Hey everyone! So updates might not be as frequent as they have been recently because my internet will be going down for a few days next week so sorry about that. How did you all like the little Captain Swan moments last chapter? I hope you liked them because there's a bit more this chapter. It's not as long but I thought that it would be a good place to end the chapter. And for all you Snowing fans - don't worry, they will be the main focus for the next chapter as this is primarily a Captain Swan story with little moments from other ships. Anyway, I'mma stop rambling and let you read the chapter. R&R please!


Chapter 8: Cloudy to Clear

As soon as Emma was out of her apartment she let a scowl cloud her face. It had taken so much control to appear calm and placating towards Henry and Killian that she thought her face my split in half from the effort. But there was no one to put on a show for now, and Emma was furious. Archie had specifically told Emma to be careful about how she spoke about Henry's fantasies when they had first met, and now he had done the exact thing he had told her not to. Emma's anger propelled her forward, allowing her to reach Archie's office in less than five minutes.

"Archie! Archie!" she shouted, banging on the door. Not having the patience to wait and see if he was with a client, she opened the door and barged into the room. "What did you do? You told me not to take the fantasy away, you told me it would devastate him!"

Emma just couldn't see how someone who was supposed to care about Henry so much could do that to him, knowing how much it would upset him.

"When a course of therapy stops working, you adjust it," Archie said, not meeting Emma's burning gaze.

"Is it her? Did she threaten you?" Emma asked immediately, knowing that Regina would have something to do with it. "What could be strong enough to drown out your own conscience?"

"I do not defend my professional decision to you, okay?" Archie burst out.

Emma was just about to reply to tell him that when it concerns her son he does, but her phone began to ring before she got the chance.

"Hello, Madame Mayor. Nice work," Emma said furiously.

"You with him?" Regina asked.

"Yes, I'm with Dr Hopper, and guess what? You left your fingerprints all over him when you-"

"Not him. Henry. Is he with you?" Regina interrupted.

Emma's stomach dropped.

"Killian dropped Henry off at your office an hour ago."

"Well, he's not here," Regina said, her voice hitching as she realised what this meant.

"I don't know where he is," Emma admitted. She heard Archie sigh.

"I do," he told her.


After Killian had dropped Henry off at Regina's office he drove to the other side of town so that he wouldn't be tempted to pay Dr Hopper a visit. Killian parked his car up near Henry's castle and made his way down to the beach. Normally, Killian was quite laid-back about everything. Nothing ever really phased him. But whenever someone managed to hurt Henry he always felt this burning rage in the pit of his stomach that threatened to consume him. It scared the hell out of him, but he just couldn't help it. He never chanced being around the person who had hurt Henry because he knew he wouldn't be able to control whatever it was that overcame him. That's why he drove as far and as fast as he could to get away from Archie, because Emma was right. There probably was some sort of logical explanation to all of this, but Killian knew that all logic would go out of the window if he saw the doctor.

Killian looked out to the ocean, as if expecting he would find the answers to all of the questions he had. At the minute, the majority of those questions seemed to be centralised around Emma. The deputy sighed and ran a hand over his face tiredly. If he was confused about Emma before, he had no bloody clue now. It was easier when Emma was definitely against the idea of being in a relationship, even just a friendship. Her initial reluctance was what intrigued Killian in the first place, and when he had come to know her better his attraction to her had only grown stronger. Although Killian did want to try and break Emma's walls down, now that it was actually starting to happen he didn't know what to do. Less than two weeks ago, Emma was uncomfortable about the idea of him being a friend to her. Now though… things were definitely changing. Killian couldn't get Emma out of his head, and he could tell that he was having an effect on her, too. He smirked a little at that, his ego inflating just slightly.

He was snapped out of his reverie by his phone ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and smirked.

"Miss me already, Swan?" he answered.

"Killian, you need to meet me right now," Emma said, panic clear in her voice.

"What's wrong, love?" Killian said, becoming deadly serious.

"It's Henry. Regina said that he's not at her office and Archie thinks he might be heading to the mines to get proof for Operation Cobra."

Killian's heart skipped a beat. He could barely breathe. He was completely stunned into silence, like the world had just stopped turning. As soon as it had arrived, the moment passed and Killian snapped into action. "I'll meet you at the mine in fifteen minutes," he said as he was running back to his car and started the engine. He revved the engine up. "Maybe ten."


"Henry! Henry!" Emma cried, running down the entrance of the mine.

"Henry!" shouted Archie. Pongo rushed passed him, sniffing the entrance. "What you got there, Pongo?" he asked, following him.

