A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner, musie has been rather morbid lately and will only come up with angsty tragic stuff. Had to wrestle this one out of her. A little shorter than the other ones, but I hope you like it anyway. Thanks to all who read, review, favourite and follow this. Love you madly!
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time. Not even a little bit. Not even Hook's leather pants. Kitsis, Horowitz, and the ABC Network have the honours. I don't own the classic song Leap of Faith by Bruce Springsteen either. Boo.
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust
-Bruce Springsteen (Leap of Faith)
"Well, you were offering your heart, weren't you?" Regina asked slyly.
"I'm merely accepting your offer. With your heart in my possession, I - we," She corrected herself after noticing a glare from Emma. "Can be ensured of your loyalty to us. It also gives a plausible excuse as to why you've sided with us over Cora, should Rumple question it."
"Whoa, wait a minute Regina," Snow interceded. "We haven't decided whether or not we were going to actually do that!"
"When was it ever really up for debate?" Regina shot back. "Don't deny that what I've said makes sense. Besides, it's not like I'm wrenching a heart from an unwilling victim, this one actually volunteered."
"Just because he volunteered doesn't mean that we should do it. Taking a heart is never the right thing to do." Snow insisted.
"So, leaving his heart where it is for either Cora or Rumplestiltskin to get it and either crush it or use it against us is the right thing to do? Why can't you see that its for his own safety as well as our reassurance that he won't switch sides if Cora offers him a better deal!" Regina argued.
"Ordinarily, I'd revel in the sight of three beautiful women fighting over me," Killian smirked, looking like he was about to add more when he noticed the glare that Emma was aiming at him. "However, since our discussions involve the fate of my heart, perhaps I should weigh in on the matter."
He paused, smirking at the expectant looks on Regina and Snow's faces before continuing on.
"Regina has conjured an interesting plan, one that just might work. I would agree that the Rumplestiltskin would find my allegiance to you more believable if he thought my heart was being held captive by the evil queen. I'd rather not have him kill me before we can end him. And I am still willing to surrender my heart as proof of my loyalty, however-"
"Emma, is the one that will take possession of my heart, not Regina," he said with a rare sincere smile on his face. "Emma is the one whom I trust to keep it safe."
"Really?" Scoffed Regina. "Didn't she leave you behind when she took the portal from Lake Nostos to Storybrooke? And didn't I hear something about you leaving him at a Giant's castle after he went with you up a beanstalk? And those bracers you're wearing, those are my mother's. I doubt that she would have given them to you so that you can let the saviour use them. You stole them from her didn't you? You stole them from her, helped the royal family get whatever they needed to open the portal, they left you behind and she is the one that you trust?"
"Yes." He answered with a smug grin, knowing how much it would irritate Regina.
"Am I the only one who finds it strange that rather than seeking some sort of retribution for their encounters in the Enchanted Forrest, Hook instead is awfully eager to hand his heart over to the Saviour?" Regina pointed out.
"You still think this is some plot concocted by Cora," scoffed Killian. "Even though I'm willing to have my heart torn from my chest?"
"You have to admit, your offer does seem out of character," Snow diplomatically replied. "On top of that you say you want to ally yourself with us, offering your heart as a massive gesture of loyalty, despite the fact that you and Emma didn't part under the best of circumstances. And I can't imagine it to be a pleasant experience to have your heart taken from you. You can see why we're a little leery about it, can't you?"
"I understand what she did and why she did it," Killian sighed, speaking to all of them but looking directly at Emma. "And though I was…upset at first, alright - I was seething with anger after she left me in the Giant's castle - after some consideration I eventually realized that I couldn't blame her really. I bought and paid for my reputation with the blood I've spilt in the centuries I sought my revenge. And I did claim that I was willing to give my allegiance to whomever will take me to Storybrooke. What she did, leaving me behind wasn't done out of malice or revenge, but because she was trying to return to and protect the people she loves. We have an understanding now, I've pledged her my loyalty and have promised the proof of it with my heart.
"Regina is right Swan," he said quietly, taking a step towards Emma. "Taking my heart will ensure that I remain resolutely on your side, and it gives me the reassurance that Cora won't take it and crush it for betraying her, or force me to work against you. It also provides me some protection from The Crocodile as well. We have to do this in order to defeat Cora and protect your boy from Rumplestiltskin.
"This is what trust looks like Emma," he said gently, taking her hand and placing it over his heart. "I trust you."
