A/N: I've always been taught 'Don't sell yourself short before people view the product.' So I've been wanting to avoid stating how unbeta'd my writing is, and also how much of an amateur I am. Yet, there I go, stating what I know is true.

Now that that's out of the way, I present you my second chapter of A Little More Than a Homecoming. Still one POV and it's Emma's. I do not own OUAT or have any affiliations(unless you count the fandom), but I did borrow quite a bit of dialogue for this chapter.

Thanks again for reading.

Chapter 2: State The Things You Know Are True

The bug crept slowly into the closest available parking space by Mary Margaret's loft. She takes a deep breath, putting the parking break on and unbuckling before she changes her mind and drives back to New York. She wants to hazard a look at the pirate, but she isn't sure just how readable her emotions are in the moment, and would prefer to not revisit just how much of an open book she is to him.

Everything is different now. She's back in Storybrooke, and the person she was a day ago is nothing more than a memory, a fake one at that. Everything she feels is intensified by the underlying sense of eeriness and danger. This town has a way of taking the hope right out of her. She's always left with fear of not being enough. How many times will she need to remind herself she's the savior this time?

Killian approaches her side of the car, She's looking around in discouragement before she sets her eyes on him. He's speaking, but she can't take her eyes off the hook. The literal clicking sound is the last nudge she needs to fall back into reality. She's not just some girl, he's not her guy friend. He's a storybook pirate, she's a mother and the savior and this easiness with them isn't going to last much longer.

Everything is different now.

So when he tries for familiar pleasantries, she doesn't hesitate to brush him off and walk away. She has obligations now. She's the savior now. So long comfort system, hello uncomfortable relationships with the parents who she now remembers.

With little time in the cold, she reaches the ever familiar corridor. This place housed her for a while. Not her longest home by a long shot, but still, a place she dwelled long enough to remember it. She could almost see them, just above, walking around the crowded loft. She felt something within her sizzle and crack. She paused for a moment, unsure whether it were anxiety or longing to see her parents again. Either way, she'd have to make the journey up the staircase to get to the source of her unreadable emotion.

Emma held her breath as she approached the landing. Behind that door was the unknown. Questions she hadn't thought of soared through her mind. Would they remember? Would they still care? Do they know what happened? Do they even need me here?

Emma Swan adopted a technique as a child. When things were too much, when she felt too frazzled to step forward, she did it.

'State the things you know are true.'

My name is Emma Swan

My parents are behind this door.

Storybrooke is back, and so am I.

The only way to step forward is to step through this door.

Knock Knock.

For a moment, as the door swung open and she caught sight of her father's eyes, she felt a since of belonging, a small feeling of homecoming and within a flash, the sense was washed over by anxiety once more as his jaw dropped.

"Hi" She spoke breathlessly, a little shocked by her own response. The second spread and so did the mixed emotion in his eyes. "Don't close the door, my.. uh… my name is—"

"Emma" His voice just as breathless as hers.

She had no control over her feet, she moved into him, embracing instantly, his hand cradling her head like he always had and in that moment, Storybrooke felt like home. She's not so sure she knows what home feels like, but as a girl, she imagined she'd find it the moment she felt this.

"You remember." His voice spoke of astonishment, something so emotional.

Emma pulled back to find his comforting eyes once more. "You remember?" It was only partially a question. It was obvious he remembered, what she meant to say was how?

"O…of course" He fell back on his heel. "Wha… wha… what are you doing here, wha—"

"Well, Hook found me." She interrupted as he led her into the loft. It smelled like cinnamon, oak, a little something else that she wasn't sure was too familiar or if they brought it back with them from wherever they'd gone. "He brought me here, he said you were cursed."

That's when the seriousness set in. She noted confusion in his eyes. His voice was coming back to him, the hopefulness of seeing her began to fade, and she could feel her sense of home slipping away with every second.

"We're back," but he shook his head, that's not right is it. "Or we never left… or we don't know. We're trapped again."

Trapped, that's a concept.

"But you know who you are." Emma stated, confused by the context of the curse.

"Emma, this curse… we don't know who did it, or why." David's astonishment was gone, left was concern, fear even, not that she ever noted her father to be fearful. She didn't miss the worry. She'd been worry-free and now she's not. "All we know is our last year has been wiped away."

"Wiped away?" She couldn't believe that. Hook remembered every single thing.

"All we remember is saying goodbye to you." David explained. "If feels like yesterday."

