Disclaimer: OUAT is not mine, but Adam and Eddy's. I only wish it was mine...that way I'd own my own Hook.

Got some questions from clarkLover1 via PM and I figure that others were wondering the same: "I was reading Broken Souls Mend Hearts and I was just wondering somethings. I was wondering if Killian had his Milah tattoo or not. Also I was wondering if you were going to do the scene from the Hanzel and Grentel episode where Henry asks what he father was or what he was like and such...since I think it would be crucial to the story line really."

My answers: "Yeah I think I will keep Henry asking about his dad since I will be doing the Hansel and Gretel episode and I've been thinking about when I'm bringing Neal in and having that scene with Emma lying to protect Henry will be important for that part of the story.

As for the tattoo, the curse covers it, if that makes sense, because cursed!Killian doesn't know Milah, but once he starts getting his memories and believing in the curse the tattoo will be back (I'm thinking that it's like Emma seeing August's wooden state only after she believes in the curse, make sense?)"

If that doesn't make sense just ask and I'll be happy to answer more questions.

Also thank you clarkLover1 for your support in my writing capabilities.

Thanks to the rest of you as well! So happy that everyone has loved the story so far and I'm so excited to continue work on it for all of you!

And I'm glad that despite how painful the previous chapter was, that all of you are still reading!

That said, this chapter is still sad, because it's dealing with the aftermath of Graham's death. Sorry.

Thank you!

Please Review and enjoy!

Chapter 12: Another Day, Another Battle

The day of the funeral had a somber feel to it. At least, that's how Emma felt the day was when she woke up that morning.

She laid in bed for some time after she had awoken, not ready to deal with today. Her eyes found her black dress hanging off her closet door. Emma hadn't attended a funeral before; she never had loved ones, let alone loved ones who died. Honestly, it sucked.

This was why she didn't let people in. It only ever led to pain.

It took a lot of effort for her to get herself out of bed.

"Emma?" Mary Margaret stood at the top of the stairs, concern in her gaze. She was already dressed in a simple, quarter-sleeved black dress with low black heels. "Do you need anything?"

Yeah, Graham to be alive again. Instead of telling her that, Emma shook her head.

"Okay, David and Killian will be here in an hour." Mary Margaret hesitated before heading back down the stairs.

Right, they were all taking one car.

Emma went downstairs and headed to the bathroom for a shower. She was use to doing things so mechanically: showering, sex, driving, eating, etc. They were things that were necessary for her over the years (though admittedly sex only became a mechanic indulgence after she got out of jail because one night stands couldn't break you). But it was strange to go through a routine activity lately, with the grief and numbness seeping into ever action.

After stepping out of the shower, she dried her hair before scurrying back upstairs to her room. Despite the situation, she took her time dressing and doing her hair. It felt as though she was only doing it to prolong the morning so she wouldn't have to leave. She'd never had to do something like this and she was scared that she couldn't face it.

Instead of going back downstairs when she was ready, Emma sat at the foot of her bed, legs together, hands in her lap. Staring off into space. Yeah, that's how she should spend her day. In silence, staring blankly at her wall, not moving. Not on her way to bury her friend.

Three strong knocks brought her out of her trance. David and Killian were here.

She listened as Mary Margaret greeted them, but Emma only heard David's voice respond. Maybe Killian had the same idea she had. Stay in and hide away from the world. God knows he deserved it more than anyone.

Emma got up and walked to the railing of the loft. Looking down, she was surprised to find Killian had come after all.

Distantly, she heard David telling Mary Margaret about it being chilly outside (not a surprise considering that it was mid-November in coastal Maine), but her focus remained on Killian. He was looking down, not even paying attention to his surroundings. She could see the dark circles under his eyes, once impossibly bright eyes now dulled with grief. Idly, she thought that he cleaned up nicely in his black suit with it's white button up and plain black tie. If only she could see him dressed up under better circumstances. A strange thought to have on the way to a funeral, but Emma figured that sometimes during times like this, weird thoughts were somewhat comforting because they kept your mind occupied. She needed that right now.

