A knock on the door interrupts the steady beeping of machinery. Killian looks up to see Ariel in the doorway, wearing a heavy coat and a gentle smile.
"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" she says.
"Permission granted," he says with a grin.
Ariel steps into the room and drags a chair to the side of the bed. She sets her purse on the floor, pulls off her coat, and crosses her legs.
"How are you doing?" she asks.
Killian shrugs, but the paralytic ache all over his body keeps the gesture from being anything more than a flinch. He realizes Ariel probably didn't notice it.
"I'm fine," he says.
"I'm glad to hear it," she replies.
Killian can't help but smile when he sees the look on Ariel's face. He couldn't quite put a word to it, but it's the calmest she's been in quite a while. He can't help but feel a little pride for having a hand in that.
"You know, I'd begun to think you weren't going to come back. You took far longer than I'd expected," says Killian. His tone is vaguely playful, but both of them see through to the dependence behind the joke.
"Sorry about that." She explains, "Eric took a lot of convincing."
"He needed convincing to take his heart back? Goodness, I knew the man was thick, but that's just…"
He trails off as Ariel gives him a look.
"He didn't want it," she says. "He said it's caused him more trouble than it was worth. In the end, I made him take it anyway. He promised he'd put it back in eventually."
"I'm not surprised at his reluctance. Poor man's been through the ringer, between you and Ursula."
"Me?! What did I do to him?"
"He's got a broken heart, love. It wasn't the sea witch who did that."
Ariel is quiet. Her eyes are downcast.
"It's not your fault. You just happen to be a bit of a heartbreaker, in case you hadn't noticed."
Head still tilted down, Ariel looks up at Killian and smiles sadly. The effect is so bashful and lovely that Killian would give his other hand to be able to embrace her right at that moment.
"None of this was your fault," he feels the need to say.
"Wasn't it, though?" says Ariel.
Killian shakes his head. He says, "Not for one moment. And what damage was done won't last. Eric got his heart back, I'm on the mend, and you have your voice again."
"What about your ship?" she asks.
Killian goes quiet. He's been trying not to think about the Jolly Rodger. But it's been hard, like trying not to think about a missing limb.
"Killian?"
"She can be rebuilt, enchantments and all," he says.
He says it to pacify Ariel, but he finds that it brings himself some comfort, too.
"That'll take a while," she responds.
"It'll take as long as it takes. When it's done…"
He hesitates. He rehearsed the next bit in his head the whole time Ariel was gone. He rearranged the words and edited out the sappier bits, trying to make it sound just right.
Ariel is smiling at Killian like she always does, equal parts amusement and affection. It makes him forget every honeyed word he had composed in his head. Instead, he just blurts it out.
"Come away with me."
Ariel's bright red eyebrows go up her forehead faster than Killian would have expected. Her jaw drops ever so slightly. Killian can't help but notice how perfectly pink and soft it makes her lips look.
He hangs on tenterhooks, waiting for Ariel to respond. For a moment, she almost seems as if she's lost her voice again. The seconds tick by. Killian grows more anxious with each one. What if he was too forward? What if she wants to stay in Storybrooke? What if she wants to stay near her prince?
"Come away with you…" says Ariel quietly.
Killian can only nod. He would speak, but his tongue feels stupid and thick. His brain does too, for that matter. He prays she will answer soon.
Time seems to stretch into eternity. Killian feels as though the whole universe is compressing around him. He only realizes after Ariel replies that he has been holding his breath the whole time.
"Yes," she says.
He could sing. He could kiss her. He would lift her into the air and twirl her around, if he had the strength. As things stand (or don't stand, rather), he'll have to wait until he's out of the hospital. He's tried walking about a few times over the past day, and each time he has nearly collapsed.
"I love you," he says instead.
Ariel smiles. She takes Killian's hand and squeezes it gently.
"I love you, too," she says.
Then she stands and uses her foot to push her chair to the side. She leans over Killian. As she does so, her hair cascades over her shoulder and brushes softly over Killian's arms. Ariel's lips meet his for a brief moment. Then, with her face still so close to his and her eyes half-fluttered shut, she smiles.
"Come away with you where?" she asks.
"Anywhere you like."