance of his wife, and was sitting with one arm around her, his head bowed over hers, whilst Roland had his arms fastened so tightly around Marion's neck that it looked as if he would never let go. And just like that, as she stared at the scene before her, Emma felt all the conviction of the rightness of her decision to take Marion with them, to save her from death. Her heart melted and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading over her features as she turned back to look at Hook, who was grinning at her.
"Okay," she admitted softly, "you may have a point, pirate."
"I always do," he said with a wink, taking her by the hand and standing up. "Now, what say you to going and spending some time with that darned family of yours that we've just risked our lives to save?" She laughed, and allowed him to lead her by the hand across the diner to the booth where her parents, Henry and Neil were all sitting together.