Shaking herself, Emma grabbed her coat and threw it on before walking down the stairs.

Killian didn't look up.

Mary Margaret and David walked in from Mary Margaret's room, David helping the petite woman with her coat.

"Are we ready to go?" Mary Margaret asked softly. And really, what else could she ask standing in the room with the only two people that were with Graham when he died. The people that watched him die.

Emma said nothing as she walked to Killian's side. She took his hand in her's, intertwining their fingers. It was the first time they held hands, and still he wouldn't look at her. He was stuck in his grief-stricken daze. Pulling on his hand though coaxed him into moving, and the four of them left the apartment.

They were taking David's truck, even though the cab would be a tight squeeze. David in the driver seat, Mary Margaret and Emma squished in the middle, with Emma half on Killian's lap, and Killian in the passenger seat.

And they were off.

Emma wished, no, she longed for a Killian Jones innuendo. It would let her know that her charming smart ass was still somewhere in this shell of a man. It would help make things at least feel normal. But considering Killian's current state, Emma doubted that would happen any time soon.

Charming, for his part, was nervous about driving. He admitted to Killian that he couldn't drive because they didn't have cars in the Enchanted Forest; only horses. Killian had stared at him for all of one second before dragging David to his truck and explaining the basics. The gears, the ignition, the wheel, the pedals. But then Graham died, and their lessons were put on hold.

The only reason David was driving today, instead of Killian, was because David had to practically, physically get Killian out of bed, fed, and dressed this morning and the deputy still hadn't spoken a word.

This loss hit him hard to the point where he didn't seem very willing to live himself.

David just counted himself lucky that driving actually wasn't that hard for him, and that Mary Margaret was able to direct him to the cemetery without trouble.

When they arrived at the cemetery, it wasn't hard to find the grave since Graham's death was the only one in Storybrooke. The group was early, but there were still other people arriving.

Marco, Granny, Ruby, and Leroy were standing together by Ruby's car when David pulled up behind the red vehicle and parked. He and Mary Margaret got out of the car to greet them, leaving Emma with Killian. They figured that the two of them might need a moment before the funeral.

Emma slid off of his leg now that there was room in the truck's cab. She turned to look at him, their hands still laced together (she wasn't keen on letting him go), and she realized that she had no idea what to do. She didn't know how to grieve, so how the hell was she supposed to help him?

"Killian." Her voice came out so quiet that she barely heard it.

His hand tightened in hers.

Hope fluttered in her heart at finally getting some kind of response from him. Emma bit her lip, "I know..." The words seemed to lodge themselves in her throat, preventing her from forming a complete sentence. Did she really know how hard this must be for him? Could she really say that? Hell, it sounded like something from TV. Dammit Emma, get a grip. Taking a breath, Emma decided to take a different approach. Instead of comfort, she was going to be blunt because that was what she knew.

"This sucks." She said, putting as much force and steadiness in her tone as she could. "Gr-Graham is dead, and it sucks and it hurts. I know that this is hard for me, because I've never had anyone I cared about die. So I don't even know how hard this is for you. I'm not going to pretend to." She gasped a bit, a crushing weight on her chest as she kept talking, her hand gripping his. "I knew Graham for two weeks, you knew him for years. So this is probably the worst thing that you have to do, but you have to do it. You have to face Graham's death...I have to too. And I can't...I can't..." Her voice caught, her breathing uneven. When she continued, her voice was much softer and barely a whisper. "I can't do this alone, and I know you can't either. So please, Killian, please snap out of it so that we can do this together."

That did it. He finally looked up at her. And while she was happy that he did, she really wished that he hadn't, because those too-blue eyes that were always lit up with amusement and mischief now only held pain, oh so much pain, and Emma couldn't bear seeing it.

"Emma." He breathed her name with a mixture of reverence and need and grief. "Emma...I can't."

"I know." She sighed. "But you have to."