"Emma!"

Emma turned round to see Killian running towards her. He came to a stop in front of her.

"I came as fast as I could. You alright?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Emma said unconvincingly, making Killian raise an eyebrow at her. "I don't think he's here," Emma told him, ignoring Killian's expression.

"I think he is," came Archie's voice. Killian and Emma looked up at him to see him holding a candy wrapper up, Emma's expression anxious while Killian's was furious. Before Emma could realise what was happening, Killian stormed passed Emma towards Archie. He grabbed him roughly by the collar, absolutely seething.

"This is your bloody fault, Hopper," Killian growled. "If you hadn't have made Henry feel like he had something to prove he wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Killian, hey!" Emma shouted, pulling Killian away from Archie who was gingerly tugging at his collar. Killian didn't even look at Emma as she stood between him and Archie, his gaze focused intently on the doctor.

"I'm sorry, Killian, Emma. I had no idea he would do something this rash," Archie tried to say.

"Well a lot of bloody use that is now. You should have thought about that before you shattered his world," Killian shot back.

"Enough," Emma said, giving Killian a hard shove to turn his attention away from Archie. He lowered his eyes to meet Emma's and she saw his expression soften slightly. "Arguing isn't going to help Henry now," she said, looking between the two men. Killian gave a sigh, and Emma knew that she had him on side for now.

"This isn't over," Killian said, pointing at Archie before he walked away from him, putting some distance between them. Emma gave an awkward smile to Archie before she walked over to Killian.

"Thank you," Emma said.

"Don't thank me yet, Swan, we still need to get Henry out of there," Killian said tightly, the anger in his voice being replaced by anxiety. Emma was just about to reply when ground shuddered like it had that morning. Dread filled her chest as she and Killian looked at each other for a split second before they both took off running to the entrance.

"Henry!" they screamed over and over again, as if the sounds of his name would make him reappear in front of them.

"Henry!" Archie shouted. "Henry, it's not safe." He stepped further into the entrance.

"Henry!" Killian cried, nearing the entrance as Archie had. Emma looked above the entrance and saw that there was no way it would be able to hold its own weight for much longer.

"Killian, stop!" Emma shouted, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the entrance.

"Let go of me, Swan!" Killian said, jerking his hand back. Emma ignored him.

"Archie!" she cried. But she was a fraction of a second too late. The ground gave another shake and the entrance collapsed, sealing Archie inside.

"Archie! Henry!"

Emma waited for a reply, but everything was silent save for her own breathing and Killian's.

"Why did you stop me, Swan? I could have reached it in time," Killian said, annoyance filling his voice.

Emma whirled around, frustration boiling up inside of her. "No, you wouldn't have and then you would be stuck in there, too! I couldn't let you do that. It's bad enough Henry is down there but I couldn't have two people I care about trapped in there," she screamed, her eyes brimming with tears.

Killian stood rooted to the spot, absorbing the shock of her words. Then he walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her. Emma's arms came up automatically and wrapped around his waist. She buried her head into his shoulder, breathing in the smell of leather.

"Shh, hey, it's okay, Swan. He's a smart lad, we'll get him back," Killian said, rubbing small circles on her back.

"I can't lose him, Killian. Not when I've only just got him back," Emma said, her tears softly spilling over.

"You won't," he replied with so much sincerity that Emma almost believed him. Almost.


Within half an hour, half the town had showed up at the entrance to the mine. The fire department was there, and Graham had showed up, along with Marco, Ruby, and Regina. They were all clustered round the entrance of the mine as some workers began to cautiously remove bits of rock and debris to see if they could clear a path. Emma and Killian stood shoulder to shoulder, almost touching, subconsciously seeking comfort from one another as they watched on intently with the hope that Henry will be alright.

"Archie is smart," Marco said, appearing behind the two deputies. "He'll keep the boy safe until we get to them."

Emma suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Archie was Marco's best friend, he must be worried sick. Emma felt as though she hadn't done enough to stop Archie from following Henry compared to how she had physically dragged Killian away from the collapse.

All of a sudden the ground started shaking again. Regina appeared at Emma's side. "Stop! You're making it worse!"

Emma turned to face her. "I am trying to save him. You know why he went down there in the first place, don't you? Because you made him feel like he had something to prove!"

"And why does he think he has anything to prove? Who's encouraging him?"

"Do not put this on me!" Emma yelled.

"Oh please, lecture me until his oxygen runs out," Regina shot back, walking away before anyone could see her cry.

Emma glared after her, fuming, before her vision was blocked by black leather. She looked up and saw Killian raising an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"Remember what you told me about Archie, Swan?" he asked.

