Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Chapter Twelve

Within seconds, the women all appeared inside the Mayor's office and together, she and Emma lifted Ruby off the floor between them so they could lead her over to the couch, then carefully laid her down on top of it. Regina then waved her hands over Ruby again and continued to use her own magic to examine the young woman. Unfortunately, it was in that time when Leroy and Happy walked into the office in search of the woman in charge, then they stood still out of concern upon seeing Ruby lying unconscious as she slowly continued to freeze over, as well as the woman they had just barely caught a glimpse of when Elsa had frozen their van two nights before.

"Red?" Grumpy uttered sternly as he and Happy stared down at her, until he raised his eyes to glare up at Elsa. "You! You did this to her. Didn't you?"

"Leroy… no," Emma attempted to object to his accusation, but he didn't really hear her once he suddenly began to shout out to everyone around, as he and the other dwarf swiftly turned and ran from the room.

"Ice witch!" Grumpy and Happy both cried out in anger. "There's an ice witch inside the Mayor's office. We're under attack!"

Elsa looked between Emma and Regina again in concern after they were gone as she questioned, "Are they trying to round up a small army so they can try to hurt me?"

The Savior walked past her in order to leave after the dwarfs while she frustratingly responded, "Not if I can help it. Don't worry. Leroy doesn't mean anything by it. He's just the town crier and alerts anybody and everybody whenever he thinks there's trouble. Just stay here with Regina and Ruby. I'll take care of everyone else."

"So… Emma said you have ice magic too?" the former Evil Queen then asked the Queen of Arendelle once they were left alone, as she continued to work. "But you didn't do this, or know who might have?"

"That's right," the blonde wearing her haired pulled back into a long braid nervously answered her. "I promise… I mean no one here any harm. I did create that snow monster yesterday, but it was an accident. I was scared and I don't have control over my magic when I am, unless my sister's around to help calm me down. Until last night, when David and Emma both helped me too. Only, now there's someone else out there like me and she's the one who hurt your friend. I'm so sorry."

Regina finally cut off her magic again, then looked over at the other woman curiously as she replied, "Maybe you can help me save Ruby after all. You might not have struck her, but you do have similar magic to this… other ice witch, whoever she is. Can you summon your power into your palm for me?"

Elsa stated yes, as she did like the Mayor asked and emitted her magic in the palm of her hand, holding it for Regina long enough to study her power too, then Regina smiled as she responded, "There is a strong difference in your magic and whoever's it was that hurt Ruby. But there's just enough of a similarity too, that I think I might be able to create a spell that can pull the magic placed inside of her out. Now that I know exactly what I'm looking for."

She was about to begin, when all of a sudden, Granny came running into the room as fast as she was able to after having heard from Grumpy that her granddaughter had been hurt, and upon seeing Ruby lying unconscious she cried out, "Ruby? Regina… what happened to her?"

"Did you do this, ice witch?" the old woman then asked Elsa cruelly, when she raised her head again to glare up at her after she knelt down on the floor beside her only family. "What have you done to my Ruby?"

"She didn't do anything, Granny," Emma swiftly answered for both Elsa and Regina when she came running back inside the room, followed closely by both of her parents. "It was someone else we believe to be much more dangerous than Elsa. I saw it with my own eyes. Elsa hasn't hurt anyone."

While Regina pulled the woman back so she could continue to help the girl wearing her red cloak, Granny retorted coldly, "I don't really care. Please… just help her."

Elsa spoke to the grandmother in concern saying, "Regina is about to try. She thinks she might be able to remove the ice magic from within her. I've seen it removed before. It is possible. I'm so sorry."

"Regina?" Mary Margaret questioned her friend and stepmother worryingly, once she began to do all she could for Ruby while she conjured her own power to try to remove the ice from within Little Red Riding Hood.

"It's going to take… some time," the former Evil Queen sternly uttered, just as Killian walked into the room and moved to stand beside Emma while he watched the scene before him without questioning what had happened. "I need to concentrate."

