AU where Emma doesn't find the ring.

Kilian took a deep breath, hoping that the liquid courage would be enough. He turned the door handle, bracing himself. "Emma? Are you home?" He called out.

She bounded down the stairs happily, a smile playing on her lips. "There you are," she murmured, pulling him in for a kiss. She'd had a long day at the office, filling out some nosy paperwork about some fairy tale character who still couldn't seem to understand the concept of traffic lights. She made a comment about the rum on his breath, but he was trying so hard to think of how to explain what he'd done that he barely even registered her words. He gave her a small smile, a timid one, and she knew something was wrong.

"There's something I need to tell you," his whole being ached with the thought of her face after he'd confessed his secret, how disappointed she would look. He hated himself more than he had in a long time, knowing she would never think of him as a hero after hearing what he was about to say. "It's just...what I have to say isn't exactly easy," he hesitated, "and I'm not entirely sure how you're going to react." He met her concerned eyes, which urged him to continue. "Your father and I recently went on a quest to discover the nature of his father, your grandfather's death." He closed his eyes for a moment. "We determined that it was King George who ordered him to be killed and that in the end, he was the father he was supposed to be. Your grandfather was a good man, Emma." He paused again, thinking of how he should proceed. After a moment, he continued again, "We had gone to see August to recover some missing pages, and it wasn't until he dropped them off later that night after Dave and I had figured it all out that I knew I was involved." She still stared at him, anger absent but confusion evident. "I killed him, Emma. I didn't know who he was, I just knew the loot in his cart and the gold in the two guard's pockets was worth a man's life, especially if he was about to be murdered." He took a quick breath, wanting to get it all out before she could tell him she never wanted to see him again. "I'm so sorry, Emma." And then he was crying, the most fearsome pirate in all the realms had a tear streaming down his face as he confessed his dark secret to the one he loved.

Emma didn't say anything, she just hugged her pirate tightly, her hand on the back of his neck. And for a moment they stood, arms around each other, his secret out in the open. Eventually, she released him, tears in her eyes to match his. "Thank you for telling me this, Killian."

"You should hate me, love. I killed your grandfather."

"No, I shouldn't. Because that wasn't my Killian, that was Captain Hook, the villain. It's in your past, you didn't know what you were doing. I'm certainly not happy about it, but that wasn't you. I can hardly be mad at you for something that happened, what, forty years ago?"

"Emma, love, you shouldn't be okay with this. You should hate me."

"You're a different man now. You know how I know that? Because you told me. You regret it. You're putting me first, just like you did all that time ago in Neverland. You've always done that, Killian, even when it went against who you were." She brushed a bit of hair out of his eyes. "I love you, Killian Jones, even with your dark past. You know that."

"Even if you do, I'm not sure your father will like me very much after he finds out,"

"I'd imagine that he will have a similar reaction. King George did order him to be killed, didn't he?"

"Aye, but that doesn't-"

"Killian, stop." She said forcefully, then more calmly, "It doesn't matter what he thinks of you, that won't change the way I feel. I promise."

"But it does. Now more than ever." She looked up at him, confusion once again in her eyes. "There's one more thing I have been hiding from you, love. This one isn't dark; you'll like this surprise. But I can't in good conscience give it to you without telling your father about this first."

She smiled at him, "Well, let's get this show on the road then." She had faith that her father would understand, and Killian wished he could have as much confidence as she seemed to have.

David had taken it much as Emma had anticipated, forgiving Killian and refusing to let her pirate hate himself for it. Perhaps he was angry at first, but as his daughter and Killian sat across from him, pleading for him to understand, he saw things as perhaps his wife would. He refused to let something that had happened so long ago become a road block in Emma's future.

So as the couple moved to head home, he held Killian back for a moment when Emma went to start the car. "This doesn't change things," David told him honestly. "You still have my blessing. And I hope that now, after everything, you can still join our family. I know that you would have never killed him had you known. You're still a hero, even with your past. Now, don't leave my daughter waiting." He encouraged him toward the door.

It was later that evening when Killian finally gathered the courage to do what he'd intended. She had changed for bed, her golden hair resting against her back, her big t-shirt falling to her mid-thigh. He moved to kiss her before she could reach the foot of the bed, a passionate, desire, and love ridden kiss, one that he hoped told her what was to come. "Wha-" Emma began as soon as they broke apart, but before she could finish, he was on one knee, pulling the ring box out of his pocket.

"Emma Swan," he began, and her hand moved to cover her mouth, shock setting in. "I have lived far too long for one man. I've fought many fights, sailed many seas, and done far too many things I probably shouldn't have. You, my love, made me feel things I never thought possible. You believed in me when I didn't deserve it." He looked up at her, opening the box. "I love you, Emma Swan. I don't think I'll ever deserve you or this life, but I'm doing this anyway. I love you. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

A giggle escaped her mouth, pure joy on her lips as she nodded. "Yes. Yes, of course I'll marry you, Killian." He slid the ring onto her finger, moving to embrace her. When her lips met his, he knew that this was just the beginning of his future, a bright future he'd never imagined. A future filled with love.