The pleading look that he gave her was almost her undoing, the temptation to go get the keys from David and drive off with Killian so they could hide from the world was too much. Instead, Emma took a shaky breath, and steeled herself. She needed to block out her pain and focus on his. He needed her, and god no one ever needed her before. Sure, Henry needed her, to be his mother, to break this curse (Emma really hoped that Henry would grow out of this fantasy), and whatnot, but Henry was her son, her child and children always need their parents. Killian needing her was different. No one ever needed her just to need her because it was her and she was all that they needed.

It was completely foreign to her.

Some deep, closed off part of herself opened up to the feeling, warming her heart.

She let go off his hand, moving both of her hands to cup his face. "I'm not going anywhere."

He was looking for a lie, which Emma found slightly amusing and endearing considering she was the one with the lie detector power. But since she had a penchant for running away from people when they got too close (if she ever saw Neal again, she really had to thank him for that one), she could understand Killian's wariness. When he saw that she was sincere, that she wouldn't let him go through this alone, he relaxed.

Her hands left his face, and she returned her hand to his.

Taking a deep breath together, they left the car, finding strength in each other to get through this day.

Killian hadn't set foot in his office yet. It had been two weeks and Killian couldn't even put on the damn Sheriff badge despite him being acting Sheriff.

There was so much that Killian was still piecing together.

Graham's last words constantly played in his head.

"Make her...believe."

"The curse...it's real...David. Ask David."

That coupled with the fact that David really did believe that he was from the Enchanted Forest, Henry and his curse fantasy and the storybook, then Regina's feud with him and Emma, and all of the changes that had been happening in town since Emma's arrival made Killian believe that there truly was something more...ominous going on. Dare he believe that this curse of Henry's was actually real? Should he believe Henry and David and Graham? It made no sense how all three of them believed so strongly in the same thing. If Killian were a skeptic, he might've believed that it may have all been a game between the three of them, or that David's memories were truly just his mind filling in blanks because Mary Margaret read him Henry's storybook (just as Emma had suggested). But that didn't make sense. Not when David knew who Mary Margaret was when he had only heard the story and had never even seen the book. Even more so, dying was beyond serious and frightening, so why would Graham's dying words be a part of a game? Why would Graham warn Killian if it wasn't something that was truly dire?

As for David, Killian hadn't asked him about what Graham meant, wary of what his newfound friend's answers would be. Killian knew that his wariness meant that he was afraid. He was afraid that the curse was real. That he wasn't who he though he was, or that Emma really was the Savior as Henry put it. That kind of label implied quite a burden, and Killian felt that it was something that Emma wasn't ready to handle yet.

And what if it was real? Who was he then? What about Marco? Or Mary Margaret, or Ruby, or Archie? What about all of his other friends and the residents of Storybrooke? It was enough to give him an identity crisis just thinking about it.

Gods it was too much to think about.

Though those thoughts went away the moment he felt arms wrapping around him from behind.

Emma. Killian relaxed into her embrace.

Thank the gods for Emma. These past weeks, she hadn't pushed him, just let him grieve, and she supported him in every way that she could. She acted as any true friend would and that made him fall more in love with her each day.

He just wished that Emma would make a move. The past two weeks had been hellish with grieving over Graham but they'd also been bearable with her constant presence. Ever since she vowed that she wasn't going anywhere, they practically spent every waking moment with each other. The only time they spent apart was when they were in their respective homes, and even then they'd shoot texts to each other. Sometimes so late into the night that due to the tiny space that was his house, even with his phone on vibrate, Killian had been on the receiving end of David's pillow flying across the room at him more than once because Killian was keeping him up.

But it was more than just her presence that had been a comfort. They had developed an intimate level of physical comfort. No, they still hadn't kissed. It wasn't intimate in any romantic way. It was more that they just had to touch each other, as though to reassure themselves that the other was still here, still alive, and that they weren't going anywhere. Whether it was holding hands, or Emma wrapping her arms around his middle, or him brushing his hand through her hair, they needed any kind of physical contact. Killian had never felt the need to be physical with anyone. Sure he hugged Marco or Ruby or Granny, or he ruffled Henry's hair, or well, had sex with any available woman after a night of drinking (which he hadn't done since Emma had arrived in town). But all of those gestures of affections and that whole fulfilling his carnal needs were things that he either did by habit or that he wanted to do. He had never needed to touch someone. Even before Graham had died, he had this feeling niggling in the back of his mind, but he ignored it because he and Emma had still been teetering on the invisible line that was between friendship and romance.

