"Emma, don't do this," Killian urged, following the blonde to her car. "You don't have to leave, Swan. Everything you want is right in front of you," he said, repeating his words from long ago.

She wiped away the tears from her cheeks, ignoring him as she stuffed her bags into the trunk of her car. "Henry, get in the car," she snapped, moving around Killian.

"Emma!" he exclaimed, grabbing her arm, forcing her to look at him. "You can't take off with your son like this."

"Why not?" she shot, throwing her hands up in the air, her eyes wild, her cheeks wet from her tears.

"Because I don't want to go!" Henry chimed in. "Mom, you're running away again," he sighed.

"Henry. Get. In. The. Car. Now." She gritted out through her teeth.

"No," he replied defiantly. "This is my home. Ourhome. And I'm not leaving."

She flitted her eyes back and forth from her son and Killian. "It's for your own good, Henry," she urged, getting on her knees in front of him, unmindful of the unforgiving concrete under her knees. "It's not our home anymore. New York is."

"That was before I got my memories back!" he cried, pulling away. "Mom, this is our lives. It's much better than the one we had in New York."

Emma looked defeated, running a hand through her hair. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away. She stood up, dusting off her jeans. "Get in the car, Henry. I'm your mother and you have to listen to me," she said lifelessly.

"No," he shot back. "That was during our cursed life. You gave me up in reality, remember?" he asked cruelly.

She stumbled back in shock, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Henry!" Killian admonished. "That is not how you talk to your mother."

"If she was my mother, she wouldn't take my happiness away from me!" he exclaimed, turning around and running back into the Inn.

Emma leaned tiredly against her car, covering her face with her hands, trying to quell in the tears. "Swan. You saw how it's affecting the lad. Don't go. Stay.Please," he coaxed, coming to stand in front of her.

"I'm still leaving," she replied, sniffing.

"What?" the pirate sputtered. "But-but Henry is staying. You are just going to leave him after everything you did to get him back?" he demanded angrily.

"Yes, alright!" she shouted, startling him. "I don't want this life. I don't want to be some Saviour! I am tired of losing everything I care about. I don't have anything to stay for."

"You have everything!" he retorted. "You have your parents. You have friends. You have me!And you're just willing to throw it all away. For what? Living an aimless life?" he sneered. "You are being a coward," he snarled, his lips curling.

He felt his cheek sting from the force of her slap, his face forced to the side. "How dareyou?" she accused, her eyes brimming up with angry tears as her face twisted into a hurt scowl. "How dare you of all people even assume that?!" she cried.

"Because that's exactly what you are, Swan. A coward. You are running away from the good things in life," he replied, his eyes softened at the brokenness of her expression.

"Killian, I can't live my life like this. I can't be the Saviour. I can't keep on the lookout for constant danger. I can't keeping living a life where I have no choices!" she explained.

"But you do have a choice. You can stay, be a part of something. Or do what you do best and be alone," he shot her words back at her, making her freeze. "You gave me a choice long back, and now you have the same choice," he said, staring into her green eyes, persuading her to stay.

Her face fell, her hand clenched around her car keys. She hesitated and he took the opportunity to keep going. "You can have a happy life here. With your son. With your parents. With your brother. It doesn't always have to be bad things. You have good things here. Wonderful things. Don't leave it all behind, Emma. You'll regret it."

She tearfully lifted a hand to his face, lovingly cupping it. He leaned into it, his heart hammering in his chest, anticipating her answer. "I'll visit," she said at last. "I'll visit as much as I can. But right now, I need to leave all of this behind me and f-find myself. I feel so lost here, living in the shadow of who people expect me to be."

His eyes flashed. "What about me?" he asked. "I don't want you to be anyone but yourself. I will stand by your side. Always. All I ask in return is that you stay. Don't steal away in the night, Swan, without a word to anyone. Stay."

She blinked back her tears, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "I have to go," she whispered, dropping her hand and walking to her car.

He remained frozen on his spot, unable to react, to move, to do anything except watch her leave again.

"What about us?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper but seemed a loud as a bullet in the night, piercing the silence. "What about last night?" he asked, moving towards her now. "What about how you woke me up from a curse with your kiss?" he went on.

"Stop-"

"What about being tired of living in the past, Swan? What about your love for me?" he demanded, standing toe-to-toe with her, towering over her. "You're willing to throw that away as well? Like we're garbage?" he spat, making her flinch.

"Killian, please-"

"You leave now, Emma, and that is it. I won't come for you this time," he warned, making her stop. "I will pine. I will suffer. I will think of your everyday. I will always love you. But I will not come after you this time. You leave now, leave me and that will be my answer."

She stared up at him, her eyes red, her throat bobbing up and down painfully. She placed a hand on his chest, etching the memory of his strong chest in her mind, remembering how it felt under her, above her, pressed into her, as sweat slicked skin moved together in unison.

She squeezed her eyes shut, gently pushing him back. "I have to do this," she whispered, getting into her car without a backward glance, leaving her entire life in the dust, crying earnestly. But she had to do this. This was what was best for everyone. For her.

But somehow, she didn't know if she believed it anymore.

-/-

Killian remained frozen outside the diner, his face a picture of a broken man. He felt his heart break more and more as he watched her yellow vessel move farther and farther away. A lone tears slipped down his face, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Is she really gone?" a quiet voice asked behind him. He whirled around, his fist clenched as he saw Henry walk towards him. "She actually left?" he asked incredulously.

"Henry-" he began, not knowing how to tell the lad the truth.

"Killian," he urged, raising his eyebrow, reminding him painfully of him mother. "Tell me."

He struggled to find the words, but his silence was all the answer that he needed. "Oh."

"She-she promised to visit, Henry. Sh-She is just- She just needs her space, lad," he replied.

"Do you believe that she will come back?" he asked, staring up at the man who he'd come to admire in such a short time.

"O-Of course," he stammered, as his heart shouted the loud NO!

"Even I can lie better than that," the boy shrugged, his face twisting as he tried to keep in his tears. "I can't believe she left," he whispered, his voice rough.

"Henry, your mother loves you very much. She just needs some time to think. She'll be back," Killian reassured him, even as he didn't believe it.

"What if it's too late by then?" Henry questioned, his tone defeated.

Killian closed his eyes as his last words to her echoed in his head. It's already too late, he thought, but wisely chose to keep silent.

"Let me take you to your grandparents'," he said instead, resting a hand on his shoulder as he guided him towards the loft.

"I'm sorry, Killian."

"As am I, Henry."