A/N- This chapter starts to move the story along a little bit, but there is also a great deal of fluff. Enjoy it while it lasts, folks.

Thanks to everyone who has Faved, Followed, and Reviewed. Keep 'em coming. I'm especially curious about how you feel about my QOD's.

CHAPTER 2

Emma woke at dawn the next morning with a bright smile across her face. Her whole body sang with excitement and she couldn't recall ever feeling so light. Mmm, Killian, she thought with a wicked grin. It almost felt as if he was still holding on to her, like she was still wrapped up in his strong arms even though she had left him last night to return home to the loft. And the nightmares were gone, too. She was pretty sure her dreams had been nothing but pleasant. It was a wonderful feeling.

She rolled around in bed, watching the sky outside catch fire and lighten from grey to yellow. The crippling fear that had been plaguing her was gone and in its place was nothing but a sense of peaceful contemplation. Her heart felt so full and bright she thought she might break into song.

Wouldn't that be ridiculously ironic? A daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming wanting to have her own flash mob musical number. She tried not to picture Killian twirling her around and singing back to her in that deep, seductive voice of his, but utterly failed.

Biting her bottom lip, she grinned secretly as she replayed the previous night's events. The kissing, the touching, the magic. Why had her magic taken over like that? It made her feel incredibly powerful, like she had just scratched the surface of some monumental revelation about herself. And the way she had connected with Killian, like she could almost literally see his soul. She kept daydreaming until a warm rush spread throughout her body and she knew she should stop before things got out of hand.

Really, it was amazing just to be able to think about Killian without fearing for his safety. Even her nagging doubts about his love for her were gone. She felt like, at long last, she was able to give him her whole heart like he deserved, free and clear of the shadows of her past.

She wondered if he felt the same way, too.

Knowing she had to get up and get ready for work, Emma forced the thoughts from her mind. She jumped up from her bed, eager to see her pirate once more.

….

"Henry? Have you seen the coffee filters?" Emma called across the kitchen, riffling through the upper cabinets. She had already searched through them once, but she was studiously going back through. Her son was absorbed in his own morning routine and barely acknowledged her request.

"Mom, I'm 13. I don't drink coffee, ergo, I have no idea where they might be," Henry replied, rechecking his book bag for his homework.

"Hey!" Emma huffed, stopping her search to reach over the counter and ruffle her son's hair. "It's too early for your sass, young man."

He tilted his head up and flashed her a wide grin. "It's never too early for my adorable sass."

Clearly, her son had been hanging out with Killian too much, though Emma's heart purred at the thought. "You're right, but I pretty sure you can't out adorable sass me."

Smirking, Henry shoved a Pop-Tart in his mouth and mumbled, "Wouldn't want to." A moment later, he gathered up his bag and gave her a quick wave. "I've got to go. Dinner at Granny's tonight?"

With a nod, she pulled him close and kissed his head. "See ya, kid. Have a good day."

"Bye mom," Henry called as he headed out the door.

As Emma turned to once again search for the missing filters, she heard the patter of feet coming from the loft staircase.

"Did you know that when a baby has an ear infection, they are only able to sleep about two hours at a time?" Mary Margaret slurred, stopping at the kitchen island to watch her daughter fussing about in the kitchen. She blinked at the large smile, curled hair, and even a hint of makeup that Emma was sporting and suddenly blurted out, "Oh my god, are you making coffee? I love coffee."

Emma chuckled at how frazzled her normally immaculate mother looked. She was still in a pair of flannel pajamas and the top was clearly on inside out. Her short brown hair was sticking out in all directions. "Well, I was going to, but I can't seem to find the coffee filters," Emma answered pointedly.

Mary Margaret collapsed onto a stool and buried her face in her hands. "Check the fridge. I may have mistaken them for a bowl of strawberries last night," came a muffled reply.