Sure they had a level of friendly, physical intimacy, though that night after the Nolan's party when he had made his confession had definitely almost pushed them over the line, but it was no where near what it was now.

They were more open with each other. They talked to each other and held each other. They were there for each other. It was something that neither of them had really had in their lives and it was something that they had always craved, something that they had always needed.

They stayed like that for a moment, Emma's cheek pressed against his back, her hands interlocked in front of him, his hand going over hers. It was a peaceful moment that neither was really willing to break.

However, it couldn't last forever, so reluctantly, Killian moved out of her arms only enough so that he could turn around to face her. Her arms never left him. The second he saw her, his arms went around her shoulders, pulling her back to him. She rested her head against his collar bone. He closed his eyes, relishing the feel of her in his arms, summoning all of his willpower to keep from kissing her.

"What did Gold want?" He asked. Distraction, that's what he needed right now.

He felt Emma's hesitation without having to look at her. Opening his eyes to look down at her, he saw that she was looking at the ground, probably trying to avoid his gaze.

"He, uh, well, Graham rented an apartment that Gold owns." Emma said. "He wanted us to have his things." She lifted her head off of him and nodded over at the desk closest to the door.

Killian's eyes landed on a cardboard box, Graham's signature leather jacket resting over it. He felt his throat constrict and his stomach knotted. Gods, he missed his brother so damn much. His arms tightened around Emma, but she didn't protest pulling him closer herself.

"He also wanted me to remind you that after two weeks, you're the official Sheriff now." Emma whispered.

"I know." Killian sighed. He, very unwillingly, left Emma's arms and walked over to the box.

She followed him.

Carefully, he took the jacket off of the top. He stared at it for a moment, before Emma placed her hand on his.

"Since we both know that you're not going to wear it, I have an idea."

He gave a small smile, "Oh, do you?"

Emma rolled her eyes, taking the jacket from him.

Killian watched her walk over to Graham's - though he supposed that it was his now - office. She entered the space and very gently hung the jacket on the coat rack.

As she walked back over to him, she explained. "So we always have something of him here, to remember him."

His heart swelled at her action, because he wanted so badly to keep Graham around. It was the main reason for the office being untouched, a memorial to his brother.

"That..." His voice cracked, the words caught in his throat. Clearing it, he continued, "That's perfect, Swan. Really."

They both shared a smile, then turned their attention back to the box. A pair of Graham's boots, a set of walkie talkies, a few framed photographs of Graham and his friends, a few books, and a faded dark red scarf. Killian eyed the scarf. He had never seen it before, even in the winter, Graham had never worn it. He picked it up wondering if Gold had put it in the box by mistake. But then, it felt like it had belonged to Graham. Killian couldn't really explain it, but there was something about this scarf.

Movement from Emma distracted him from his thoughts. She took out one of the boots, earning a quirked brow from Killian.

"What? You get something of his to wear, then so do I." Emma shrugged.

Killian smirked in amusement, "I think those boots may be a bit big on you, lass."

Emma rolled her eyes, a teasing tone seeping into her voice as she spoke "I didn't mean the boots."

He watched her unlace the boot carefully, curious as to her intention.

When the lace was free, she began wrapping it around her left wrist, covering the buttercup tattoo that Killian had once questioned her about.

It just felt...familiar. She had told him. I saw it and I knew that I wanted to have that tattoo. I asked the guy what it was and he said it was a buttercup. Well, he said he thought it was. That was my second reason for getting it, the fact that it was a buttercup.

Emma finished wrapping the shoe lace and tied it off.

"Turning a shoe lace into a bracelet." Killian teased. "Trying to set a trend, Swan?"

"Shut up." She hit him playfully on the shoulder.

Setting the scarf aside, Killian glanced back in the box. He pulled out the walkie talkies.