"But if you can't remember than how do you know that it's been a ye—"

"Emma!" Her mother's voice sounded from the top of the stairs, calling all of Emma's attention. She looked up to find not just her mother, but…

"Year" Emma finished, breathless once more as her mother tackled her into a hug. There was a pregnant belly braced against Emma's own midsection. Pregnant. Her mother was pregnant. When she left them, she wasn't and now she is and that happened and if that's the only way they've tracked the time, then damn was that a time-tracker.

Mary Margaret released her, looking into her eyes with something she's not so sure was relieve.

"As you can see." David began, but Emma kept her eyes on her mother. "A lot's happened."

"Yeah, we just don't know what." Mary Margaret forced a smile. "The whole year is gone."

"Who the hell would have done this?" Emma searched her brain for any idea. There was none. She didn't know many villains, two reformed ones, three if she counts Hook(which to be honest with herself, she never has. He never was) and another that died with one of those who has since been reformed.

"Uhm,Emma" Had she been looking up she would have noticed the pained look her parents shared with one another before her mother addressed her. "Honey, there's more."

"More?" Emma shook her shoulders to relieve herself of the shiver traveling up her spine at the idea of more. "What is it?"

"Well…" There was another look between those two. "We don't really know how to tell you this." Mary Margaret began, almost antsy.

"So we're just going to show you." David continued for his wife.

"You have more to show than a pregnant belly?" Emma was exasperated at this point. She's been here five damn minutes and its surprise, surprise, surprise.

"Yeah" David sighed before turning toward the stairs and calling up. "Lily! Princess can you come down here?" Emma felt a bit uneasy, the name Lily never rang true in her heart since her adolescence. Neither does her father referring to someone as 'Princess.'

Her eyes drifted to the top of the stairs just in time to see a beautiful young girl with dark flowing hair and glowing emerald eyes. She almost looked like the Young Snow White in Henry's storybook. Her heart stopped beating at the idea of looking at her mother's second daughter, her mother's second chance. Tears burned her eyes, which Emma Swan would normally blink away but she couldn't allow herself to look away from the child for half of a second.

Of course it's impossible that this child is the same child in the belly beside her, but more impossible things have happened in Storybrooke.

"Emma this is Lillian." Mary Margaret whispered.

"Lillian… your daughter?" Emma breathed painfully, not leaving the child's gaze. The girl watched her with anticipation, nerves practically prickling the child's flesh. She was just as nervous about the meeting, she could tell by the way she slowly descended the staircase, fingers fumbling instead of flowing down the railing.

"No," Lily whispered softly. "Yours"

XXXX

Emma awoke to a familiar ceiling, the exposed beams of her mother's loft. Which meant this wasn't entirely a dream. She wasn't home in her apartment in New York. Hook really came in and disrupted her life and now she's going to sit up and find her parents… and her daughter.

State the things you know are true Emma.

My name is Emma Swan.

I'm a mother and a daughter

I have a son, Henry…

and a daughter?

Emma sprang up instantly searching around for the three people she last saw before it all went black. She pinpointed each one individually. First her father, sitting across from her in the arm chair, then her mother in the kitchen, drying her hands on a dish towel. Lastly, she scanned the room for a dark haired child, yet there wasn't one in sight.

Perhaps it were a dream.

"Mama?" A timid voice whispered from behind her. She turned to find Lily sitting on the arm of the couch, tears staining her perfectly full cheeks.

"How?" Emma asked without thought of the way it came out. If she were to replay the last word spoken, she would have known how cold she was portraying herself to be. "How do I… how?"

"Uhm, I made a few mistakes, played with toys I shouldn't have and found myself falling through a portal, thinking of my parents' love story," she inhaled deeply afterward, holding it for a moment before letting it go.

"Parents? Right, because it takes two people… who is the other person?" Emma asked fearfully herself.

"The fact that you have to ask gives me pause." Lily frowned. Emma had half a mind to tell the kid that she'd most-likely need to get use to frowning. It's a family trait in this cursed town.

"Right…" Emma frowned. See? She didn't have to think hard, look too far into her mind. There's only one person she can imagine being in a relationship with at this point. One person who obviously wants her more than anything. "It's Hook right. He's your dad, isn't he?"

"Yes" Lily smiled his stupidly adorable smile and Emma felt the fall pounding at the back of her head.

She came back here to solve a mystery, not find another child. She just wants to do her civic duty as sheriff and savior and go home. Leave it to Hook to complicate everything.

"Well, we can't tell him." Emma began, causing her mother to rush in from the kitchen.