Regina's purple magic at last entered inside the young woman lying before her on the couch while she focused on trying to heal Ruby by removing the icy magic through one of her spells. A few minutes passed in silence that had fallen over all those within the room while they waited, then at last, magic consisting of what appeared as snowflakes suddenly began to rise up from Ruby's head, and the freeze that had covered her body and hair moments before finally lifted away.

Once the icy magic vanished by the time Regina finished, Ruby suddenly gasped as she awoke and struggled to get her breathing under control while she looked around her, until her eyes stopped on her grandmother, then they smiled at one another before Red finally sat up to wrap her arms around the old woman, as Granny did the same.

Emma, Mary Margaret, Elsa, and David all smiled at the Mayor, as Mary Margaret said happily, "You did it, Regina. That was amazing."

Regina smiled, feeling a little less proud of herself than everyone else, then she replied quietly, "I guess I did. Thank goodness."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Granny finally stated as well, when she stood up from the floor with Ruby's help and reached out to take Regina's hands to show her gratitude. "If there's anything you ever need…"

"That won't be necessary," the Mayor interrupted her. "I'm just glad I could help. It looks like what Elsa here said was true about the head being easier to heal. Let's hope no one's struck by this icy power in their heart."

The older woman then turned back to face Elsa again while she continued, "And you… I am sorry for accusing you of hurting Ruby before. Is it true, that there's another ice witch out there with powers like yours?"

The Queen from Arendelle nodded as she regretfully responded, "It appears so. We didn't actually see them, but we saw their magic strike Ruby from out of nowhere. Whoever they are."

"Which is why, I'm going to head back out into the woods to see if I can find them," the Savior answered crossly, then started towards the door to leave.

"That's an excellent idea, Swan," Killian replied while he followed behind her, until Emma stopped as she turned to face him.

Even though a part of her wanted him to come with her, an even bigger part of her was more afraid of him getting hurt again like he had protecting her father from the cave in, as a sudden crippling fear of losing him had sparked inside of her, so instead she spoke to him in frustration saying, "No. Listen, Hook… I need you to stay here with Elsa to look after her for me. Or better yet… take her to the sheriff's station and keep your eyes on her there for her own protection. All of us know Elsa's not a threat to us, but I haven't had the chance to catch the dwarfs, whom I'm sure are still trying to spread the word she's dangerous. The town's going to want her head by now."

Killian glanced over at the woman from Arendelle, then turned back to Emma again as he brusquely responded, "You shouldn't go off on your own to chase after this witch, especially not after you nearly froze to death because of her just last night, Swan. I prefer to come with you."

"No!" retorted suddenly out of objection, as she looked at him in anger. "Can't you just do as I say? Stay with Elsa. I mean it, Hook."

"Don't worry," David then said to Killian, once Emma finally just walked away before he could say anything more to her. "I'll look after her."

Killian reluctantly nodded and watched him walk out after the woman he loved, then he turned to look over at Elsa and motioned for her to follow him when he too started to leave Regina's office. Elsa did so without argument, as she could see that this man who was looking after her now, the same man who had fought to save Emma the night before from the ice, deeply loved the woman who had become her new friend after they had been trapped together.

However, the longer they walked, the more eager Elsa was becoming to wish to help herself as well, instead of hiding out from everyone else, but before she could object to following after him any further when they continued to make their way between buildings thinking that he was leading her towards the station like Emma asked of him, Killian raised his hand to hold her back a moment as he checked to make sure they were safe to continue on while he spoke cautiously saying, "Wait. All right. Coast is clear."

The Captain with one hand and a hook for the other continued on as he stepped out onto the sidewalk and she followed him out, but she finally stopped walking after him, which Hook noticed from the corner of his eye when he glanced towards her direction, then he turned to face her while he uttered, "That means go, love."

"I'm not coming with you," Elsa firmly answered. "There's someone out there with powers like mine. I need to find out who. I… I can't just hide out in some sheriff's station."

"Oh… Well, that works out quite nicely then," Killian replied to her in understanding upon feeling the same way. "Cause that's not where we're going."

Elsa then looked at him in surprise and confusion as she questioned, "It's not?"

