They had been trapped in the ice cave for the past few hours, their body temperatures dropping every minute. Hook and Emma had gone out to find the Snow Queen, and finally put an end to her destruction. She was ready for them when they found her deep within the forest that surrounds Storybrooke. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Emma to become her "sister", the Snow Queen decided Emma was a lost cause, and decided to punish her by letting her freeze to death. They had tried to find a way out, but the cave was a nearly flawless globe of what seemed to be impenetrable ice. They screamed for help, their voices echoing off the curved walls, but to no avail. Emma tried using her phone, but she had no service here.

"What's the point of that talking phone if it doesn't work when you need it?" Hook had asked, a bit of frustration and anger touching his usually calm voice.

Emma tried her magic, but only a small sizzle made it out of her palms. Eventually they gave up trying to escape, hoping someone would notice them missing, and come find them, and find a way to break them out.

Emma sank to the icy ground, hugging her knees to her chest. "This is all my fault," she whispered to herself. Hearing her say these four words was like a cannonball to his heart. She always thought these kinds of things were her fault. She always blamed herself for the evil in others. "This is NOT your fault, Swan. This is the Snow Queen's fault, and no one else's." Somehow he always knew what to say to comfort her, but this time she felt responsible for putting Killian in danger, again. She looked up into his blue eyes, tears spilling out of her emerald green ones.

He slid down the ice wall to sit beside her, his arm pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. "We'll make it out of this, love. Before you know it you'll be sitting at Granny's, sipping hot cocoa with Henry."

"What if we don't make it out of this, Killian? I'll never see Henry or anyone I love ever again." After a short pause Emma looked up at Hook, her face full of guilt and sorrow. "I'm sorry I asked you to come with me. I shouldn't have put you in danger, too. You're going to die because of me." A sob shook her body, and he pulled her closer, trying to share his body heat with her.

"I'm not sorry I came with you, love. And it's not your fault we're in this mess." Hook reiterated.

"You're not sorry you're going to freeze to death within the next hour or two?" Emma asked.

"There are a few reasons why I'm not sorry to be here." He replied

"Oh yeah?" Emma let out a small chuckle, followed by a deep shiver she could feel in her bones.

Killian took off his leather jacket and draped it over Emma's shivering body, rubbing her arms to get the blood flowing, and to warm her up a little. She started to protest, but he would have none of it. Without his jacket to keep him warm, he buttoned his shirt to the very top button covering his exposed chest and neck, something he hasn't done since he was a lieutenant.

"Why would you WANT to be here in this freezing snow globe?" She asked after a while, partially knowing the answer he would give.

"Well, love, I'm not sorry I'm here with YOU. If I have to be stuck here in this freezing place with anyone, I'm glad I could be here with you. Besides we'll make it out of here, and then we'll have this amazing story to tell everyone about how we survived the blistering cold by sharing our body heat." He said with a smirk. She let out a tiny laugh, leaning into his warm frame, letting him drape his arm around her shoulders again. She felt her eyes getting heavy, and tried not to give in to the cold, but she couldn't help it. Hook noticed Emma go quiet and still, and shook her awake again.

"Emma you have to stay awake!" Hook said, worry apparent in his shaking voice. "Tell me about Henry, love. I've always wanted to get to know the lad. Why is Henry so special to you?" He asked trying to keep her awake, his fingers going numb and bluish.

A few words at a time Emma told Killian about how Henry was smart and perceptive and wise for his age. She could only get two or three words out before her body silenced her with a shiver. But Hook could still hear the love in her voice, and smiled. Time passed sluggishly and painfully for the two, their fingers and lips turning blue, and frostbite forming on their skin.

Killian knew he wouldn't last much longer in this temperature, so he decided to do something that had scared him before. He was dying now, so he might as well get it off his chest. "Emma, love?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, her eyes heavy, her lips blue.

"There's something I want to say before…" He let the sentence drift off, looking down into her dying eyes.

Emma spoke before he could continue with his declaration. "I know, Killian." She smiled. She reached her frozen fingers up to his face and traced his jawline. He leaned into her touch, a tear sliding down his cheek. She guided his face to hers, and they shared true loves kiss. Another tear rolled down his face, and she wiped it away with her thumb. "I love you, Killian." He closed his eyes as she said this, his body weak from the exposure to the cold, his head resting on the wall of ice behind him.

Suddenly a bright blue light began emanating from Emma's frozen hands. She opened her eyes wide in surprise, looking to Killian with a smile on her face. The smile was wiped quickly away as she realized Killian wasn't moving. Worry and fear crossed her face, but the magic just got bigger and brighter and warmer.

The ice around them quickly began melting, and soon a hole was visible in the wall across from Emma, showing the forest outside. She put as much magic as she could into that hole, making it big enough to escape from. She hooked her arms under Killian's armpits, and began dragging him toward the hold. Soon enough they were through the hole, and out in the warm sunshine. Emma knelt next to Killian's unmoving, frozen body. She placed her hands on his chest, calling all her magic from within and forcing it into him. She could see the color returning to his cheeks and lips, but still he didn't wake up.

"Killian?" she shouted, panic running through her entire body. "Killian!" She began sobbing.

She leaned over him, placing her hands on either side of his face. She gently touched her lips to his, letting her hair fall over them, as if to shield them from the rest of the world, her tears falling onto his face. Just as she believed he was gone from her forever, his lips returned her kiss, his hand reaching up to tangle in her cascading hair.

"I thought you were gone!" she cried, sitting up. He sat up as well, and embraced her tightly, as if he would never let her go again.

"I will never leave you, Emma, not ever again." He whispered into her ear. She pulled away from the embrace, looking deeply into his eyes, and could see the love he had for her. She leaned in for another kiss of true love, knowing this was nowhere near the last. This love would last through anything, she realized. This love she shared with the pirate would carry her through the rest of her life. She wasn't even scared to acknowledge her love for him, or to admit it out loud. She loved him, and she would love him for the rest of forever.