"Emma" She exhaled before grabbing Lily and pulling her against her chest. "What are you saying, you have to tell him."

"No, I really don't. And neither do any of you." Emma looked around the room before reconnecting her eyes with Lily. "If you tell him, this whole thing will be about the two of us, when there's a threat against the town. I'm sorry kid, but neither he or Henry can know who you are."

"But, Mom?" Lily began but Emma held her hand up to stop her from continuing.

"And…" Emma frowned. "You have to call me Emma." Lily's jaw dropped almost as fast as Emma's heart did even saying that. She watched her daughter's jade eyes turn to pools of salt water. There was a sea of emotions whirling around, but Emma had to stifle every single one because she's not allowed to be vulnerable. Now she's sitting across from her daughter, hoping they share that trait.

"Look Lady, you are crazy if you think I'm going to pretend I'm an orphan because you can't deal with your feelings for my dad." Lily sassed, folding her arms in front of her chest and glaring down at Emma. Despite the tears in her eyes, the kid had spunk.

"Are you even old enough for Teen Angst?" Emma criticized. "Tone it down" The moment stretched with a stare off before more questions dawned. "How old are you and how far away in the future did you fall from?"

Lily tugged on her bottom lip a bit, a trait Emma may or may not have passed down to the child. Emma could see the gears turning in her head through the windows that were her large expressive eyes. Emma waited impatiently as Lily turned her face from view for a moment, scanning the loft before meeting her eyes once more.

"I'm eight." She answered solemnly. "Nine years from now I make a mistake and end up back here with you."

"Well, aren't I lucky." Emma mocked. "Wait. You're born within a year?" Suddenly the loft was warmer, the air thicker and the pain from that faint throbbing on full force.

"Oh goodness, Mom!" Lily shouted, flinging her arms up as she hopped off the couch. "I've heard the stories, you know." Lily was pacing now behind the couch, back and forth as Emma tried her damnedest to school her surfacing fears of commitment. "I know you were a coward back then… now." Lily paused, actually taking her time to consider her grammar. "Anyhow, I just didn't realize how quickly it would come out of you."

"I'm sorry!" Emma exclaimed. "Look, in the future, I have nine months, now I had all of twenty-seconds and you're already awarding me 'Worst Mother of the Year.' Give me a break."

"I will, you're not my mom remember?" Lily moved out of reach as Mary Margaret attempted to reach for her. She was up the stairs before anyone had a chance to call out her name. Emma would be lying if she said she wasn't the least bit relieved.

Until she looked around to find two very disappointed glares pointed at her. Emma rolled her eyes, stifling a sigh as she waited for the flood of guilt.

"Emma!" Mary Margaret scolded as gently as one could scold. "You grew up thinking no one out there loved you. We know, you remind us constantly. Why on Earth would you ever subject your child to that?"

For as gentle as that scolding was, it still burned in dark places Emma hasn't visited in years. Places where promises rang out to her ears. I will never let my child think for one moment I don't love them. I will never leave my child parentless.

"I'm not her mother yet." Emma whispered, afraid what ungodly sound her voice would made if she spoke a fraction higher. "She has a mother in nine years who loves her. You can tell she's loved."

"I'm sure she's one of the most loved creatures in Storybrooke. That however is not the point, Emma." Mary Margaret was on a roll. "The point is, she's not in her time, she's here and probably scared, lonely and you know what hurts her the most right now?"

"What?" Emma rolled her eyes again, angling her head to the side, showing off her own version of teen angst.

"The ever-present fear that she will not come to exist, because you'll do what you always do. Run away." Emma let the words simmer before thinking of a response.

If she were being honest, she didn't have one. Emma wasn't exactly sure how Lily ever came to exist. Emma was determined she would be returning to New York. This might not be something she's willing to share just yet, but she's hoping and praying to return to the life she just left, sans the evil monkey boyfriend.

Did that mean with a pirate boyfriend?

"Emma, I think you should go talk to her." David insisted, softer than Mary Margaret tried. "Don't see her as a daughter you're not planning on having. See her as a child, fearful and alone."

"Because I can relate to being afraid and alone?" Emma replied.

"Isn't that what you tell us all the time?" Mary Margaret's voice could not get anymore Regina-like Tonight. Instead of dignifying that woman with a response, Emma stood up and walked up the steps to her old room.

When she quickly arrived, she found Lily on the bed, knees to chest and face buried between. She's seen herself that way too many times to identify it as anything other than loneliness and fear.

