Emma Swan

Emma could barely believe what Blue was saying. She had found a way to break the spell on her parents? Why hadn't she already done it? Was it taking them longer than they anticipated?

"There's a way to reverse the spell, but we need you to do it" Blue said calmly, clearly ignoring the looks of shock and anticipation on Killian's and my faces

"Really? What is it? Why do you need me to do it?"

"The reason we need you to do it is because the one potion we could have made could have only been made by Regina, so the only other option we have left is for someone close to the children to have a true loves kiss with their one true love…." NO. Anything but that. For that she would have to admit to herself about how she felt…. About everything. Killian had already told her that she was his happy ending, that he wanted nothing more than her and henry in his life.

She didn't even hesitate to run out of the door, leaving Blue midsentence in the middle of the loft, and four very confused children and an understanding Killian with them.

Killian Jones

As soon as Blue started her speech, I could see Emma's walls go straight back up, her anxieties and fears taking the better of her and sending her flying through the door before the fairy could finish. I could understand why Emma was running- it was every reason that she ran before; for she believed that she could never have that kind of love, that she would never deserve it.

"Missus Emma!" All the children called at once, Henry looking at the door in what looked to be akin to fear. Striding over to the children, I picked up Henry, and told them all to be good for his friends and that he and Emma would be back soon.

Once again, Emma had strayed towards the docks, her place of peace, as well as my own.

"Emma?" I called out softly, hoping not to startle her from her position

"They can't… I can't do it… What kind of a saviour can I be if I can't even save my family" She said in-between the silent tears which were building up in her eyes.

I felt Henry shift in my arms, trying to get closer to his mother. She in return opened up her arms and motioned for us both to sit with her. Once again, Henry shifted both us and himself so that we were directly next to each other, with him spread over both our laps.

"How can they expect me to do this? Henry can't remember me and… I don't know… If I do this…. Will it change them? Will they hate me for not changing them back sooner? I just…." I didn't hesitate to pull Emma into my shoulder, to allow her some security which I felt she might need in this moment. Emma in turn buried her head towards my chest, and I could feel the wetness gathering on my shirt where her golden head was resting, her body shuddering with the silent tears.

"I'm sure that they never intended for you to be pressurised, although I wouldn't put it past Blue to try something on me. But she cared for you and your family- so she'd never hurt you intentionally."

"You think?"

"I know Emma. What I don't know however is what they are doing to entertain the children whilst we are not present for they looked as though they wanted to jump ship like you did. Well at least Blue did- Belle and Tinkerbelle didn't seem to mind them."

"That sounds just about right. Thank you, Killian" I went to ask her what for but she got there first "For helping me when I needed it, and pushed me to do the right thing"

"Well…" I couldn't help the scratch behind the ear which always happened whenever I was uncomfortable or nervous- but it was blind-sided by the smile which Emma gave me.

Henry started babbling beneath us at this point, and was clearly trying to stand up on our laps, so I held him on one side whilst Emma had him on the other side. He turned his tiny body so that he was facing me and grabbing onto the lapels of my jacket, but nothing could have prepared Swan or I for what came out of his mouth next;

"Dada!" His tiny voice called out, and all of a sudden the whole world just… stopped. The little Swan had just called me father? It couldn't be… "Dada, dada dada!"

Turning to face Emma, I could see her shock was also filled with tears of what looked to be happiness, seamlessly matching my own.

"He called you dad…"

"Mama!" Henry then called out, turning to his mother in turn, a giant smile plastered on his face

"Seems like it's your turn now Swan" I said jokingly, but even I couldn't hide the emotion which was there in my heart.

We spent another hour sitting there on the bench at the port, playing with Henry and listening to him saying his first words over and over again. I could barely believe what was going on, and the worst part of it was I wasn't sure that I wanted it to stop. Having Henry and the others as children had been strange and uncomfortable at first, but now…. It almost seemed like it would be a crime to change them back, to give them the memories and all their old pains. Looking over at Emma I couldn't tell whether she was having this internal debate too, but I knew that she was enraptured by the little boy who was sitting in her lap.

We were nearly back at the loft when Henry had finally fallen asleep in my arms- once again sparking the seemingly never ending desire to have my own family with Emma, but I couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she would never want that with me. That maybe she didn't even think of me in the same way as I thought of her.

It took Emma a few attempts before she managed to say sorry to Blue for running out like that, and finally enquired about the other lead that they had been chasing whilst I took the children to get them ready for their nap before tea time, and when I finally re-emerged from getting Snow and Regina to sleep (after a Latin lullaby of course) Blue and Belle were just leaving, Tinkerbelle having left sometime before.

"So, Love. It seems we finally have some time to ourselves seeing as the little ones will be asleep for a little while before we need to get some Granny's in"

"You sure about that pirate? I was rather hoping that you might cook something up for us again. I mean who knows, you could put Granny out of business at this rate" The playfulness in Emma's eyes caught my attention like a moth to a flame, enchanted by her glow and radiance; although her statement had not gone amiss. It seemed like her playfulness was contagious- for I replied;

"If that happens I would not want to be the one who graces the Lady Lucas with that knowledge. I fear I would most likely end up with a crossbow bolt residing in my skull" Emma laughed at that, the visual representation of someone telling Granny that there was a better cook than her certainly did that to anyone who had met her. "Also it would help if we had some food to cook with Emma. I don't think you have realised just how bare the cupboards are seeing as your family is always eating out rather than cooking a decent, and different meal. You don't reckon they would mind if I went shopping tomorrow and brought some more food in so we could actually eat in?"

"I think they would love that. I know that they love your cooking as children but when we return them to their adult selves I'm sure that they would be glad to have some food in the kitchen for a change- though you still might be the one cooking as my parents will be looking after Neal when they get back to normal" Now that was a pleasant thought. Emma and I would actually be able to get a moments peace without having to worry about all of them as well as the town (which at this point was basically running itself, and thankfully Maleficent hadn't reappeared as of yet, although we both knew she would never help to restore what she did.

"I still don't get what you all were talking about when you were saying Neal never sleeps and is really fussy. With me the lad is asleep in seconds" Now she did roll her eyes at that, but at least there was no harsh feelings in them, only as if it were naught more than a simple reaction.

"That's something Blue mentioned actually. I hope you don't mind but I accidentally said about how they prefer you talking in your home tongue and she reckoned that the language you speak may be an ancient magic language and so whenever you speak it the listener becomes enchanted in a way"

"Pretty sure that's not how that works- that sounds more like the siren curse"

"A siren curse? What the hell is that pirate and how the hell do you know about it?" Sensing that she wouldn't give up until I told her this particular tale, I told her to call in and order Granny's to be brought here before pulling the blanket off the floor (it had been left there after Henry and I had been ill. The soft blue blanket was cozy and warm and had evidently been used by one of the cursed children for it still had body heat in it) and wrapping both Emma and I within it before hurling the two of us onto the couch.

I could barely remember that I was supposed to be telling Emma about the siren curse until she reminded me because I was too entranced by the sound of Emma giggling as she landed on top of me. It truly was a wonder how the others hadn't awoken by the glorious and pure sound that only my Swan could make.

"Well… When I was young..."

"So about a million years ago" Swan joined in, clearly enjoying the fact that she was hearing a story from my past

"Very funny Swan. But when I was in the navy and then when I had just turned to piracy, it was no secret that I enjoyed to sing, and would often be heard singing shanties and what not. But then a sorceress found out about my gift and was apparently jealous, so she cast a curse over me that whenever I sang, it would have the same effect as a regular sirens would, and then this ended up with many men's deaths, for they were lured towards me and the curse would make me attack them. The only exception I have ever found was my mother's Latin lullabies- something that I am rather happy about considering this latest situation we have found ourselves in" Her face went from playful and happy to sad and… angry? Very quickly and I wished that I had not told her, that I hadn't broken that small spell of happiness which we had found within our cocoon.

She was silent for a few minutes before she finally asked the question which I had not exactly expected

"So your telling me you haven't sung since Milah died?" her voice was barely above a whisper, a silent plea almost.

"No, I haven't sung since before I even knew her. She never heard me sing"

"Well I hope you'll break that absence. I rather enjoy it when you sing" I felt like the sun was shining again in that moment, for Swan's smile returned to her face and she was as playful as she was before.

"I've only ever sung the lullabies to them, how do you…"

"I listen to you when you're doing it okay? I mean it's not hard, it's not like there are any walls or doors to block your melodies out- not that I mind them of course"

"That is true. Anyway, seeing as I was too busy placing them all in beds would you mind telling me what the fairies other lead was and why they did not want to do it?"

"It was supposed to be a potion and a spell, but the only person who knows the spell is Regina and they don't know where the original copy of the potion is because it was in a book that Henry was reading and now nobody knows where it is"

"So they were opting for the only plausible option then"

"Yeah" I could barely help myself for what happened next, as Emma shifted, so that I was on the edge of the couch and she was beside me, I saw a perfect moment to try and discover something about Swan that had merely been a passing curiosity; whether or not she was ticklish. Swiftly, I moved my hands to her waist and began to lightly skim the skin there, and sure enough, Emma began laughing.

"Noooo Killian… stop… stop" Emma said in-between her laughter, and once again I could have sworn that she was the sun for the radiance of her smile. Then I realised- it wasn't just her smile that was glowing, but her whole body was reacting to being so happy by actually glowing.

"Alright then. Although I didn't realise that white magic could make you glow like that"

"Yeah well, at least you know when I'm feeling really happy"

"Something I shall try for more often"

Soon we were interrupted by Henry and David who had woken up hungry, and Snow and Regina were not far behind them. The food fortunately came only five minutes later, at the same time Neal woke up hungry and complaining.

But throughout all of this, I could not wipe the bright smile off my face for the marvel that was Emma Swan.