Emma looked away and sighed, knowing that he was right. She looked back up at him and nodded. Killian stepped out of her way and nodded his head in the direction of Regina. Reluctantly, Emma walked over to her.

"We have to stop arguing. We won't accomplish anything," Emma reasoned.

"No, we won't," Regina agreed.

Emma looked up and hoped that this was all a bad dream, not believing what she was about to say. "What do you want me to do?"

Regina looked her in the eye, equally as reluctant about what she was going to ask Emma.

"Help me."


Back in the mines, Archie was feeling exhausted. The mine dust seemed to stick to their clothes and skin no matter how many times they had tried to brush it off, and it had felt like they'd been walking for hours to find a way out. Of course, now they were following the sound of Pongo's bark so they at least had a little hope.

"It's loudest over here," Archie said, scurrying over to a corner of the mine.

"What's this?" Henry asked as Archie moved a sheet of metal out the way.

"It's like an old elevator to get mine workers in or out," Archie replied. "It goes all the way to the top. That's why we can hear Pongo!"

"Can we make it work?" Henry asked hopefully.

"Let's give it a go," Archie shrugged.

Back outside the mine, everyone was moving back from the entrance after the explosives had been put in place to try and clear the entrance.

"Okay, we're all clear," Emma said. She joined the others as they made their way behind the trucks to take shelter from the blast.

Archie and Henry were trying with all their might to twist the wheel on the elevator, their arms aching from the effort.

Emma joined Killian as she crouched down behind a truck. Her nerves were absolutely shot and she had been unable to keep still since she had found out that Henry was in the mines. Killian grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Emma looked up at him and smiled, squeezing back in appreciation.

Regina looked towards the entrance with grim determination. "Blow it."

Just as Archie and Henry managed to move the elevator slightly, the explosion rang out and they were sent plummeting downwards. Archie grabbed a hold of Henry and held him tight, both of them fearing for their lives. When the elevator came to a halt they looked at each other, relief rolling off them in waves.

Emma ran through the smoke caused by the blast with Killian hot on her heels. She came to a stop when the smoke began to clear and her stomach dropped at the sight of the blocked entrance. Emma and Killian shared an anxious look before they turned back to tell the others.

"Did it work?" Regina asked.

"It didn't open," Emma said regretfully.

"Then what did it do?" Graham asked.

Honestly, no one dared to think about what it could have done. Before anyone could say anything else, Regina took off in the direction of the detonators. Emma ran after her, seeing that she was about to unleash her wrath on whichever unfortunate worker she came across first.

"What was that? What the hell was that? You said you could do this," Regina screamed at them.

"Madame Mayor," Emma said, holding a placating hand out to try and calm her. Probably not the best move.

"They could have killed my son!"

"Yes, but this isn't helping, Regina," Killian said, trying not to let his worry seep into his voice.

"If we knew exactly where they were, we could drill down to them," Marco suggested.

It was then that the sound of Pongo's barking caught Emma's attention. She frowned slightly, and tilted her head to the truck that Pongo was in. Killian was watching her, wondering what she was thinking (when wasn't he, these days?). He turned his gaze away from her to see Pongo in the truck and he realised what she was thinking.

"Maybe. Maybe we can make something to bring them back up," Marco continued.

"A driller," said Graham.

"What do you think we…" Regina began, before she noticed Emma opening the door for Pongo.

"Come on, buddy," Emma said as the Dalmatian bounded out of the truck and began sniffing the ground.

"It's Archie's dog," Killian explained to them.

"He's found something," Emma said, following pongo to the spot where he had settled at. "Look, this is where they must be."

Graham, Marco and Killian removed a large metal covering to reveal a gaping hole blocked off by grates.

"What is that?" Emma asked.

"It's an air shaft," Graham responded. The group looked at each other nervously. This could be it.


"I'm really, really, really sorry," Henry said, sitting down next to Archie.

"It's alright," Archie said. Killian was right, it was his fault Henry was even down there in the first place.

"I just wanted to find proof," Henry explained, sounding utterly defeated.

"You know, it's really alright, Henry. And um, um, I'm sorry, too. Look, I… I don't think you're crazy. I-I just… I just think you got a very strong mother, who's got a clear idea of a path that she wants you to be on and when you step off that she… she gets scared. And, you know, it's natural. But it's also natural for you to be able to be free to think the things that you want to think. So anyway, I… I didn't mean those things I said and I never should have said them," Archie said, the guilt over what he had done to Henry weighing down on him even more now that he had admitted it.