Opening the fridge, Emma immediately caught sight of the filters sitting on the bottom shelf. She rolled her eyes and snorted. "Ha! Gotcha!"

While she busied herself with making the coffee, her mother continued to roll her head in her arms and moan. "I have never been this tired. And I lived on the run for years. I can't even make…words…make sense. Where are all the midwives in this town when you need them?"

"Too busy leading an army of flying monkeys and plotting to rewrite history," Emma commented with a little apologetic shrug.

Mary Margaret looked away sadly. "Oh yeah. That sucks."

Emma began to chuckle as the coffee percolated behind her. "Maybe I should call David and have him come home. You really need to rest."

"No!" Mary Margaret yelled, blanching at how loud her outburst was. "No," she repeated softer. "You need him to help with town stuff. And Gold. I can manage, don't worry."

"It'll be fine. I'll just call Killian to help." Emma said nonchalantly, turning around to pour out the coffee so that her mother would catch the rising blush on her cheek.

Unfortunately, even half asleep, her mother was still sharp enough to catch on. "Oh? You know, it seems like he's been helping out a lot lately. In fact, I'm pretty sure you must have been helping out each other last night, seeing as you didn't make it home until after midnight."

The blush on Emma's cheek burned all the way down her neck. "Maybe," she mumbled, taking a long sip of her coffee to hide the smile taking over her lips.

Her mother's eyes softened and then took on a hazy, sleepy glaze. "I'm really glad you're happy, Emma."

"What makes you think I'm happy?" Emma asked with genuine curiosity.

Shrugging, Mary Margaret chuckled and waved her hands about in an uncoordinated flourish. "It's all over you. I can tell. Everyone can tell."

Normally at this point, Emma's walls would slam back up and she would go on the defensive. But not today. She wasn't feeling that need to hide today. "Yeah, I guess I am happy." Emma admitted.

"And in love?" Mary Margaret pried, fluttering her eyes ridiculously. Suddenly, Emma had a flash of the cartoon version of Snow White whistling a tune while bluebirds played with her hair, singing a tune about Prince Charming. Sometimes having her mother be a cartoon character was utterly ridiculous.

"Maybe," Emma replied, wondering why this conversation wasn't making her feel more agitated. It was the exact sort of thing that she had always ran from in the past.

Clearly, Mary Margaret's lack of sleep was finally catching up with her and her voice fluttered away, "You're in love! My baby's in love. With a pirate! And she's going to get married and have babies and…" Her head collapsed onto the counter with a thud.

Struck with sudden inspiration and desperately wanting to change the subject, Emma said, "I'm going to call Belle. She can come over and watch Neal so you can sleep. Plus I'll feel better knowing she's safe away from Gold."

Mary Margaret grunted out her agreement as she waved a hand above her head. Emma then called Belle, who was all too eager to come and help out and promised to be there shortly.

"Come on, mom, let's get you back to bed," Emma declared, gently leading her mother to the stairway.

All the way, her mother kept mumbling about how Emma was her 'precious baby girl' and how she was the 'bestest daughter ever'. Then, right before she went up, Mary Margaret turned, her eyes barely open, and said, "You know, I love you, Emma."

Emma swallowed hard, but gave her a slight nod and answer quietly, "You too, mom. Although, right now, you're kind of putting a drunken Happy to shame."

….

David was busy making calls when Emma arrived at the station, fresh coffee in tow. He nodded and smiled warmly as she set the cup down, and she turned to pick up the file he had laid on her desk.

There hadn't been much to report after the initial sighting of Gold. If he truly was back in Storybrooke, he was keeping out of sight and who knows where he might be. Nothing else was happening except a few reports of strange dogs and birds popping up around town. Apparently, the fairies had returned to the convent and were said to be recuperating, the town line was being patrolled by a rotating schedule of Merry Men and dwarves, and overall, it was looking to be like any other day in the unusually quiet village.

Just after nine o'clock, Killian arrived, a box in his hands. He lit up with a smile at the sight of Emma and presented the box to her.