Hook glanced to his right down the street, until he turned back to the woman behind him again while he responded crossly, "With Emma running into danger? Not a chance in hell. And the sheriff's station's that way."

"And what's that way?" the Queen asked him, when she looked in the opposite direction towards where they were heading.

"With any luck… danger," he then answered with a smirk on his face, then at last they continued walking together again while Elsa followed right behind him, surprised, yet pleased by the pirate's decision to walk towards danger in order to protect the woman he loved.

Meanwhile, out in the woods once again…

Emma and David carefully searched the vast area surrounding where Ruby had been attacked earlier that morning for any sign of the second individual with ice magic like Elsa possessed while they talked, then at last and much to Emma's surprise, her father finally asked her, "So… what was that between you and Hook earlier back in Regina's office? Did something happen between you too since last night? Everything between you seemed really good when he finally left to return to his room at Granny's."

Not really wanting to discuss whatever she might be feeling towards Killian with her father, Emma frustratingly replied, "Nothing's going on. We're fine."

"You really didn't seem so fine," the Prince responded again. "You snapped at him like he offended you in some way. Did he say, or do anything that hurt you?"

"What?" she questioned, becoming shocked by his accusation that the man who had fought like hell to save her and had given up so much for her, could actually hurt her by a few words or a single cruel action short of him actually abandoning her when she needed him more than she yet realized. "No… of course not. Look, Dad… I overreacted earlier. I'm not really sure why, except maybe I just was worried about him getting hurt like Ruby was. I mean… Hook did get hurt last night protecting you. I promise you, we're fine."

David nodded in understanding, then he answered, "All right… if you say so. It looks like Ruby's attacker is nowhere to be found. I'm sure they're still in Storybrooke of course, but… not anywhere around here."

However, it was then he and Emma both noticed a small tent set up within a clearing in the trees, and he sternly added, "But it looks like coming out here wasn't a total loss. Maybe whoever is inside saw something you missed while you were helping Ruby."

A few minutes later, the Savior and her father were meeting a young man who used to be a part of Robin Hood's merry men, who went by the name, Will Scarlet. At first, Will wasn't much in the mood to help out two sheriffs by giving them any information, especially after admitting to them he was nothing more than a thief like Robin Hood had been. But after a little motivation, he finally gave them some helpful information after all, including a confession that he had seen Ruby's attack as well, but not her attacker. He also had information that tipped them off to the ice cream shop, where the ice cream inside had remained frozen solid during the several hours the power had been out the night before during the blackout.

The sheriffs finally attempted to cuff his hands for theft of stolen goods, especially after David noticed a stolen pocket watch belonging to a friend of his hanging out of Scarlet's coat pocket. However, Will suddenly managed to knee David hard enough in the stomach until he collapsed to the ground, then immediately he took off running when Emma helped her father instead of chasing after him. The ice wall went all the way around Storybrooke and was preventing anyone from leaving, so they both knew Will wouldn't be able to escape and therefore they didn't feel the need to chase after him any longer. Instead, they both returned to town so they could look into the mystery around the thief's ice cream shop theory.

Inside Gold's Pawnshop…

The Dark One was looking down at the gears of an old clock that had stopped working through a magnifying glass as he attempted to fix it, when Hook eventually walked inside followed closely by a woman Gold had never seen in Storybrooke before. Yet having learned of his shop having been broken into and having a necklace stolen from him, as well as hearing about the ice wall surrounding their town after he and Belle returned from their honeymoon at the Sorcerer's mansion, he suspected this mysterious woman had something to do with it all, and the early winter that had come to Storybrooke.

Elsa then stood back and began to study the curious artifacts and books she had only glanced at when she had broken in the night before to take back her sister's necklace, while Killian approached the Dark One and blackmailed him to get him to help him and Elsa track down the real threat to their town. The Captain reminded Gold he'd been hunting the Crocodile long enough to know him better than anyone else, and that he knew Gold never would have given anyone control over him by giving up control of his own dagger, not even to Belle. Hook knew Gold hadn't changed from being the beast he truly was, so the Dark One glared up at his old enemy until he eventually agreed to be of help.