"You think that Henry would like these?" Killian asked.

"You sure, you don't want them?"

Killian shook his head, "We have a few other sets around here somewhere. Besides, Henry was fond of Graham, and Graham fond of Henry. I think they'd both like him to have them."

Emma smiled, taking the walkie talkies from him. "I'm sure he'd love to have them for Operation Cobra."

"Aye." Killian said. "Though, the lad's been awfully quiet on that front."

"Yeah," Emma sighed, "it's like he's been pulling away. I think that Graham's...death affected him more than we thought. I tried to talk with him, but he won't speak. He even stopped letting me walk him to school."

Seeing Emma's pain caused Killian pain. He hated to see her so down. "He'll come around." Killian tried to reassure her. "It's just going to take some time."

Emma nodded. She turned and set the walkie talkies on Killian's desk. The sheriff's badge caught her eye. Glancing at Killian, he seemed to be occupied looking at the photos that Graham had. Taking the badge, Emma went back to Killian's side and unclipped his deputy badge from his belt.

That caught his attention.

"What are you doing?" He asked as she set his badge down on the desk.

She held up the sheriff's badge to him. "Like Gold said, the job is your's now." Before he could protest or take the badge away, she clipped it onto his belt. "I know you don't like it." Her eyes met his. "But it's your's. You've been deputy for years, and you're more than qualified to be sheriff. And...Graham would've wanted you to take his place. To protect the town."

He really wanted to deny her, to tell her that he couldn't do this, that it was too soon, but she looked at him with such...belief in her eyes, that he forgot to breath for a second. Emma believed in him; she believed that he had the strength to take the job and to fill Graham's shoes. Knowing that, Killian felt...relieved. There was no pressure, no anxiety from taking over Graham's job, no sense of guilt. Just relief, because this one woman, the woman that he loved no less, had faith in him.

Loved. Killian's brain backtracked. Loved. He loved Emma. Gods be damned, he loved Emma Swan. Yes, he admitted to falling in love with her, to her, himself, and his father, but to outright know and feel that he loved her, that he was done falling and he was right there...it made butterflies twirl in his stomach and his heart lighten just a bit more.

"So, does this mean I get your badge now?" Emma asked, picking up his deputy badge.

"It's the same as your's." He shrugged. "There's no rank or anything. Nothing special about it."

Emma's lips formed into a smile. "It was your's." She said as she removed her deputy badge from her belt only to replace it with his. "That's plenty special enough."

Their gazes locked, and he returned her smile. His hand rose to her cheek, brushing away a stray hair.

Her eyes fluttered as she leaned into his touch.

"Emma."

God, how could him only saying her name make her feel like this? And why, oh why, did he always have to say it as though she were his saving grace? As if she were the most precious thing in the world? She closed her eyes to keep herself grounded, unwilling to lose herself in him, and what he made her feel. It had been an ongoing inner battle since she met him, but since Graham had died, she only strengthened her resolve to be just friends with Killian.

She didn't want any romantic relationship with him to be born out of grief. He was too special to her for her to risk not being cautious about their relationship. Hell, she still wasn't sure that she was ready for a romantic relationship. Falling in love was one thing, but acting on her feelings was a totally different monster, and she wasn't ready to face it.

Killian knew her reasons for not giving in, she was an open book after all, but he really wanted to kiss her then. He wanted to kiss her, make her his, tell her that he was hers, make it official, whatever. He wanted all of her and he wanted to give all of himself to her. However, she wasn't ready to give him everything, and because he loved her, he knew that he couldn't, wouldn't, push her more than she was comfortable with.

So after stroking her cheek once, he slowly dropped his hand and stepped back, giving her her space.

Emma was grateful for that. Sighing, she opened her eyes and turned her attention to the photographs.

Before she could even pick up one, they heard the door to the office open and shut. Someone was paying them a visit, which meant that it was time to work.

Unfortunately, their visitor was none other than the Mayor.