"Bear claws?" She asked in disbelief. "Since when do you bring me donuts? You've always shown up with coffee. What gives, pirate?" She squinted and poked him in the chest, the same place where she had secured his heart last night.

He looked down at her fingers, and swept his hand over hers, giving her knuckles a playful kiss. Then, he shrugged and scratched absently at his ear. "I'm not sure. I just had a feeling like this was what you would be wanting today."

Emma bit her lip and looked over to her half-empty cup. It was odd, she had been craving the sticky-sweet baked goods that morning, but hadn't found the time to go pick any up. "Well," she said, filing it away as unimportant, and lifting a bun from the box, "I'd say you have very good instincts."

Killian leaned over her desk, hovering inches from her face, "My instincts are never wrong, Swan. Especially when it comes to pleasing you, Swan."

Taking a bite, she grinned at him, "No, they aren't."

"By the way, I have to say that you look especially lovely today, Swan. Almost as if you are glowing." There wasn't a hint of innuendo in his tone, and Emma reached up to twirl a strand of hair through her fingers. Killian's cool blue gaze locked onto gesture and he rolled his tongue against his cheeks.

Clenching her thighs tightly, Emma muttered, "You're kinda hot yourself." She clutched her mug tightly to prevent herself from running her hands through his silky black hair, while his eyebrow raised in shock at her admission and his lips curled sinfully up into his scruff.

"Hey you two!" David interrupted like an irate dad after coming back into the room to find his daughter and the pirate batting their eyes flirtatiously. "Killian, any news on your end?"

Killian drew himself up and throwing back on his schooled mask of indifference, "Unfortunately, no, your highness." Beside him, Emma smirked and pretended to focus on her pastry. "The docks and warehouses are all imp-free."

Emma snorted at that and Killian gave her a sly eyebrow waggle.

David groaned inwardly at their antics and shook his head. "I don't like this. If Gold is back, he's up to no good and we should really stop him before something happens."

Sighing, Emma replied, "I would agree if we knew where he was."

David flashed over to Killian, "Hook, Belle gave you the dagger. Maybe we could use it to summon him and find out what he's up to."

Killian paled and Emma felt her heart lurch in sudden revulsion. Odd, considering she didn't think she felt that strongly about Gold.

"No," Killian stated coldly. "I've gone to great pains to conceal that dagger and I've no wish to retrieve it at whim." He wasn't exactly lying, but Emma sensed there was something more that he wasn't saying. What's going on with you, Killian?

A sudden image flashed of the dagger in her hand, it feeling unnaturally cold and just wrong lying against her skin. For some reason, it felt as though there were rings on her hand. Weird. She never wore rings. And she had never held the dagger either, so how would she know what it felt like?

David's booming voice broke her from her thoughts and she snapped back to the present. "Hook, this might be the only way to find out what he's up to. To stop him before he hurts anyone. We need to use that dagger."

Emma could tell how much Killian was struggling with his demons by the thinly veiled masked of fury in his eyes, and she knew she needed to step in. "I'm not sure that's the best idea," she said. "We don't know he's even in town for certain and who knows what could happen if we try to force that man to do anything. He'll find a way out of it, David, you know he will and he'll be even more furious. Not to mention that Belle would never approve. It would be too much like we were torturing him."

Collapsing into a chair, David ran a hand over his face. "Maybe you're right, Emma."

Killian grumbled, "Of course she is, mate."

Shooting Killian a sharp look, David sighed. "I just hate this waiting. I want to know that my children and my wife, not to mention this town, are safe."

"Aye," Killian agreed, softening his stature, but his tone remained icy. "Uncertainty leads to rash decisions and an anxious mind. I'd much rather have the fiercest of foes facing me so that I can fight against them, than to play this shadow game nonsense. It's interminable."

David met Killian's gaze with an almost awed look. "Yeah, exactly."