"I'm sorry." Emma started, it was the best place she could have planned to begin. "I'm a crap Mom, Lily. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't want to give you the same complex."

Lily didn't budge, not even a sniffle.

"Look, Kid" Emma sat beside her on the bed, roaming her hands over the plaid comforter she claimed as her own for a while. "This is not an ideal situation, but you're here, and we've got to make the best of it. I know the 'best' in your opinion is similar to how things are back home, but that's just not how it can be."

"Because Henry?" The child mumbled into her knees.

"Yeah, Henry and Hook."

"My dad has his memory, Mom." Lily lifted her head up, squinting her eyes with a look Emma would claim to be resentment. "This is about you and Henry, not me, not my dad. I know Henry. He's not just your son, he's my brother and I know if I told him the truth, he'd believe me, with or without a potion." Lily declared. "And don't get me started on how quickly my dad will fall to his knees seeing me. He will know. We're closer than skin and bone, and lying to someone who knows the truth is not my forte."

"You are so damn sassy for an eight year-old, you know that?" Emma groaned. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you."

"If I'm not going to exist anyway, I don't have to follow a thing you say." Lily leapt off the bed, turning around on Emma too quickly, too threateningly. Her hands sat on her hips as she glared daggers. "If I wanted to, I could. I won't, because even though this version of you is God-awful, you look like my mom, and I can never deny her anything." Lily sniffled. "What do you want me to say?"

It's the way she folded that reminded Emma most of Killian. The way she wanted to hurt her, with everything in that tiny body but couldn't. It's not fair, but Emma's selfish enough to use that to her advantage.

"You're my sister. The baby in Mary Margaret's belly." Emma directed, heartlessly, not wanting Lily to know she felt remorseful. Children will feed on guilt. "Try hard not to talk about the future, and even harder not to look like you love him, either of them."

"Why don't you ask me to just rip my own heart out?" Lily cried. "That much I could do. I should do, it'll hurt less."

"I really need the sass and angst to just stop." Emma scolded. "This isn't just about you Lily."

"Yes, Mom" Lily sniffled once more.

"Kid, you've gotta stop calling me that." The look on Lily's face would haunt Emma for the rest of her life. She was certain it's the same view that stained her face the day the Swan's told her they'd be giving her back.

Rejection.

XXXX

Emma had left Lily with her parents, asking them to meet her at the sitting room in Granny's, but give her a head start to check in with Henry and Hook. She intercepted the pirate, begging his assistance in carrying the still sleeping child upstairs as her parents slowly walked behind them, out of Hook's sight. Emma acquired the room quickly, before bringing the boys up to the second floor with her. She opened the door, the room housing two queen size beds.

"Right there." Emma directed, Killian following, placing Henry onto the bed, over the blankets. Emma sat at the foot, removing his shoes as Killian turned to what she had claimed as her bed. He pulled the bedspread off of it, laying it over Henry's sleeping form before backing away toward the door.

Maybe he had paternal instincts. Maybe he was more than a pirate, perhaps he was nurturing.

"I'll meet you downstairs."

"Wait!" Emma whispered as loudly as she could. "I uh, got you a room too. I'll go check it out with you before we go downstairs." Killian raised a brow at her before nodding and leaned against the door frame.

After finishing up with Henry she left a note incase he awoke and followed Killian out of the room. In the hallway, he grabbed her wrist before she could move past him.

"What?" Staring at him for the first time since meeting Lily, Emma had to gather up all the mixed emotions and stomp them out quickly. This man was a goddamn shark smelling blood in the ocean when it came to her emotions. By the way he was staring at her, he had already gotten a whiff.

"I was going to ask you precisely that. Did something occur with your parents that I should be aware of?" Emma felt it all bottle up to the rim. She felt nausea, anxiety. She knew he could read her, it wasn't a joke he told, it was the dead truth. If she met his eyes, just once, he'd know everything. So she shook her head and moved past him.

"Let's just go, your room's just around this corner."

"Emma" She turned on him quickly.

"My mom is pregnant. It's weird. She said in the cave that she wanted to try again, but the idea of her getting a second chance at parenting, and me not getting one at being a child doesn't seem fair." Emma looked up to find his eyes staring back at her with sincerity and understanding.

"That is tough, Love. But so are you."

Emma smiled at the compliment, but Killian wasn't done.

"I mean, you are tough to crack and that took absolutely know chiseling. I believe that to be true, but there's something else troubling you more, so much so that you'd rather open up to me about anything than tell me this."