Elsa walked over to join Killian in front of the counter and Gold as she handed him a few strands of Ruby's hair that had been frozen after she was attacked, asking the Dark One if there was something he could do with them to help them find the true ice witch who had hurt the young woman.

"This hair is from Ruby," she anxiously stated when she did so, once Gold finally looked away from the pirate to turn his attention over to her. "Someone cast a freezing curse on her. We need to know who it is."

"Well… you're in luck," Mr. Gold replied to her when he took the hair and placed them in his open palm to examine them. "Magic can change forms, but never be destroyed. We'll simply return it to its natural state."

He raised his other hand and slowly waved it over the hairs, transforming them back into their original magical state, then Elsa scoffed as he finished upon seeing the magic take form, as it floated above his palm while she whispered, "Snowflakes."

She turned her head to look back over at Killian again, until the Dark One responded again, "Magic similar to yours, dearie. Though not quite the same. Much like a snowflake, each person's magic is unique."

"Poetic," the pirate retorted curtly. "How does that help us?"

"Well… magic seeks out like magic," Gold answered him, then blew the snowflakes into the air before him while he continued. "So if I set this free… It should find its way home. Back to the person who cast it."

When the snowflakes headed for the shop's door, Killian and Elsa both followed after the magic, then they soon began to lead them deep into the woods. After awhile, Hook started to make markings into the trees using his hook to carve into their trunks as Elsa watched him do so out of curiosity.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her, so she asked, "What are you doing?"

Killian marked another tree as he walked by it and stopped a moment to do so, then without looking back at her while he continued to watch the snowy magic floating in front of them closely, he replied, "Leaving a trail. I'm more accustomed to outrunning bad weather than following it."

"Snow isn't bad," the Queen of Arendelle sternly responded as she continued to walk alongside of him. "And we're following magic."

"Try to outrun that too, when given the chance," the Captain said to her again, feeling the same way about most magic as he did about snow and other kinds of bad weather.

Elsa chuckled at his response, so he looked over at her again at last while he questioned her, "What's so funny?"

She kept her eyes on the magic floating before them as she answered, "It's just Emma has magic, and you clearly don't want to outrun her."

"More like the other way around," Hook sternly replied.

"Maybe she feels the same way about pirates, as you do about magic," the woman with her blonde hair pulled back tightly into a long braid responded to him again, as she began to try to help him to understand why Emma might have attempted to push him away from her earlier inside the Mayor's office.

Killian looked between Elsa and the snowflakes as well while he answered, "I've worked to change. Though, in fairness, being a pirate is not necessarily a bad thing. Particularly a charming one like meself."

Elsa continued, "I think your self appreciation is blinding you to a simple fact… This isn't about you. It's about her."

He lowered his eyes to the ground in front of his feet while they continued walking and then asked, "Is that right? A few short days, and you know Emma so well?"

"We're a lot alike," the Queen replied again, as Killian raised his head to look over at her again in trying to understand all she was telling him. "When you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, it can be hard to let people in. To trust them. Even when they want what's best for you."

"Emma's afraid," Killian then spoke again softly at last, after he took a few moments of silence to think about all she had explained to him. "I've done all I can to show her she can trust me, but I'm not so sure she feels she can. But it's more than that too. There's something she's afraid to share with me. I want more than anything for her to know without a doubt I would never intentionally do anything to hurt her. I've confessed to her I love her… that I'm in love with her. But I fear the walls she's built up over all her years of pain and loss, will never come down all the way so she can let me in. But even if they don't, I still can't ever leave her. I couldn't."

Elsa looked over at him again in awe after she listened to his words, then she gently responded, "Emma's very lucky to have you in her life. I may not know you very well either, but I can tell that you're a good man."

The Captain smiled uncomfortably at her, because a part of him still struggled to believe she was right about him. However, before he could say anything more, the snowflakes finally slowed as they neared whoever their magic belonged to and finally landed within the broken remains of a tree that had fallen.

He watched them do so as Hook stated quietly, "I'd say we're on the right track."