Emma felt a flush of affection for the way her father and her pirate had slowly been building to this strange bromance they started back in Neverland. At first, it had been pretty awkward, but now she was beginning to see how it would benefit both of the men she cared about. And that made her incredibly happy.

Before they could start with the high-fives and back slaps however, the spell was broken by an unexpected arrival to the station.

"Blue?" Emma asked, looking up towards the door. "What are you doing here?"

The fairy lifted her chin and wrang her hands nervously. "I…I think we might have a problem."

Emma swallowed. She had never seen the fairy this visibly upset. "What happened?"

"My sisters and I have become increasingly certain that there is a dark presence in Storybrooke that shouldn't be here." She shifted, looking around at the three people in the room, not even glaring at Killian like she had the other day. "We think she was here before, with the original curse, but whatever spell was over her is no doubt gone and her powers have returned."

"Blue, who are you talking about?" David asked.

"The Dark Fairy. We believe she must have been trapped in the hat along with the other fairies and that when you released us, you released her, too."

"The Dark Fairy?" Emma asked uncertainly.

"Maleficent."

Emma, Killian, and David all stared in stunned silence. Emma was the first to recover, and she crossed her arms, frowning. "That can't be. I killed her."

"I'm sorry to defer, darling, but I killed her," Killian announced. He shrugged when Emma narrowed her eyes and hastened to explain himself, "Well, I blocked her magic with those cuffs from Greg and Tamara, anyway. I'm assuming that Pan's curse would have taken care of her." He suddenly released just what he was saying and scratched nervously behind his ear with his hook, averting his eyes from everyone in the room.

"Did you put her in the hat, too?" Emma snapped.

Killian shook his head sheepishly. "I would guess a foe that formidable would be someone the Crocodile would attend to personally. Not that you lovely ladies aren't quite talented yourselves." He said with a wink at an indignant Blue. Emma groaned and shook her head at him.

"Wait, Emma," David asked suddenly, "What did you mean you killed Maleficent? How come I didn't hear about this?"

Shrugging, Emma gave him an apologetic look, and said, "You did. She was the dragon I killed with your sword in the mines under the Library."

"She was a dragon?" David asked, looking to Blue for conformation.

Blue rolled her eyes. "Maleficent can shift form into a dragon, a crow… basically anything with wings. And her powers are quite potent. If she has regained them and is free to do as she pleases, then Storybrooke could be facing a great threat. There is no small amount of people whom Maleficent would like to see pay for her suffering." For some reason, she gave David a long, knowing look.

Mentally filing that away to ask about later, Emma continued on. "So if Maleficent is back, how do we stop her?"

For Emma, the questions were piling up. Questions about Maleficent. Gold. Who knows what those two could cook up together?

They all looked to the fairy whose wide eyes betrayed her fear. "You don't," she replied.

…

Ravens.

He could clearly hear the swarm of ravens in the nearby trees.

Good, she was here.

Before he could prepare himself, he felt a force of magic lifting him by the throat and holding him off the ground.

"Maleficent, how nice to see you again," Rumple chuckled. He didn't need to see her to know exactly who it was that had him caught. He also didn't need to see her eyes to know why she was angry, too.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't end your worthless existence right here and now, Rumplestiltskin." She came into view, all dressed in shimmering black, her horned headgear tragically missing. In its place, a soft cascade of blonde curls fell down her back. With a determined stare, she lifted her hand…

"One reason, dearie? I'll give you three." Rumple offered. He could tell by the slight flicker in her eye that her curiosity had been peaked. "Ladies?" He called, a little bit louder.

From the surrounding forest, two women emerged as different as night and day, and yet of the same purpose. The three women stared at each other in silent showdown before an unspoken truce was reached. "Ursula, Cruella. I'd never thought I'd have the pleasure. I suppose you're here to save this imp's worthless life?" Maleficent said with a flash of her talons fingers.

