Just finished watching the new episode of OUAT (4x07) yesterday and…wow…It totally blew me away. Poor Emma :(

I started writing this a couple of days ago but I was surprised to find out that I was relatively close to what had actually happened on the show, minus a few things of course…

Well, enjoy! :]

…

Chapter One: Fear

…

After running from the streets of Storybrooke into the woods, which was a very long way without a car, Emma weaved through the trees, her hair flying every which way behind her as she tried to escape from what she had just done.

Oh God, she thought to herself. I just hurt him. I just hurt my dad.

Tears stung her eyes when she recalled the frightened faces of her parents, several onlookers and…Killian. He was scared of her. She had never seen him look at her like that before and it was definitely a painful sight to see.

Maybe what the Snow Queen had said was true…maybe I don't belong with them…

"EMMA!" a cry rung out, filling the empty spaces that were around her, thanks to the trees and the bushes.

Slowing down a little, so she could look over her shoulder, Emma half turned to one side and at once noticed an agile Killian sprinting after her, determination etched in his form as he slowly, but surely, began to close the gap between them.

Letting out a sharp sigh, she shook her head and continued on her way, her strides full and long so she would, hopefully, be able to outrun him. Breathing hard, she made her way deeper into the forest by descending into a small dip of earth, her hands out in front of her and touching some of the bark she came in contact with so she wouldn't stumble on her way down. However, when she looked back briefly to see if he was still there, her foot caught on an exposed root, causing her to trip and stagger forward, but lucky for her, there wasn't enough force to propel her all the way down or she could've had the extreme misfortune of suffering some injuries, minor or otherwise.

"Dammit," she whispered. Her landing pose was slightly awkward because of her accidental mishap but she soon corrected herself by simply rolling back her shoulders and pressing herself up against the slope of earth she had just traveled down. Ears perked, she listened, hoping that she had lost him but that was a long shot. He was probably still following her…

After a few moments of complete silence, she tapped her fingers against the solid earth, making light thumping sounds against the mildly hard substance, before pushing her body away from it, thinking that she might be by herself now. Turning her attention to what lay out in front of her, Emma had only taken a couple of steps away when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"You would have to do better than that if you want to escape from me, lass…"

Freezing in her movements, she closed her eyes and didn't even bother to turn around. Brushing a strand of hair nervously behind one of her ears, she heard him slide down the dip—gracefully—so he could make his way to her, but the thought of him touching her, at this point in time, made her insides bubble and shred in fear. Then, without even thinking, she once again bolted, allowing her emotions to get the upper hand of her actions when she got to the other side and sloppily climbed up and out of the incline.

"Bloody hell," Killian muttered when she had managed to get away from him AGAIN. Darting after her, his movements swift, he shouted out his desperation. "Emma, stop!"

After knitting around some trees, he instantly spotted her. She wasn't too far ahead and the reason for that appeared to be because she was slowing down, intentionally or no, probably because of how far and fast she had been running for a few minutes, but instead of complaining about it…he was going to use that to his advantage. Exhaling loudly, he pushed himself and managed to fully catch up with her but before he could reach out and grab her to him, she turned around, her eyes blazing with mixed emotions.

Walking backwards, she lifted her hands up in a beseeching motion. "Leave me alone! I mean it, Killian…I-I…" she hesitated, a tear drop falling from one of her eyes as she looked from him to her hands to him again. "I could hurt you…"

Pain tightened his chest at her expression but he didn't heed her warning. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he turned away and abandoned her in her time of need. Lifting up his own hands, he slowly tried to approach her. "No, you won't because it's not in you to harm anyone, love. What happened back there was an accident."

At his statement, her hands started to shake. "I-I," she stuttered, tripping over the words she so wanted to say but couldn't because they were seemingly lodged in her throat. Averting her gaze, she fought against the swarm of images that were flooding into her brain: the Snow Queen, the hole in the station, going through it and seeing the people rush over towards her, telling them to stand back because of what had just happened, Killian grabbing her, the pole falling and her dad…her dad…

A tormented moan escaped her lips, making Killian's heart ache. Picking up the pace, he closed in on her, his instinct of taking her into his arms and holding her was apparent and kicking in at full throttle. Noticing this instantly, Emma's eyes snapped up at him. Taking larger back-steps, she turned her head, debating about whether or not to run again, but before she could really commit to the idea, she felt his hand wrap around her left wrist, which caused her throat to constrict at the sudden and close action. Stiffing up her limb, she attempted to pull away from him; like she did in Storybrooke, but even though he had just one hand…he was exceedingly stronger than her.

"Let me go!"