"Yes," his friend answered, as the Snow Queen finally appeared before them in the distance in front of what appeared to be some sort of altar made of icy blue crystals while she kept her back to them. "There she is. Look."

"Get down," Hook immediately grumbled and pushed Elsa down with him as they hid behind a log so they would remain out of sight, then he quickly pulled out his phone so he could call Emma to let her know they had found the threat.

Elsa looked over at him and the strange device in his hand as she questioned, "What is that thing?"

He sighed in frustration while he struggled to use the cell and replied, "I don't know. It's a device for… talking. I don't bloody know. I press the 'Emma' button, and she answers usually."

"Hey, this is Emma," the voicemail message Emma made for when someone called her then sounded after she failed to pick up on her end after he had pressed the button, then listened to her instructions on what he had to do next. "Leave a message."

"Why should I carry around this ridiculous thing if you're never there when I use it?" he stated at the beginning of his message out of frustration again, then he continued. "We found the person who froze Ruby. Get to the west edge of the woods right away."

Once he hung up, he turned to look over at Elsa again and noticed that she was leaning over the log and he quickly pulled her back down with him as he asked brusquely, "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

Elsa apologetically whispered, "Sorry. I've never seen someone like me before. She doesn't look evil."

"Yeah, well… looks can be deceiving, love," Killian quietly responded. "So let's just stay out of sight. I haven't a fondness of icebergs and I'd rather avoid being turned into one."

Back in town while they investigated the ice cream shop and saw that the young thief been right about his suspicions, Emma suddenly felt her phone beep again in her pants pocket to indicate someone had tried calling her and just finished leaving her a voicemail. Once she listened to it in its entirety upon hearing Killian's voice, the Savior immediately pulled her father along with her as they left the shop again so they could make their way back into the woods where Hook had told her to meet him, hopefully before he or Elsa could get hurt.

"We have to go," the Savior urgently said to her father out of worry. "Hook and Elsa have gotten themselves into trouble."

Sometime later, Killian realized Emma was taking longer than he hoped she would and so upon growing worried, he spoke softly, yet sternly saying, "We've waited long enough. We have to find Emma."

He then stood up, as did Elsa when they started to walk away. However, after he took no more than a couple of steps, the Captain found he could no longer move, as ice suddenly formed around his feet and the lower half of his legs, trapping him where he stood. Elsa worryingly looked down at the ice keeping him captive, until they both turned around to come face to face with the true villainess when she appeared behind them.

Ingrid lowered her hand after unleashing her magic against the pirate who had found her as she stated coldly, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

"What?" Killian angrily questioned her in confusion.

"Let go of him now," Elsa then demanded of the other woman like her to try to help her friend as she moved to stand in front of her, despite her own fear.

The Snow Queen turned her attention on her niece and then answered, "Not when you and I have so much catching up to do, my sweet Elsa."

Hook then looked at Elsa in confusion while he asked, "Catching up? What? You know her?"

"I've never seen her before," the younger woman worryingly replied to him, feeling just as confused as he felt.

"You've simply forgotten," the villainess responded to her.

Elsa stared at her sternly as she answered, "I wouldn't forget someone like you. Like me."

Ingrid then stated, "The magic of the rock trolls. They pull memories. They did quite a number on you, I'm afraid."

"The rock trolls?" the Queen of Arendelle questioned her again. "Why would they do that to me?"

"For the same reason they did it to your sister, Anna," the Snow Queen replied. "Some memories are too painful."

Elsa looked at her crossly and asked, "You know Anna? What happened to her?"

The other woman wearing a shimmering white gown responded, "The same thing that happens to every ordinary person. Eventually… they grow to fear us. You wonder… how you ended up trapped in that urn. It was your sister. Anna put you there."

"You're lying," her niece retorted in disbelief.

"Am I?" Ingrid questioned. "Look at the people in this town. They're ready to burn you at the stake."

Elsa answered her angrily, "Because of what you did. You hurt one of them."

The Snow Queen replied again, "You mean that young woman… Ruby. Well, that was an accident."

"No," the true Queen of Arendelle firmly responded. "It wasn't. You wanted them to think it was me. To blame me. Why?"

