A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for all the follow, faves, and reviews! They definitely made my day(s)! Not even joking, every time I got an email alert about a new follower, fave, or review, I wiped the tears off my face dramatically and loudly thanked the academy. The problem occurred when I was in school…Anyway, on a more serious-ish note (yes, you may skip ahead if you wish), but I'd like to address any issues towards the characterization of Milah. Yes, I realize that she seems a bit immature in her reactions towards her surroundings, but I haven't seen anything of her on the show that would indicate that she was mature at all. She didn't seem to care about anything other than herself and her immediate gratification. Oh, and just for clarification, she doesn't know she's three hundred years in the future…yet. MWAHAHAHA. So, as I sit here pretending to write my reflection paper (oh, the joys of IB) I bring you…the second chapter. OH BTDUBS I DON'T OWN THESE CHARACTERS AND ALL THAT.
Killian's face instantly drained of all color, and he quite resembled the ghost he thought he was seeing. "Killian, what is going on?!" Milah demanded, while Killian merely stumbled back in response, and Emma stiffened, having recognized the woman as Milah from the sketch Killian had shown her. She, of course, did not believe that it was truly Milah standing before Killian and herself, however, if for no other reason than the fact that this woman had been dead for three hundred years (and if that wasn't a reason to doubt a person's existence, then Emma didn't know what was). Within a few moments, Killian had recovered an iota of his brain function from the immediate shock, and was thinking along the same lines as Emma; this woman claiming to be Milah had to be an apparition, now if only he could figure out how she had come to take this particular form. It couldn't be a siren, for he was sure that the bloody devil would take the form of Emma…wouldn't it?
Emma continued to stare at the woman claiming to be Milah, looking for the telltale signs of a lie: fidgeting, dilated pupils, an abnormally high pitched voice, frequent swallowing, but could find no traces that indicated that the woman in front of her was lying. Could she be telling the truth? But that was impossible. Milah had been dead for somewhere in the ballpark of three hundred years! God, I… Emma was pulled out of her thoughts to see Killian stepping towards the woman claiming to be Milah. Fearing that he was under some trance, Emma grabbed his shoulder and spun him around towards her and pulled so his face was in close proximity with hers. "Killian, what are you doing?!" she hissed, the relief at seeing the lucidity in his eyes quickly being replaced by anger at his (rather characteristic) rashness. "Well, I was trying to get a closer look to see if it is indeed the Milah I was once acquainted with, before you so rudely grabbed me, love," Killian said in injured tones. Emma began to argue, "But you can't just-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Emma was interrupted by Milah herself, where in the seven hells she was, and what in the bloody world was going on. Emma could only roll her eyes, because if she knew what the hell was going on, this lady would know, too. Whilst Milah was practically shaking with sheer rage, Killian noticed something shiny, swinging around on her chest. A necklace. Striding towards Milah, he grabbed the pendant, despite her protests, and turned it around. Surely enough, engraved on the back of it was the name 'Milah,' engraved in script, in the same style as when the same name had been engraved on his wrist after her death. Every detail of the necklace was perfect to his memory, down to the little nick on the side from when she had dashed it to the floor during one of their arguments. But the necklace had sunk along with Milah's body, in tandem with any knowledge of its existence. He staggered backwards, the blood draining rapidly out of his face as he realized that the woman before him was truly Milah, brought back to life somehow, standing on his ship in the most inopportune of moments. Bloody hell.
Emma, in almost that same moment, realized that from the look on Hook's face, and the lack of swords being drawn, that this woman was somehow the real deal. Fucking Storybrooke. She couldn't go a day without a weird quasi-supernatural occurrence, could she?! She was supposed to be having hot post-engagement sex with her fiancée right now, but lo and behold she was now stuck dealing with the woman whose death had left Killian heartbroken for three then, a horrible feeling of insecurity began creeping up her spine, only exacerbated by the fact that Milah was placing her hand on Killian's arm, and he wasn't pulling away. Why wasn't he pulling away?! Did Milah not know that you do not touch that which belongs to Emma Swan!?
The next words out of Milah's mouth drained all the fight out of Emma: "It doesn't matter who she is Killian, because I'm here now," she practically cooed in Killian's ear. He stood stock-still neither acknowledging nor denying her words, and Emma was instantly thrown back to the memory of having to leave her first foster home. She remembered her foster mother hissing to her foster father about twins on the way, her real children, how there simply wouldn't be any space for Emma in the two-bedroom apartment any longer. She remembered her foster father standing stoically, not saying a word in her defense, and the heartbreak as she was forced out of the only home she'd ever known.
Blinking back the tears, she decided that she wouldn't be dragged out again; she was going to leave with her dignity intact this time. With a glare directed at Killian and Milah that transcended words, Emma spun around and marched off the Jolly Rodger and into her Bug, valiantly keeping the tears at bay until she reached her room in Mary-Margaret's old apartment.
Emma marching off his ship brought Killian back from his shock-induced silence, and he groaned at the thought of what had just allowed to occur, the look of pure rage and betrayal etched over Emma's beautiful features rattling him to his core. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at the night sky. He would find a way to apologize to Emma later, try to make it up to her for reigniting her insecurities. Well, that was going to take a damn large gesture. He would prefer to start his groveling as soon as possible, but, unfortunately, Milah needed a place to stay for the night. So, he led her to Granny's as she protested the entire way because why couldn't she stay on the Jolly Roger and was it because of the blonde trollop? Killian managed to get her there all the same, and gave Granny a generous amount of gold to tend to Milah for the next several days.
Trudging his way to the Jolly Roger, Killian threw his leather jacket off of his shoulders and flung himself onto his bed. He caught a glimpse of the ink on his wrist and instantly knew that he would always be in love with the woman whose name was etched there.