"Killian, stop" Emma implored. "Please."

"Swan, what is it? What's so terrible?" He moved his hand to cup her face and she felt it, the reason they would have a daughter together, the reason he would be the only one she could have guessed to be the father. Still, she pulled away.

"I just told you." Emma's voice shook and she knew then that if she didn't pull herself together, she'd be fucked. "That's all." Staring away from him, waiting for him to turn his eyes away from her, but he wouldn't.

"We'll check the room out later. I want to find out what's got you so vexed. Let's find your parents." Killian descended down the hall toward the meeting room. His pace quickened like he were on a mission. Emma exerted herself to keep up.

"Killian, wait!"

"No." he shook his head. "I don't want another lie."

"Killian," Emma reached for him but he pulled his wrist out of grasp as he jogged down the steps toward the middle level, the sitting room in sight. "Killian, please!"

"Wha—" He stopped abruptly, causing Emma to crash into his shoulder.

"Ow. Killian, there's a…" Emma stalled as she peered over his shoulder to see Lily staring wide-eyed at the pirate.

"Who is this?" Killian spoke lowly, turning back to Emma. She couldn't connect with his eyes. She couldn't even think about his eyes. "Darling, I asked you a question."

"Give me a second." Emma whispered, racking her brain for a response that wasn't a lie. "She's uhm… she's from the future and—"

"Her name." he demanded.

"Lily." Emma whispered.

"Emma?" Killian breathed. Lily was right. He knew. Of course he knew.

"She's our daughter." David stood behind Lily, resting his hands on the small brunette's shoulders. "Our future-daughter, our second-daughter."

"Oh" Killian winced stepping back toward Emma. "She's beautiful." He smiled sincerely before turning to Emma. "Just like you, remarkably so. She looks so much like you." Something in his voice, he was either fully aware, or convinced he was painfully wrong.

"Yeah, well that's what happens with siblings, right kid?" Emma forced a smile at Lily who wouldn't remove her eyes from Killian. "Right?"

"Yeah" Lily grunted, dropping her gaze to the ground. "Siblings tend to look alike, sometimes."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Princess." Killian spoke kindly moving slowly toward Lily.

"Killian, don't." Emma warned.

"Why not? I'm amongst royals, I should kneel." He teased before falling gracefully to one knee. He held his hand out to Lily. She slowly rose her chin to meet his gaze. She placed her trembling palm to his.

"The pleasure."Lily's voice still trembling. "Mmmm" She cleared her throat gently. "The pleasure is mine."

"Do I frighten you, Little Love?" Killian's voice was dripping with concern and sincerity.

"Not at all" Lily forced a smile of her own, one much sadder than Emma's. Mother of the year, more like monster of the year. This is something she'd never feel good about.

"What's all this about then?" Killian stared intensely at her. "Your beautiful green eyes are pooling with the most heartbreaking tears."

"Allergies" Lily answered quickly, snatching her hand away from Killian's and running over to the love seat Mary Margaret was sitting on. Emma watched by as her mother wrapped her arms around Lily for comfort, kissing her temple and whispering words of encouragement.

"Sorry Killian" Mary Margaret frowned. Killian almost fell over as he was getting up, his mouth agape.

"Killian?" he murmured. "Milady, you've taken to calling me Killian now?"

"Have I?" Mary Margaret's voice was two octaves too high, giving off just how big her lie was. "Well, Emma must have said it too many times in the last five minutes, it's stuck in my brain. My pregnant brain. I'm pregnant as you can see, with Lily. I'm pregnant with my daughter, Lily. Who is here, from the future, and mine… ours… and I'm pregnant, with her."

"Yeah, we get it. You're pregnant with Lily." Emma glared at her mother. She should have left her at home, god knows that woman is incapable of keeping a secret.

"Right, congratulations." Killian smiled, finally risen from his knee. He turned back to Emma, offering a empathetic pout. Most likely because she confessed to the tinge of jealousy she felt over the pregnancy. "What a lovely pair of daughters you'll have."

If he complimented her one more time, she'd break down and tell the truth herself. She doesn't deserve any sort of kindness while betraying someone she called her 'friend.'

"All right, let's talk about the town. What the hell is going on here?" Emma began, pulling Killian over to the sofa across from her mother and daughter. He sat slowly, his eyes focused on the child staring intensely back at him. Emma's eyes darted between the two of them, noting the way Lily's nails dug into her palms, the way Killian insecurely scratched his ear, trying his hardest not to look back at her. Lily began chewing on her bottom lip, her eyes watering from not blinking once since he sat across from her.