Emma never considered herself to be an overly emotional person. Time and experience have taught her to grow a tougher skin, but something in Killian's words and the way he said them sparked something in her, and she felt a soothing warmth inside her grow, starting in her chest and radiating all the way to her toes and fingers. She could feel his heartbeat, strong and true, through his shirt and against her fingertips. She closed her eyes, and behind the dark of her closed eyelids she could hear his pulse, see his heart just beyond her hand. It didn't look like the hearts she's seen in those scientific diagrams in high school biology textbooks that she barely opened. It was smaller, slimmer than she expected, as though it had been cut in half. Overtop the bright red glow of his heartbeat were raised dark, thick and angry patches that were toughened and warped, like scar tissue. The blackened scar tissue spanned nearly the whole organ so that you could hardly see the red glow of the humanity that was left in him. Woven into the scar tissue were purple webs of pain still on the surface, ready to break open and bleed. The condition of his heart should have scared her, should have made Emma wonder if getting involved with someone so damaged would be wise, but then she saw it; delicate golden strands outlining the darkened areas. They were faint at the moment, but they were growing stronger and brighter, wrapping around the damaged areas, reaching out to the webs of pain. Somehow Emma knew that it was the fragile hope he clung to, the vestiges of the good man he once was, the good man he could be again if given the chance.
She longed to reach that part of him, to heal those scars, to help ease his pain and keep his heart safe. In her mind she reached out, gently caressing his heart with her hand. There was a soft, golden pulse of light before the image of his heart faded.
It was then that she heard a gasp, several really. She slowly opened her eyes to find Killian's endless blue gaze capturing hers again.
"I knew you could do it lass," he beamed at her, his eyes filled with awe and affection. "Seems my trust in you is well placed."
Emma felt herself leaning towards him, feeling drunk on his belief in her, the warm, affectionate feelings it produced, and an odd, buzzing sensation she felt in every cell in her body.
"How the hell did you do that?" Regina's snapped, breaking the moment between her and Killian. "Something's off here, that was way too easy. It took me weeks to learn how to pull out a heart and you did it on your first try? And for some strange reason he looked like he actually enjoyed it. How did you manage to take out his heart and not have him writhing on the floor in agony?"
"What?" she murmured, still feeling dazed and shaking her head, not sure what Regina was referring to. That is, until she looked down and saw Killian's heart in her hand, appearing just as it had when she saw it behind her closed eyes.
"It certainly looks like it could be his," Muttered Regina, appearing at her side and taking a glance at the organ in her hand. "Here, pass it to me."
"What?" Emma asked, the stupor she was feeling finally starting to wear off.
"Is that the only word you're capable of saying right now?" huffed Regina. "Hand me the heart so we can test it and make sure it's his. Frankly speaking, with the way you just effortlessly plucked it from him, I doubt it."
"Jealous Regina?" chuckled Killian. "She's already tossed you on your arse tonight. Or are you afraid that her magic is just that much more powerful than yours?"
"Don't tempt me into doing something that you'll regret pirate," snarled Regina, staring at for the heart in Emma's hand with a wicked glee. "I'm going to enjoy taking your heart for a test drive."
"We shouldn't be playing around with his heart," admonished Snow, still nervous about Emma handling a heart.
"Oh…oh god…oh god I have a heart in my hands," Emma started to chant, the absurd reality of the moment hitting her. "Oh god…there's a live human heart in my hands! What do I do?"
"First of all, don't squeeze it." Killian quipped, feeling oddly light and unperturbed by the fact that the necessary organ was no longer in his chest.
"Yeah Captain Obvious, got it," she barked back, cradling it nervously between her two hands. "Any other helpful hints?"
"Not dropping it would be good as well." he chuckled.
"Really?" muttered Emma. "Seriously? You decide now to become a comedian?"
"Hey, if I can laugh about this, you ought to be able to as well," Killian pointed out good naturedly. "After all, you've got my heart in your hands."
"We should make sure it's really his," muttered Regina, pulling Emma up the stairs and into Emma's room. "Watch him for any uncharacteristic behaviour."
"What kind of uncharacteristic behaviour?" asked David wearily.
"Oh, you'll see." Regina laughed evilly as she closed the door behind them.
"What do you think Regina meant by that?" David turned to Killian, feeling slightly unsettled by the look on Regina's face as she closed the door behind her and Emma.
"I've no bloody clue," Killian shrugged, attempting to mask the unease that bubbled up in his gut. "Just do keep in mind that whatever I say or do, I'm under the control of your daughter the saviour and the evil queen. Never thought I'd be saying that."
"Never thought I'd be hearing it." David smirked.
Suddenly, Killian licked his lips, stepped forward and said to Snow, "Deepest apologies for this your highness."
Without further warning he turned, grabbed David by the back of the neck and crushed his lips against the prince's.