Killian felt a spark of rage at seeing her. He'd been avoiding her since the funeral, because his gut told him that she had played a part in Graham's death and that she was up to something. But with his grieving, he knew that if he had confronted her, then it wouldn't be pretty, because he had no proof and it would only cause more trouble. As it was, he was still having trouble reining in his anger.

"Madame Mayor." Emma greeted, her tone filled with displeasure.

"Miss Swan." Regina smiled condescendingly. She turned to Killian, "I'm sure that you're aware that after two weeks, the promotion to sheriff is automatic. However, the two weeks isn't up just yet, and as Mayor, I have the power to appoint someone else, which I am doing today."

Killian glared at her. "Where the bloody hell does it say you can do that?"

"The town charter, of course."

"No, it doesn't." Killian argued.

Regina scowled at his defiance. "While I'm sure you are attached to your job, Deputy Jones, I will not allow you to have attitude with me."

Killian rolled his eyes. Regina was always so fucking full of herself. "I meant that the charter literally doesn't say that." Brushing past Regina, Killian walked over to one of the many file cabinets, and pulled out a drawer. He ruffled through it before pulling out a manila folder. As he walked back over to the women, he opened the folder and read the pages inside. After a minute or two, he found what it was looking for. "Ah ha, look here." He placed the paper on his desk and pointed. Both Regina and Emma moved over to read it. "It states that the Mayor can only appoint a candidate for sheriff. It calls for an election."

Emma crossed her arms over her chest, smirking proudly. That's my guy.

"Well then, I assume that you'll be running?" Regina asked him through gritted teeth.

"I don't think an election is called for." Killian said. "You know that there is no one in town qualified for the position that isn't standing in this room. An election would just be a waste of time."

"Afraid that you'll lose?" Regina challenged.

Killian bristled. "No, because of many reasons. First off, I'm well liked and friends with the majority of the town. Second, as I said, no one else is qualified for the job. Third, anyone you pick as candidate will be in your pocket and everyone will know it. Just as everyone knows that I won't take shit from you. That's why I'll win."

Smirking wider, Emma couldn't help but silently cheer Killian on, because Regina had just been schooled and even she couldn't deny that Killian would win in an election, politics be damned.

"Whether you like it or not, Mr. Jones," Regina snarled. "This town will have an election. You versus Sidney Glass."

"Sidney?" Emma snorted. "He's a journalist, what does he know about the law?"

Giving Emma a patronizing look, Regina continued. "He's covered the Sheriff's Office for as long as anyone can remember."

"That doesn't make him eligible." Emma countered.

"Regardless, he's the best choice."

"Only because he'll do whatever you say." Killian said. "He's your dog, wholly and completely. You just want this office back under your rule. You can't stand the fact that things have been getting better around here."

"Better? Are you referring to Graham's death as 'better'?" It was beyond being a cheap shot. Regina smirked at the stricken look on Killian's face.

"No, he wasn't." Emma snapped, moving to stand in between Regina and Killian, instinct demanding her to protect him. "Graham was a good man, and he would've wanted Killian to be sheriff. They were brothers, dammit. And you just can't handle the fact that both of them freed this office from your leash. There is no one better to keep this town safe than Killian. The election business is crap, and you know it. You know that Killian has earned that badge as much as Graham had."

"Excuse me for ignoring your blatantly biased opinion, Miss Swan." Regina said. "But I am Mayor, and what I say goes. There will be an election. Until the town has chosen a new sheriff, I believe that the badge belongs to me." Regina held out her hand.

"I'm still acting sheriff." Killian said.

"Then you will be just fine with a deputy's badge."

Breathing through his nose to calm his anger, Killian took the badge from his belt and gave it to Regina.

"Have a nice day." She said with false cheer, leaving behind two seething deputies.

Emma couldn't help herself, taking Graham's unlaced boot and throwing it against the bars of one of the cells. "Bitch."

Killian pulled her into his arms, her back to his chest, his arms around her shoulders as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Emma." He said, his tone lulling her out of her tense state. "We will win this."

"How?" Emma turned her head to face him. "You and I both like a fair fight, and Regina doesn't mind getting her hands dirty."