"We don't know."Her mother's voice more stable now. "We watched you drive over the town line with Henry. Regina started to cast her spell to take us all back to the Enchanted Forest, and then…Everything went black."

Lily watched Killian as his eyes moved from one speaker to the next.

"The next thing we remember is waking up in our beds like it were any other morning in Storybrooke." David added.

"Except it clearly wasn't." Mary Margaret rubbed her stomach almost regrettably.

"Almost harvest time and you can't remember the…" Killian stared down at Lily before biting his tongue. "My apologies" He smiled shyly before scratching behind his ear once more. Lily released her bottom lip to reveal the tremble it had.

"Clearly a year has passed, I was in New York. I know that it did." Emma rolled her eyes as she spoke. She couldn't look at her anymore. She couldn't watch the torment she subjected her own daughter to.

"And we don't know where the hell we were. We don't know if we even left Storybrooke." David began to mumble with uncertainty.

"Aye, you did. I was with you all." Killian expelled. Emma focused more on Killian now, his remorseful tone, as if he's ashamed of something.

"In the Enchanted Forest?" Mary Margaret appeared astonished at best.

"Regina's spell brought us back. We spent a brief time with a Prince and Princess named Philip and Aurora. I wasn't feeling the community spirit so I ventured off on my own." Killian sighed, sitting back in his cushion. "Last I knew, you were headed to Regina's castle." He was definitely ashamed of something. Not only did Emma make a note to find out what, but to be sure it was something she could hold against him if this Lily-lie went sour. She'll deal with her fear of him hating her at another time.

"And now you're cursed. Why doesn't that surprise me?" It's not that she wanted Regina to be the villain. She knows that Regina has done her some good. She gave her a new life with memories and moments she always wanted. Even before then, Regina saved Henry, not Emma. She got his heart back, protected it from ever being stolen again. Her son's life is owed to that woman.

It's just, it would be so much easier if Regina were evil. Emma wouldn't regret taking her son away twice. She could find the villain in days, figure out how to stop her, and get the hell out of dodge. She knows that's selfish, but selfish is becoming her middle name.

"Aunt Gina did not do it." Lily spoke up, shaking Emma from her thoughts.

"Aunt who?" Emma turned to her mother, waiting for elaboration.

"Regina" Mary Margaret offered "In the future Lily refer's to her as Aunt Gina. It's cute, really"

"But isn't the queen your step-mother?" Killian too was apparently just as confused, and possibly turned off by the idea of it. His eyes flickered from Emma's parents to Lily. They widened a bit when he realized she was once again staring at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to criticize. Of course you can call her whatever you'd like, Princess."

"Don't apologize to me." Lily smiled sweetly. The sweetest sight however was Killian's answering smile, timid and perfectly timed. His eyes slowly filled with adoration as his lips curved in hesitation.

He was in love with her.

"I don't understand" David began as if her weren't present the last few minutes. "If you left the Enchanted Forest before the curse, how did you know to find Emma and come to Storybrooke?" Emma almost kicked herself wondering why she didn't ask that when she wondered the same thing herself.

"As he was sailing the realms, a bird landed on his ship's wheel." Lily answered, smiling more proudly now. She rubbed her palms against her jean-clad thighs as she rocked forward and back in enthusiasm. She did say this was the start of her favorite part of the story.

"Aye," Killian nodded to Lily before finishing. "With a note instructing me to retrieve Emma and bring her back here." 'Retrieve,' like she were a dog bone or something, not a human with a life and a world all her own. "There was a small vile of memory potion tied to its leg."

"Who sent it?" Mary Margaret all but gasped. This wasn't a bedtime story, this was a year of missing memories they were talking about.

"I assumed you did." Killian supplied glumly. Did he realize he assumed wrong somewhere in the recap? Emma turned to Lily who was holding in her lips as if she'd spill out secrets like a gushing dam.

"Message by bird, that does sound like you." Before the group can ponder too much on the sentiment, the door swings open, two dwarves strolling through at a quick pace. Leroy, the drunk that Emma has come to terms with and Happy, the one who still causes douche chills.

"We lost another one." Leroy laments. "We're down to five now."

"Four, actually, Bashful's not answering," Happy corrects.

"Wait! What is going on?" Emma feels another rush of frustration and another wave of danger storm right in with the dwarves.

"Thank God you're back sister" Leroy answers, only it's not an actual answer, so Mary Margaret steps in quickly.