Cruella shrugged and pulled her enormous fur coat back over the shoulder it had slipped off of. "Not really, no. If you want to kill him, by all means."

Ursula rolled her eyes at the two-toned lady. "Except that he has made us an offer."

Lowering her hand, Maleficent let Rumple drop heavily to the forest floor. "Oh, like before? Because if I recall that didn't work out so well for any of us."

Stepping forward, Ursula raised her head in defiance, her anger matching the camo and green fatigues she wore. "It would have if you had kept up your end of our agreement, Mal."

Sensing the brewing tension in the air, Rumple picked himself up and dusted his suit jacket with a well-practiced shuffling of his hands. "Ladies, please. This will get us nowhere. Anyway, we all know who is really to blame for our loss."

The three women shot each other a deadly glance before all turning to focus on him. "Not me," he chuckled, hands on chest. "The heroes. Every story has one. And it seems as though they are destined to win every time, why we, the villains, are perpetually denied that which we truly desire: our own happy ending."

The mood shifted and he could tell he had each of the ladies' undivided attention. "Now, as I promised you all many years ago, I'm here to help you achieve your happy ending." He flicked his hand and it the air a small glass globe hovered.

"What on earth is that?" Cruella sneered. "I'm no cut-rate fortune teller, Rumple, I have the blood of queens in my veins!"

With a complicated flourish, he huffed indignantly. "This is no crystal ball, dearie, I assure you."

"Then what is it?" Ursula asked, stepping closer.

He gave a tittering chuckle. "Why, it's nothing, dearie!" At the angry, unamused looks from the witches, he clarified, "Well, nothing yet. But soon, it will be able to grant you your deepest desires."

Cruella rolled her eyes, "You've made this speech before, and I've no time for your riddles. Frankly, this whole thing bores me. If you can't deliver this time, than I shall take it out on your hide." Her eyes sparkled with malicious intent.

Maleficent added, "Not before I do."

"Or me," Ursula added coolly. "You broke a deal with me once, Rumplestiltskin. I haven't forgotten. No one breaks my deals."

Rumple gave the woman a look of penitent desperation. "Ladies, there's no need to bring out the claws. Perhaps if you would let me explain further. You see, this orb is mere a vessel used to capture and hold the darkest of dark magic. Once collected inside, this magic will be powerful enough to undo and remold any magic ever cast. Including the magic governing the happy endings."

"That's all well and good, Rumple, but your ball is empty. How exactly do you intend to gather this dark magic?" Maleficent asked warily. She clearly was still sore about Rumple trapping her once already and had no intention of falling for it again.

"Why that, my dear, is precisely why I've called you here. You see, it will take the combined power of three evil sorcerers to enact the curse we need." Rumple replied, as if the answer should have been obvious. He flicked his hand and the orb vanished once more. Smoothing down his suit jacket, he paced the forest floor.

"What kind of curse requires that sort of magic?" Cruella asked, hugging her fur coat tightly.

"Why, a curse designed to corrupt the purest of hearts. To turn that which is light into darkness," he replied cryptically.

"Speak plain, imp!" Ursula demanded, her eyes flashing vivid green with her growing irritation.

He sighed. "You take the fun out of everything. Very well. You will need to enact a curse which can corrupt a heart born of true love, a heart that represents all that is light and good and pure." His voice sang out on the last words. He smiled cruelly. "A heart of a savior."

Maleficent's eyes went wide with realization. "And just how will this curse work? How are we going to be able to get close enough to the Savior to be able to administer it?"

Grinning widely, Rumple held a hand up to his chest and snapped his finger. Within seconds, a loud, beastly roar echoed through the forest trees. A shadow swooped down covering over them and blocking out the sun all around.

He looked up, smiling at the monster above him. "Well, dearies, as the heroes like to say, it's going to take teamwork."

...

Next: More about the strange connections between Killian and Emma, and the villains come out to play.