He smiled at her, placing a kiss on her cheek, "We will win, Emma. As long as we're willing to fight for what we want, we will win."

Emma was happy to see Henry at his castle that afternoon. He had been so distant lately, and she really hoped that Killian's gift would cheer him up. Sitting down next to him, she handed him one of the walkie talkies.

"Brought you something." Emma said. "They were Graham's, and Killian wanted us to have them. I figured that we could use them for Operation Cobra."

"Thanks." Henry mumbled, none too enthusiastic.

"Henry, what's wrong?" Emma asked. "You've been avoiding me for weeks. Please tell me if it's something that i did, or didn't do..."

"It's not you." Henry said. "I just...I think that Operation Cobra should be put on hold."

"Really?" Emma was worried. Henry loved Operation Cobra. He always talked about it with such excitement.

"Yeah. Working on Operation Cobra would mess with the curse." Henry sighed. "You don't play with the curse. Graham died because he started believing in the curse, because he was getting his memories back."

"Henry." Emma put her arm around him. "They did an autopsy. Graham died of natural causes."

Henry looked at her, his expression grim. "Whatever. It's probably good that you don't believe. That should keep you from messing with the curse and getting killed."

"You're worried about me?" Emma was touched.

"Regina killed Graham because he was good." Henry said. "You're good, and Killian's good. Good always loses, because good has to fight fair, and she's evil. She doesn't have to play fair. She could hurt both of you, so both of you need to be careful."

"Henry, the curse isn't real." Emma urged. "Killian and I aren't in danger from anything other than a dirty election."

"Election?"

"Yeah, Regina appointed a candidate for sheriff." Emma explained. "Killian's running against him, so that we can keep our jobs and keep Regina from gaining too much power. She's already too full of herself."

"He shouldn't run." Henry said, panicked. "Something bad could happen to him."

"Nothing bad is going to happen to Killian." Emma said. "I won't let anything happen to him."

Henry stared at her for a moment. "You love him."

It wasn't a question.

"I care about him." Emma sighed. "A lot. He's important to me, like you are. But I don't love him, not just yet."

"But you're close?"

Emma could only give him a gentle smile. "I am."

That response elicited the first smile from Henry that'd she'd seen in weeks. "That's good. You need love in your life."

"And you need it in yours." Emma replied, tapping lightly at the walkie talkie in Henry's hand. "I don't care that Regina may harm us, Operation Cobra is important to you, so I'm not going to stop playing my part."

He stared down at the walkie talkie. "I'm still not sure that we should keep doing this. I don't want to make her angry."

"How about this?" Emma began. "Why don't you focus on school and I'll focus on helping Killian with the election and then after everything settles down, we can talk about Operation Cobra again? Okay?"

Still wary of what this election would mean and about what could happen to his mom and Killian, Henry could only give her a strained smile, before tucking the walkie talkie into his backpack and leaving Emma wondering how the hell to fix things.

Rumplestiltskin wanted to kill the pirate. That was true. He'd been patient enough, having planned on killing the deputy and leaving Miss Swan alone, despite Regina's desire for him to get rid of the Savior.

However, the sheriff's death complicated things. He couldn't very well have Hook die so shortly after the Huntsman. Whenever the curse was broken, Gold was going to have to talk to Regina about her lack of subtlety. Especially after reading this morning's paper. Tut-tut, dearie, dragging the swan through the mud will only infuriate her pirate.

Still, he always had a back up plan. He didn't want to kill Hook just yet, not after all of this. No, he needed Hook to become sheriff so that Miss Swan would be able to fight Regina and break the curse.

Which meant that he had to help Jones win the election somehow. As distasteful as that was.

With that thought in mind, Gold walked into Granny's, practically the entire town eating breakfast there this morning, having no idea the scene that was going to play out within the hour.

Killian and David were in a booth at Granny's eating breakfast when Marco came into the diner, the morning's newspaper in hand.

"Killian, have you read this?" Marco handed the paper to Killian, taking a seat next to David.

Curious, Killian unfolded the paper and read the headline of the front page.

Ex-Jailbird - Emma Swan birthed babe behind bars.