"Stop running away from me, Emma!"

"I'm not running away from just you! I'm doing this for everybody's good!" she shrieked, twisting her arm around so she could possibly free herself—it didn't work.

"Emma—"

The plea in his voice struck an emotional chord with her, forcing her to face him with a downcast expression. Beseeching him, she met his eyes and stopped tugging away. "I-I can't control it…I can't…" Her voice was deadly soft at her admission but that changed when she saw him in the beginning stages of coming even closer. Successfully jerking herself away from his hold, she stumbled backwards and immediately placed both her hands at her sides, praying that she wouldn't react and do something that she would regret. "Stay away!"

Slightly surprised that she had gotten free, he gently addressed her. "Just calm down, lass…Please, just let me help you…"

"How can you?!" she challenged, minimally gesturing with her fingers. "I-I don't even know what's happening to me!" Growing increasingly frantic, she carried on. "I need you to go back into town and, and tell my parents that…that…oh God…my parents…" Her voice noticeably hitched when that unforgettable image had shoved itself back into her memory. Acknowledging her profound agony, she whispered her next words mainly to herself. "I…I wreck everything I come in contact with…I shouldn't be around them…I…"

"No, you don't wreck anything, Swan," Killian cut in fiercely, his eyes stormy. "You know that that's not true! David is fine, love. That large, metal pole barely grazed him and even though he was taken to the hospital, I'm sure that everything will be fine." Boldly, he reached out to her but that accomplished nothing except further spreading her nervous energy around in her veins. Jumping back, she shook her head.

"Don't," she began; a severe warning tone in her voice as she clasped and then unclasped her hands in front of her. "Just…just stop moving towards me. You're, you're making things worse…I mean it."

Swallowing hard, he finally did as she asked before speaking to her again. "Come back with me and we'll figure it all out, together. Leaving the people you care about by running away never solved any problems, love, believe me…I know better than most…"

"No, I'll be fine out here. Just go back by yourself."

"I'm not leaving you alone in these woods, love," he declared, his voice harsh with emotion. As he observed the mask of pure distress and horror she was wearing, the tightness in his chest only increased. In his three hundred (plus) years, he had never felt this type of pain in his life and knowing that even though she didn't want him to, he was going to comfort her. He needed to. So, risking rattling her more, he resumed his walking, slowly making his way to the woman he loved more than life itself. "Now," he started, thinking it best to forewarn her of his actions. "I'm going to make my way over to you, Emma…don't be frightened…"

Eyes wide, she again shook her head but, this time, more wildly. "No…Killian…Stop…"

But he didn't listen to her and when he was a mere foot away, he looked deep into her eyes and offered her a smile, doing his best to relieve some of the pressure he saw building up in her features. "There, that wasn't so hard was it, love?" At the sight of her noticeably relaxing, her shoulders and arms had dropped down a fraction, he licked his lips and decided to take it an extra step. Holding her gaze, he raised his hand and leaned in, bringing the warmth of his fingers to the same wrist he had grabbed earlier.

Ignoring the hiss that she gave him, signaling her displeasure at what he was doing, he intertwined their hands and laid her side onto his chest, silently telling her all that he wished he could out loud. Seeing that she was thinking about pulling from him, he did his best to console her with a few easy words. "Breathe, Emma, breathe…"

"I am—"

"You look like you're about to faint, sweetheart…" Slightly trailing off, he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand in gentle circles, eliciting a lenient exhale on her part. "Don't let whatever that she-devil said affect you anymore…"

Liking the calming affect he was having on her, she allowed him to carry on, but not even he could wipe away what she was truly feeling and before she could bite her tongue, she found herself telling him exactly what was on her mind. "But…she was right…I-I am jealous of my brother. He gets to spend time with the parents I never had. He gets to grow up with them and be surrounded by people who'll actually love and accept him…and at times…most of the time actually; I do feel like the oddball here, like I'm the one person who doesn't belong in this magical world, despite having these…damn powers." Looking at him, Emma frowned, fighting back her unshed tears. "Maybe you all would be better off without me. I just make things more complicated…just ask Regina…"

Wanting nothing more than to bring her to him and tell her that everything was going to be alright, he struggled with his urges. Instead, he took a more verbal approach. "As far as Regina is concerned, I believe that she'll sort out her issues over time, but the fact that you think that you don't belong here with us, that you're letting this woman get to you, is what worries me the most, love." Somewhat giving in, he brought her hand up to his lips and brushed them over her knuckles. She twitched underneath his hot breath for a moment but, again, allowed him to do what he wanted (to some extent) since his touch had somehow managed to settle down her trembling. Her eyes, however, still projected and held a flicker of apprehension.