"It's not just our memories that are missing" and Emma can feel the discouraging thoughts in her mother's mind. "Ever since we woke up people have begun disappearing"

"Whoever cursed us is picking us off one by one." Leroy adds as Emma feels the weight on the cushion beside her disappear.

"Who exactly is missing?" Emma asks fearful of whatever response she'll get.

"Beside those dwarves, we're not really sure" her father answers and the eeriness of the situation only thickens. "There's been a lot of confusion over the past few days, it's been hard to keep track of everyone"

Emma quickly runs through the people she'd hate to hear have disappeared. Neal springs to the top of her list. Without chancing a glance to Killian, who is now what feels like miles away from her, or Lily, who hasn't actually made eye contact with her since the loft, she sets herself to ask.

"Wait, Neal" Emma begins, holding strong to her father's gaze. "Is he here?"

Is it weird that she can feel Killian's sharp intake, deep exhale, and direct glare?

"Well, we haven't found him yet." Her mother sets it up like there's much reason to hope.

"So he might have been taken too?" As much as Emma wants to ignore the pain the idea of that leaves her with, she's too busy ignoring the way Lily tenses up beside Mary Margaret.

"Smart money's on yes." Leroy supplies like the grump he's always been. Where there's hope, there's pessimists.

"Leroy!" Mary Margaret scolds. Hope is having none of that.

"He'll turn up Swan." Killian's voice is scratchier, more distraught. She looks to him, in the dark corner of the room, not allowing his line of sight to raise above a foot from the ground. That's the brooding pirate she remembers. "He always does."

Just like in Neverland.

"Some folks are starting to set up camp at the edge of town, he might be there." David attempts another stab at that hope thing. His counterpart sure to follow up.

"Or he might have not gotten swept up in the curse at all." Her mother adds, like clockwork. The only thing is, that's not exactly a hopeful sentiment. If Emma were wishing him here, him not coming over with the curse doesn't make things better. The only question was 'is she wishing he were here?'

"There's only one way we're going to figure this all out." Emma begins, rising from the couch, initiating the end to a dead end conversation. "We need to get your memories back." Without them, they have nothing to go on, and no where to go with the nothing they've found.

"How are we going to do that?" Mary Margaret doesn't seem so hopeful now.

"By finding out who took them in the first place." Emma replies with determination, leaving little to be discussed.

Perhaps there were more to be discussed, but she's frankly just damn tired of talking. Tired in general. There's nothing more they can do tonight so she calls the conversation to a close.

"We'll start first thing tomorrow. A patrol around the town line after breakfast, a town hall meeting after lunch and by dinner, we will be at least one step closer to solving this mystery." Emma nodded to prove her point. The rest of the room nodded back in agreement, minus Lily, who was still watching her father like a hawk. Even Killian nodded before moving toward the door.

"Are you leaving?" Lily spoke up too quickly, jumping off the couch in a scared hurry. "Now? Are you leaving right now?" Killian spun on his heels to face Lily, face flushed as if he'd been caught.

"Yeah?" Emma questions, stepping around the couch and closer to him as David walked the dwarves out. Lily moved to Emma's side without notice. "You're just going to duck out? I have your room key."

"Right." Killian lent a fake smile in Emma's direction before meeting Lily's eye level, once again on bended knee. The very knee Lily swore to Emma he'd fall to. It was sickening how well this child knew him. "And how rude of me to leave your presence without a proper goodbye. Goodnight, Little-Love"

"Lilylove" Lily corrected. "In the future, I'm Lilylove to you" Her smile was brighter than Emma's seen since meeting her. Killian's smile was brighter still. It started from his eyes, the way they crinkle in the corners when he's truly happy. Like when he came to her apartment that first morning. His lips turned into the most boyish of grins, his dimples deeper than she's ever seen.

Apparently Emma wasn't the only one stealing glances at him. She suddenly felt her mother's hand on her shoulder, turning to meet yet another disappointed expression.

"Is that so?" he was beaming. Had they still been in New York, had she been New York-Emma, she might have fallen in love with him based on his happy moments alone. She isn't New York Emma and her mother's request for attention this time came a little more sternly with a nudge to her shoulder. Emma whipped her head around to glare back this time, only to find Mary Margaret mouthing 'tell him.'

'Too late' Emma mouthed back before focusing her attentions once again on his interaction with their daughter.

"Why's that?" he continued. "Are we close?"