Reading the headline alone caused fury to boil in him, but reading the entire article had Killian's teeth grounding in anger.

"Bloody buggering fuck." He hissed. Red was all that he could see as he tossed the paper violently on the table.

David picked it up to read as well, and found information that he really wasn't happy to see.

"Why the bloody fucking hell is she attacking Emma and Henry?" Killian growled. "I'm running, she's supposed to attack me."

Biting back his own anger, because seriously this was low for Regina, David set the paper down. "She's attacking them because you love them. It's a way for her to get under your skin and bring you down, because Emma's a part of your department. She wants people to think that this is the type of person you employ."

"I don't care what it is." Killian said. "This hurts Emma and Henry."

"Killy, we know." Marco said, trying to calm the man. "But you can't let this get to you. The people of the town, they know you're good, and they know that Regina is abusing her power. Fight fair, and the town will follow you."

"He's right." David agreed. "You can't let Regina get to you. You can't let her win."

At that moment, Regina had the unfortunate luck of walking into the too full diner.

"Oh, I won't." Killian vowed as he caught sight of her. Before Marco or David could stop him, he grabbed the paper, stood, and walked over to where Regina waited at the counter for her to-go order.

The entire diner went silent, training their eyes on the pair.

"What the bloody hell is this?"

Regina looked at him with a bored expression. "The truth. Miss Swan is an ex-con."

"Bugger that." Killian snarled. "This is between you and me. There is no reason to attack Emma and Henry."

"This isn't an attack on my son." Regina said.

"The hell it isn't." Killian argued. "You really think that seeing this..." He waved the paper in front of her, "...won't get back to Henry. This could scar him for life."

The bell over the diner signaled the entrance of Emma and Mary Margaret, but the Mayor and acting sheriff were too caught up in their argument to notice.

"I'm only exposing the truth." Regina defended. "If Henry finds out, what of it? We all lose our heroes at some point."

"You are so full of shit Regina." Killian snapped. "You're really going to let your jealousy of Emma cloud your judgement? You're not doing Henry any favors, you're only hurting him."

"I'm not jealous of Miss Swan." Regina stated cooly. "I simply think that my son deserves to know the truth about her."

"The truth about what?" Emma asked, turning the entire diner's attention from the argument to the newcomers.

Killian froze. A part of Emma's past was now exposed and it was his fault. He feared how she would react to it.

"What's going on?" Emma demanded. She noticed the crumpled newspaper in Killian's fist, and when she got no answers, she walked over and took it from him, assuming that Regina may have just started her smear campaign. Only, as Emma read the headline, stomach clenching uncomfortably as her chest tightened, Emma realized that the smear campaign wasn't against Killian, but against her.

Slowly, Emma lowered the paper and met Regina's smug smile.

"This was a juvie record." Emma said, lowly. Though, due to the deafening silence in the diner, everyone heard it. "It was sealed by the court, so I don't know how exactly you got it, but it's an abuse of power and it's illegal."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Regina smirked. "You didn't want people to know you cut his cord with a shiv?"

"I don't care what people know." Emma snapped. "But this hurts Henry."

"He would've learned eventually." Regina said. "As I told your boyfriend here, we all lose our heroes at some point."

"He doesn't need to lose anything more." Emma glared. "Don't you see what he's going through? He's depressed and he's losing hope. Can't you see that?"

"Henry is fine." Regina scoffed.

"No, he's not." Killian spoke. He ad calmed considerably with Emma at his side. "What do you think this will do to him, watching his adoptive mother blatantly dragging his birth mother through the mud? You don't think that that might be upsetting to the lad?"

"I only exposed the truth about Miss Swan here." Regina stated. "As for the legality, I did nothing wrong."

"That doesn't matter." Killian growled. "What matters is that this was unnecessary. You want to play dirty, fine. Hit me, and only me, with your best shot. Attack me all that you like, but leave Emma and Henry out of this."

"I already said that this wasn't an attack on Henry."

"It sure as hell affects him." Emma said.

"Maybe you should've thought about that, before you landed yourself in jail." