Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time

AN: A big thank you to GranddaughterOfCaskettAndTivia and PirateCaptainsPrincess for all their help with this! You guys are wonderful betas! ~ XOXO MAS

The trek from the palace back into the forest was swift. All of the guards were focused on cleaning up after Regina's execution of Snow.

When they reached the bonfire the kids were all awake and waiting for them. "Mom!" Lily and Liam were up and moving to get to her side.

"Hey kids." Emma knelt down, swallowing back the tears from the loss of her mother, to draw Lily and Liam into her arms. "I'm okay." She promised, pressing kisses to their heads. "I'm right here."

"We were so scared." Lily looked over, her little hand reaching out to her father. Killian came willingly, wrapping his arms around his family.

"It's okay, little love we're here. We're right here." Killian promised.

"Everything's okay now?" Roland questioned, approaching slowly with Neal. "We can go home?" He asked.

Emma swallowed hard. "Yeah home, kid." Emma agreed after a moment. "For now let's get some rest. We'll head back in the morning."

She and Killian tucked the children in, settling them in the back of the cart in case they had to move quickly, tucking the blankets around them. Once they were settled and asleep, they joined Charming and Ruby by the fire. David had his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs. "It's going to be okay, James." she murmured. "It's all going to be okay."

Standing abruptly, David shook his head. "I don't know how that's possible." He stalked off into the woods alone.

Emma stared blankly into the fire, tears streaming down her face. It had taken all her willpower to put on a brave face for the children until they fell asleep. She didn't know how to tell Neal that their mother was dead.

Killian sighed as he sat down next to her, curling his arm around her shoulder and drawing her into his side. Reaching over, Emma latched onto his hook, tugging the metal onto her lap and skimming her fingers over it, more in an effort to soothe herself than to soothe him. Pressing a kiss to her hair, Killian murmured. "I'm so sorry, Emma." He waved off a bug that was flying around their heads before focusing back on her.

"I just, I can't believe I lost her. I spent all this time pushing her away and now I'm-" she stopped speaking suddenly. He grunted in response as he continued to swat at the bug. He couldn't seem to catch it and it was driving him insane as he tried to focus on Emma.

"Swan?" Killian asked, slightly alarmed at the look on Emma's face. "What is it?" He lightly shook her shoulder, trying to get her attention as she stared into the fire, her face set in a look of contemplation. "Bloody hell, this bug just won't go away."

"Why am I still here?" Emma asked, ignoring his whining about the bug flying around them. "Why is Neal?" She asked. "We should both be gone." Emma stood up suddenly, nearly knocking Killian off the log they'd been seated on. "She's not dead. She's alive."

"What do you mean she's alive?" Killian asked. "Swan, we saw her. We saw what Regina did and-"

"And I'm still standing here," Emma interrupted. "I should've disappeared."

Killian's eyes lit up at her words as he continued to swat at the bug flying in his ear. "So we find her. You're right, she must've managed to escape."

Rolling her eyes, Emma stepped into his personal space. "Hold still, Killian, I'll get the damn bug."

She raised her hand to swat at it when David grabbed her wrist. "Hold on." He held her still. "You think Snow's still alive?"

Killian nodded, trying to get the bug to leave him alone. "Yes, we do, mate. Now if you don't mind, this bug is-"

"Snow." David held out a hand and the bug landed on it. "She turned herself into a ladybug." He grinned.

"I'm sorry," Emma paused, "she did what?"

"The fairy dust around her neck, she must've timed it just right." He glanced down at the bug crawling on his finger. "Didn't you, Snow?" The bug chirped incessantly at him and the prince chuckled. "Yeah, that's Snow alright."

"Great." Killian grumbled. "Does anyone speak bug?" He asked sarcastically.

Emma swatted his chest. "Killian, at least she's alive."

Wrapping an arm around Emma's waist, he nodded. "Too right, love." He looked up at Charming. "So, how do we change her back?" He asked.

"You don't, but I can." All eyes spun to the little blue fairy flying towards them.