"Alright, why did you?" Henry asked, his childish curiosity knowing no bounds.

"I guess I'm just not a good person. I'm not the man I wanna be."

"I think you can be him. I think you can be a good person. I mean, you're Jiminy Cricket," Henry reassured him.

"Henry, Henry, Jiminy Cricket was a- he was a cricket, okay? And he was a conscience… and- and I hardly think that's me," Archie insisted, failing once again to understand Henry's reasoning behind all of this.

"But before that, he was a guy who took a long time to figure out the right thing to do," Henry said with a small smile.

Archie paused for a while, taking his words into consideration. "He kinda sounds like me," he eventually admitted.

"Now it's harder for you, because of the curse, to care for the voice inside of you, to be who you wanna be."

The elevator began to shake again.

"Hey, can I ask you again?" Archie said suddenly.

"Ask what?"

"Why do you think it's so important that your… your fairy tale theory is true?"

"I don't know," Henry said, realising that it was important for so many other reasons than what he had previously thought.

"Give it a shot," Archie said encouragingly.

Henry thought for a moment. "'Cause this can't be all there is."

"I understand."

"I thought if I found proof… But I didn't find anything," Henry said dejectedly, his eyes downcast.

"That's not true. I was lost when you found me, right?"

"You mean, you remember?" Henry asked hopefully.

"No, Henry. I- I don't remember. But I- I do remember the kind of person I wanna be. I just got to listen harder," Archie said, smiling at Henry.


"I've got a harness," Graham announced.

"Lower me down," Regina said immediately.

"Oh, no way, I'm going," Emma said, taking the harness off Graham before Regina could.

"He's my son!"

To hell with it, Emma, just admit it. "He's my son, too."

Everyone looked slightly taken aback by her words, except Killian who just smiled in Emma's direction. "You've been sitting behind a desk for ten years, I can do this," she reasoned.

Regina sighed. "Just bring him to me," she conceded.

She stood back as Emma strapped herself into the harness. Killian walked over to her to make sure everything was secure.

"You sure you don't want me to do this, Swan?" he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

Emma shot him a defensive look. "What, you don't think I can do it?"

Killian gave a shaky chuckle. "Quite the opposite, I have absolute faith in you," he said, his statement catching Emma off-guard. "Just, promise me you'll be careful," he asked her, not caring that his nonchalant pretence went out the window. He would be a liar if he said he wasn't scared about her not coming back up.

Emma smiled at him and nodded reassuringly before she stepped back and lowered herself down the air shaft.


Pieces of rock dropping down from the top of the elevator caused Henry and Archie to look up and see a light flashing at them.

"Wh- what's that?" Henry asked, squinting his eyes.

"I think that's the rescue," Archie said with a beaming smile.

"You guys okay?" came Emma's voice.

"Yeah, we're- we're okay," Archie responded.

"Hang on, Henry. Okay, that's good, stop."

"Here you go. Up," Archie said as he passed Henry up to Emma.

"Come on, I gotcha. Okay. Okay, I got him," Emma said, holding Henry in her arms.

"You got him? Is he safe?" Archie asked, making sure he could let go. Just then the elevator gave an almighty shake, the worst one yet.

"Archie?" Emma said, her voice dripping with panic.

"It's going to fall," Archie cried.

"I'm sorry!" Emma told him sincerely, wishing there was so much more she could have done for him.

"It's okay," Archie reassured her.

"Archie!" Emma cried as the elevator dropped.

All hope seemed to have been lost, but Archie had managed to hook his umbrella through Emma's harness. All three of them let out a shaky laugh of relief before they were pulled out of the ground. Emma passed Henry up to Killian's waiting hands as soon as they broke the surface.

Killian lifted Henry up and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh, thank God," Killian exclaimed. Henry wrapped his arms round Killian's neck and his legs around his waist and hugged him back with all his might. Killian placed Henry back down and tried to give him a stern look but he was just so bloody relieved he couldn't muster it. "You gave us all one hell of a scare, lad." Henry looked down sheepishly but was swept into Regina's arms before he could respond.

Meanwhile, Graham had helped pull Emma up and Marco had helped Archie out.

"Thanks," Emma said to Graham, who was still holding her hand like she might fall back into the mine.

"Swan!"

Emma barely had time to register Killian's voice before he was hugging her. She smiled and hugged him back, feeling his frantic heartbeat through the cotton of his t-shirt.

"I told you I'd be careful," she said as she pulled back with a cheeky smirk.

"And I told you we'd get him back," Killian replied, relief written all over his face that Henry and Emma were safe.

Graham was left feeling incredibly awkward, and as always, jealous at Killian's interaction with Emma. He had just pulled Emma out of the hole and yet Killian was the one that Emma ended up hugging. Graham wasn't even aware that they were that close; he thought they'd only crossed paths a couple of times. Unless… Maybe they were closer than Graham realised and Killian had just neglected to tell Graham for some reason.

Emma had rushed over to Henry after she and Killian had finished their little… well, whatever it was. "Are you okay, Henry?" Emma asked, reaching to pull him into a hug. The only thing in her way was Regina.

"Deputy, you can clear the crowd away," Regina brushed her off. Emma was about to storm passed her and take Henry away from her, screw her orders, but Killian grabbed her wrist and pulled her back as Regina took Henry away. Emma glanced at him questioningly.

"Later," Killian muttered. "You don't want to cause a scene now and have Regina make something up about how you're smothering him after a traumatic event. We'll catch up to him soon."

Emma nodded in agreement, knowing that Killian was right, and reluctantly walked away to put the harness back. All she wanted to do was hug her son after being so frantic while he was in the mines, and once again she was reminded that he wasn't her son. She had given that right up a long time ago and now she had to live with it. That didn't mean that she wasn't gonna try her hardest to make things better for Henry, and maybe even herself along the way.


After the excitement of the day had worn off, the crowds began to dwindle until eventually no one was left at the site besides Emma, Henry, Killian, Archie and Marco. The latter two were talking animatedly as Killian approached. Upon noticing him, Marco said something about finding out where Emma had put the harness and excused himself. Killian flashed him a brief smile as he walked passed him, his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Archie," he nodded. "Look, I just wanted to apologise for how I acted earlier-"

"There's nothing to apologise for, Killian. It was wrong of me to let Regina's threats cloud my professional judgement and my conscience. You had every right to react the way you did," Archie interrupted him.

"That's the thing though. I don't have any right to question you; I'm not Henry's legal guardian and therefore it shouldn't be any of my concern," Killian said, sounding defeated. As much as he tried to kid himself into thinking he had made a difference for Henry, there was no real reason for him to get so worked up about the boy. "It's just… When I see Henry upset… I can't explain it. I just feel so powerless to help him and it makes me so angry."

"That's your protective nature, Killian. Every parent has it," Archie said.

Killian's head shot up. "Parent?"

"You really don't know how much you mean to Henry, do you? He talks about you a lot in our sessions. You're the only father figure he's ever known, and he really looks up to you, Killian. So, while you may not have any legal rights, you are certainly entitled to feel protective about Henry. Because before Emma came along, sometimes I felt like you were the only person that really did have his best interests at heart," Archie told him sincerely.

Killian was speechless. His mouth gaped open trying to form the words but none would come to him. Henry thought of him as a father figure! His heart swelled at the very thought of it – he'd always wanted a son. All these years, he'd never realised that in a way he sort of already did. Killian smiled to himself briefly before he stuck his hand out to Archie.

"Thank you, Archie. For looking after him, and well, for everything else, I suppose," Killian said.

Archie grasped his hand and shook it.

"It's my pleasure, Killian."


Emma and Henry were watching Archie and Killian's display from the small slope they were sitting on. Every time she looked at him, Emma couldn't help but think of the way Killian's arms had wrapped around her and held her close. She had felt so safe there, safer than she had in years – like she didn't have to have her walls up anymore. But then they broke apart, and reality had snapped back into place like a rubber band. Still, Emma knew that Killian was changing her, and she had a feeling it would be for the better.

"Why are you smiling?" Henry asked her, following her gaze to look in Killian's direction.

"No reason, I'm just happy that you're safe," Emma told him, tearing her gaze away from the deputy. "You know, you really scared me."

"I'm sorry," Henry said sheepishly, looking up at her. Emma heart constricted, and she knew she couldn't stay mad at him. He was her son, and all she cared about at the minute was that he was safe.

"Come on then, we'd better get you home," Emma said, standing up as Archie and Killian approached. She noticed how Killian was grinning like the Cheshire Cat and raised an eyebrow at him in question. He just shook his head at her, telling her that it was nothing.

"Hey! Listen," Henry said. The group fell silent, and everything was quiet save for the chirping of…

"Crickets," Archie said, smiling at Henry as if this was a joke that only they understood.

"Things are changing," Henry said.

"That they are, lad," Killian said, scooping Henry up and putting him on his back in a piggy back lift. The last thing that was heard of that night was Henry's laughter and Killian ran around with him on his back.