"I was trying to teach you a lesson," Ingrid sadly answered her, then she turned her attention back on Hook, still trapped a few feet away in front of them. "Eventually… everyone turns on people like us. Even friends. Even family. They're just waiting for a reason."

At last, the Snow Queen raised her hand again, as she conjured several icicles just above Hook that hung from the branches of the trees surrounding them and they began to shake, ready to drop and stab him at any moment, then Elsa immediately cried out, "What are you doing?"

She tried to stop the icicles to try to protect Hook, but she quickly discovered her magic was no longer working as the Snow Queen replied, "Don't bother. I've neutralized your magic."

"When your friend is found, you'll look responsible," she continued cruelly, while Killian hastily struggled to free himself by chipping away at the ice with his hook, though his efforts were in vain. "Then they'll turn on you and they'll treat you as the monster that they truly see you as, and you'll know that I'm right."

"No!" Elsa fearfully cried out, just as Emma suddenly appeared with David.

When she looked at Killian in fear upon seeing his life in danger, then heard Elsa crying out for the villainess to stop, the Savior immediately shouted, "Hey! Dairy Queen!"

Ingrid was openly shocked to see her again as she uttered, "Emma?"

"Do we know each other?" Emma asked her in confusion upon getting a strange sense from her.

"Of course not," the Snow Queen replied. "Your reputation precedes you. You really think that your magic is a match for mine?"

The Savior swiftly raised her hands and blasted the villainess back through the air while she responded, "There's only one way to find out."

David immediately rushed down to Killian to try to free him, using a knife he pulled off from his belt. The Captain attempted to help him the best he could, until he looked up again to see that the sharp icicles were beginning to dislodge. The Snow Queen then sat up and raised her hand again, using her magic to command the ice to fall. However, when the ice suddenly collapsed around David and Hook, Emma also used her own magic to force her father and the man who loved her back through the air out of the way as quickly as she could.

Once they landed roughly on the ground a few feet away from her, she asked them worryingly, "You guys okay?"

"Yeah… we're fine," David answered when he looked over at Killian, who glanced over to check on him as well, then they both sat up and looked around for the Snow Queen, who had disappeared while they were distracted. "Where is she?"

"She's gone," the Savior crossly grumbled.

A short while later…

While Killian reluctantly stayed behind with David and Elsa, as he struggled to bring warmth back into his legs and feet after they remained frozen for the short amount of time that he had been trapped by the Snow Queen, Emma quickly ran off on her own to search the area for any signs of the town's newest villain so she could try to stop her before Ingrid could hurt anyone else. Unfortunately, the Savior failed to find her, then crossly returned to the others again in defeat.

Upon sensing his daughter's agitation, David tried to convince her that she was reading far too much into the Snow Queen's possible hint of recognition, which could have very well been just as Ingrid had told Emma. That Emma's reputation as the Savior preceded her. She finally accepted the explanation for now, though a part of her still couldn't shake off the feeling she somehow knew this villainess before their first confrontation.

Then, to make her irritability worse, Killian had made the suggestion they continue on with their search of the Snow Queen and that they should try to discover her lair. His suggestion was made with good intentions and he certainly hadn't meant to make Emma more cross with him. However, the Savior adamantly cut him down in anger because he had nearly gotten himself killed for disobeying her request earlier, then she walked away from him before she could say anything more she would regret and rejoined Elsa to make sure she was alright.

Later that evening, Emma joined her parents, Henry, Elsa, Ruby, and Granny for dinner at Granny's while they discussed all that happened and what little they had learned. Mary Margaret and Henry had invited Regina to join them. However, while the Mayor had been willing to help Ruby, and her stepdaughter to get the power back up and running, she still wasn't ready to come out of hiding to face Emma further, still being angry with her for messing up her life all over again.

Killian hadn't been invited to join them either and David explained to the others it was because they had somewhat of a falling out earlier. Emma had made it pretty clear she didn't want anything to do with him the rest of the night because she was angry with him for going against her wishes, despite knowing deep down she was being far too hard on him.