"Blue!" Emma's face broke out into a wide grin, even if the woman was the size of a bird and looked nothing like the nun Emma knew back in Storybrooke, it was still nice to see another familiar face.

The little fairy cocked her head to the side. "Have we met?" She asked.

Emma's mouth popped open for a moment before she shook her head, choosing not to offer up any more information. "No," she whispered.

The fairy cocked her head to the side as she considered Emma carefully. "There's something you're not telling me," she murmured knowingly. At Emma's wide eyes, she chuckled. "It's okay, your secret's can be your own. I sense it's better that way."

David stared curiously between Emma and the fairy for a moment before shaking his head. "Can you bring her back?" He asked, motioning to Snow in bug form.

Blue let out a deep sigh. "Dark magic did this," she informed them, "light magic can undo it." Raising her wand, she murmured under her breath as she waved it over Snow. The next moment Snow was stumbling next to David. "Welcome back, Snow," Blue murmured.

Snow chuckled. "Thank you, Blue."

"You're welcome, Snow." The fairy smiled softly at them. "I must be off, if you need me," she paused and looked around at all of those gathered around Snow, "you know how to contact me."

When the Blue Fairy disappeared, Snow was immediately engulfed in a hug from Ruby. The moment Ruby let go, Emma pulled her mother into a hug. "I'm so glad you're alright," she whispered.

"Oh!" Snow was surprised at the hug and at the amount of emotion in the blond's voice. "Um, thank you, Emma." She gently patted Emma's back until she let go.

Emma pulled back, swiping at the tears. "You're welcome." She watched desolately as her mother pulled away, the bandit grinning as she let the prince pull her into a hug.

"There we go, love." Killian pulled her into his embrace. "Everything's back to rights," he whispered.

Emma turned her head, her green gaze catching his blue one. "She doesn't know me."

"Oh, Swan." Killian held her tightly against him. "It will be okay, Emma. We've fixed things, your parents have met. Now we can start on our journey home."

Emma looked up at him. "Thank you, Killian." She pressed a kiss to his chest, taking a deep breath to inhale his scent. It was calming and arousing all at the same time. It reminded her of home. He was warm and solid and comforting and home. Neal's words echoed in her mind, home's the place that when you leave, you just miss it. She missed Storybrooke and her parents and she wanted to be there with Killian. "Let's go home," she agreed quietly. She tipped her head up, wordlessly offering her lips to him.

He grinned down at her, ducking his head to hers so he could brush his lips across hers. Emma leaned into him, her fingers curling around the lapels of his jacket to hold him close to her. He raised his hand, tangling his ringed fingers in her hair to tilt her head backwards. She moaned as his grip tightened on her hair. He broke the kiss and she gulped down a few breaths as his lips skimmed across her jaw, angling her head back to expose her neck to his lips. "Fuck, Killian," she moaned softly, her eyes fluttering shut as his teeth scraped over her skin.

"Oh!" Emma and Killian broke apart at the surprised sound from Snow. They both flushed when they noted Snow, Charming and Red were staring at them.

Clearing her throat, Emma stepped out of Killian's embrace. "I believe this belongs to you." Emma glanced down at her hand, slipping the simple silver band with the green gemstone off of her hand. She held the band out to him, letting him take it from her palm before she stepped back into Killian's arms.

She and Killian watched quietly as Charming held up the band. "Thank you." He glanced down at Snow. "I know, not your style."

She snatched the ring without thinking. "Well, there's only one way to know." She slipped it on her finger, her eyes flicking between the ring and David's face. David was staring at Snow like his world revolved around her. "You're right," Snow finally replied. "Not my style." She pulled it off of her finger and held it out to him. "We need to get you back to the palace. You have a ringless fiancé to appease."

"And you have an isolated corner of the world to find." He smiled at her and she returned it slowly.

Emma sniffed quietly as she and Killian tried to make themselves as invisible as possible. "It's okay, Swan." Killian gently brushed away her tears. "Not everyone gets the chance to see their parents fall in love."

Emma sighed. "Yeah." She looked up at Killian. "Come on, pirate, let's go see a crocodile about going home."

OUAT

XOXO

MAS