"Oh, impossibly so" Lily answered back cheerfully. "I'm your first mate"

"A princess and a sailor?" He chuckled a bit, earning him a furrowed brow from the little girl.

"A princess and a pirate, Captain" Lily corrected. "A darn good one too!" Another laugh ruptured from the pirate's throat before extending his hand to Lily. She took it without hesitation this time, more confident now than before. Then he brought it to his lips, planting a gentle kiss across her tiny knuckles before bowing his head.

"Goodnight my pirate-princess. I hope to see you tomorrow, Lilylove" And with that he stood from her level, allowing her hand to gently fall from his.

If Emma had to pinpoint the moment Lily's reality returned, it would have been then, when her father was no longer holding her hand, but planning his leave. Emma noticed her wide green eyes turn somber, her perfect lower lip jut out in a pout, and her shoulders tense in anxiety.

"Lily, you'll see him tomorrow, it's okay." Mary Margaret promised. "Killian, would you be sure to join us for breakfast before you break my daughter's heart?" The way his eyes turned down in Emma's direction made her unsure of which daughter he'd thought of hurting.

Easy, her, Mary Margaret only has one daughter and it's her.

"Of course." He smiled a bit more sincerely to her mother than he did Emma, but his smile faded too quickly to tell when he addressed Emma. "Swan, may I have my key?"

"I'll walk you" Emma supplied.

"I don't wish to rush you along from your parents, who've not seen you for a year. Just allow me my key, I'll bid you all a goodnight." Killian's attempts at persuasion were usually better executed. Not only was he trying to get away, but he was flustered about it.

She'll tell herself she's not giving in because they're friends and she just wants to make sure he's okay. Whatever the real reason may be, she won't face because this one fits the occasion. It also doesn't make her feel completely messed up inside and out.

"Do you have a fresh bottle of rum upstairs?" Emma joked. "One sec okay?" She turned to her mother, giving her a disapproving look of her own, before turning to Lily. "Hey kid, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Whatever" Lily shrugged her shoulders. "Long as Ki…Killian's there." Lily swallowed painfully before walking back to the couch. It was killing her to lie to him, to pretend, which is why Emma didn't take the cold shoulder to heart, just mind. She'd lay awake for hours tonight, thinking of all the circles of hell she'd acquired from this one.

"Cool." Emma shook it off outwardly, moving past her mother to guide Killian out and back through the stairwell to the floor they were staying on.

They were a bit more than 20 feet away when she turned to him, finding a tense expression staining his otherwise handsome features. His breathe seemed labored, which unless the man turned into a couch potato during the lost year, did not transpire from physical inabilities.

"Hey?" Emma nudged him gently, earning her a death glare.

"What?" He replied, sourly.

"What?" Emma repeated. "What do you mean 'what?' What's wrong with you?" And before the savior knew it, she was hauled against a nearby wall, his hand pressed beside her head, his face too close for… she would say comfort, but this was oddly familiar. "Killian?"

"Tell me the truth." He demanded in a low, slightly threatening tone. "Tell me the truth Emma because that's what friends do."

"What are you talking about?" Because if she could play dumb well enough, maybe he'd leave it alone.

"Lillian" He breathed, his tone was defeated and painfully sad. He's never sounded this exhausted.

Emma considered her options. If he found out now, he'd still hate her, but slightly less than if he found out later. If he never found out at all, things would be that much easier for her.

Left with deciding between what's easy for her and what's right, Emma Swan in any other zip code would have chosen easy. Here she was the savior, she was all goodness and light and she was obligated to choose right.

Except this had nothing to do with saving anyone, so why do the demands of her birthright get in the way of her personal life so often. She could choose easy. It wouldn't ruin the universe's design. Choosing easy is not only, well, easy, but more appealing in the long run. Choosing right just seems wrong.

"What about her?" She answered after a pregnant pause.

"Who is she?"

"We told you."

"No, David told me, and your mother who did that peculiar pitchy voice she does when she's not being entirely honest."

"I thought the open book thing was something special between us." Emma flirted, because she was desperate and maybe he'd just fall for it. She licked her bottom lip, leaning forward, their faces now only inches apart.

"Emma" he whispered. "is she honestly your sister from the future?"

"Yes," she lied. She lied so easily and for a moment, she thought she was out of the woods until she heard small spattering footsteps against the hardwood, leading straight to them.

"I'm sorry, I can't!" Lily shouted from behind Killian.

Emma pushed him away quickly, moving to pull Lily aside before she blew it.

"Daddy"