It was getting late, so once everyone finished dinner, Emma was the first to get up to leave, as she told her parents and her son she was going to go for a short walk before she came home for the night. Her mother tried to object because she was worried about her being out alone so long as the Snow Queen was a threat to them. However, Emma wasn't much in the mood to listen, not even to her. So, she just left. And while she wasn't surprised to find Killian sitting down at the table where she kissed him and he had told her he loved her when she walked outside, her frustration she'd felt towards him all day upon seeing him waiting for her only grew.

While she kept on walking past him, it was clear to Killian that Emma was still angry with him, but he made a gesture for her to join him as he called out to her saying, "Swan! Don't make a man drink alone."

Still annoyed, Emma replied coldly, "Not in the mood for a drink or a man."

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you today," he responded as she walked out into the middle of the street while he swiftly chased after her, then finally used his hook to grab hold of the crook of her elbow to turn her around so that she was facing him. "All right, I know you feel like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders. But at some point, even though we're quite different, you've got to trust me."

"That's what you think this is about?" she asked as she stared at him in surprise. "That I don't trust you?"

Hook looked back at her feeling confused as he asked, "Is that not what it's about?"

The blonde woman answered firmly, "Of course I trust you."

"Then why do you keep pulling away from me?" he asked again in frustration upon raising his voice in anger.

"Because everyone I've ever been with is dead," Emma fearfully cried out, his eyes then softening upon hearing her confession after she suddenly admitted how she felt as though she was desperate to get the hard truth that she had been hiding from him all this time out into the open. "Neal and Graham. Even Walsh. I lost everyone. I… I can't lose you too."

Tears came to her eyes as Killian kept his gaze on her, his expression being one of comfort while he replied brazenly, "Well, love… you don't have to worry about me. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's surviving."

Emma's face softened as well while he continued to look into her eyes for a few moments and she into his, before Killian suddenly pulled her firmly against him and began to kiss her passionately. This time, just like when they had kissed the night before, her instinct to push him away never came as she continued to kiss him back, not wanting this moment between them to end.

This time, Emma pulled away enough so she could look up at the man holding her in his arms despite wanting to continue to kiss him, and she looked into his eyes again while she finally whispered in sincerity, "I'm sorry. For being so short with you today. For pushing you away again, like I always do whenever I get scared. It's just that last night you had gotten hurt protecting my father when the ice wall caved in and you didn't let it stop you from fighting to get me out of there. And then today, this Snow Queen almost killed you too. She would have had I not arrived when I did. Killian… I'm so sorry."

"You needn't apologize," he gently responded, then he raised his hand as he laid it against her face to tenderly caress her cheek, while he kept his hook rested firmly over the small of her back. "Believe me... I understand. I only wish I had before, as I should have. I didn't mean to scare you, Swan. Or to make you so angry with me. I only wanted to keep you safe. I've often walked head first into any danger that came my way because I didn't ever want to risk being caught unawares. Before I met you, I didn't care what happened to me. Though, I always somehow survived. I suppose now, that same impulse is just a hard habit to break. But I'll always protect you so long as I can, Emma. I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you, and I hadn't done all I could to try to stop it. You're afraid to lose me, just as I'm afraid to lose you too."

"So we'll protect each other come what may," the Savior then whispered lovingly into his ear before she started to kiss him again, starting along his neck and cheek until she reached his lips.

A few minutes later, when they heard the door of the diner open as David and Mary Margaret walked out, followed by Henry, Emma pulled away from him again, then she began to laugh upon feeling embarrassed to be caught by her parents kissing him when every part of her wanted to kiss him more than anything. Killian laughed as well, as he understood, then reached down to take her hand while he offered to walk her home.

David watched his daughter and Hook walk away from them hand in hand, while he spoke to his wife with astonishment saying, "Huh… it looks like whatever Emma was angry with him for is history."

Mary Margaret smiled upon seeing Emma so happy and then she answered, "It appears so. They look good together, David."

"Do you really think so?" her husband skeptically questioned as he looked at his wife once Emma and Killian were out of sight.

"I do," she replied. "I really do."