"Don't let somebody, with ill intentions; wield that kind of power over you, Emma. She's using you. She's trying to turn you away from those who care about you by relying on your shared, past connection in order to manipulate you."

"You think so?" she asked, timidly.

"Aye…her simple ploy of intimidating you proves nothing else." Pausing, he looked over her closely. "It's true that your brother will have his parents and he'll be surrounded by those who love him but one of those people will be you and I'm sure that he'll learn valuable life lessons from his older sister."

Reminded of what the Snow Queen had said immediately sparked her attitude and caused her hands to start shaking again. "That doesn't change the fact that I destroyed the station and almost killed my dad in the process. I'm dangerous—!"

"You're still learning magic, so, that doesn't make you dangerous," he interjected, waving off what she had just said with his free-hook-hand. "You have to stop focusing so much on the negative things that have happened to you so you can start looking towards the future, Swan."

"Easier said than done," she replied, trying hard not to lose control again as her hand's tremors steadily inclined. Try as she might, she literally couldn't stop them from shivering and every attempt seemed to make it worse. My powers are chaotic, she thought to herself when she averted her glance to the forest floor. I am a monster…

"You're giving me too much credit, Killian," she acknowledged suddenly. "I'm not as strong as you think I am..."

"You're not thinking straight and leaving isn't going to make things better."

"But it'll make people safer."

Becoming frustrated and panicky himself (for her sake), he squeezed her hand. "This is what she wants and you know that, Swan. She wants you to question yourself and all that you believe in so you would go back to her with open arms, but the problem with that is…" he paused, lovingly sweeping his gaze over her face. "…you're not that woman. The Emma that I know is a fighter. She's a resilient, honest, capable, sensitive and an accomplished person…"

She could actually feel her heart melt at his choice of words and when she gave him a small half-smile, he immediately returned it. "How do you know that that's who I really am?"

"I've met you, lass," he answered gently. "And I consider myself to be an excellent judge of character, besides…we're the same, you and I, remember?"

Recalling the time when she had told him that, over a year ago, she began to nod her head, but just when the light of hope was in her reach…she found herself slipping, drowning in her fears. Today was different. Today they weren't the same. She was…an uncontrollable, dangerous monster that needed to be stopped—even Killian had addressed her as such outside of the partially destroyed station. She didn't know what to do but she knew one thing…she would rather die than hurt another person, especially him.

"Not this time," she stated sadly, trying to tug her hand out of his so she could separate what she was feeling with what she knew to be true. "I saw the fear in your eyes back there to know that things have changed between us."

Furrowing his brow, he shook his head in an effort to convince her. "I wasn't and will never be scared of you, Emma."

After a few more quiet attempts, she successfully removed herself and casually clutched her hands behind her back, for precautionary measures. Taking a couple of rearward steps, she cleared her throat and tried to distance herself emotionally from him by deflecting, especially after hearing the last thing he had said. "I can't keep talking about this with you…you have to go. I have to be alone. I need to figure this out and if you're here, I can't."

"Yes, you can and I'm not afraid of—"

"I almost killed you! Don't you understand that?!" she screamed, snapping at him; totally disregarding what she had originally intended to do in one fell swoop. "If my dad didn't push you out of the way then it would've been you who was injured!"

The outburst instantly silenced whatever it was he was going to say. His face fell but his eyes were stunned wide open and his breathing was ragged, making his chest move up and down, visibly. Realizing the deeper meaning of what she was saying, he practically lunged towards her, momentarily forgetting the situation they both were in, and when she saw him do so, she freaked out.

Unclasping and lifting her hands up to thwart him from getting near her, she accidentally released a hot bolt of white light in front of him, which struck and kicked the ground up, violently. Killian jumped back quickly but didn't cry out. He was more concerned about Emma, who was giving him a scared, frenzied look.

"Oh my God…" she said; glancing down at her glowing outstretched hands. "Killian, I'm...I…didn't mean…I—"

"Don't worry about it, love. I'm fine," he replied, instantly attempting to reassure her by pointing at himself. Tempted to go to her again, he took lifted a foot into her direction, but that too didn't work to his advantage.

"No!" she cried out at him, her voice shrill. "No. The only way that you and the others will be safe is if I go away..."

And before he could say anything to her, she turned around and ran as hard as she could, tears streaming down her cheeks and off into the air behind her as she made her way deeper into the woods. Not hearing any sounds tailing after her, Emma assumed that he wasn't following her, which was what she wanted.

She didn't want to hurt anybody else with her unmanageable powers.

…

Stay tuned!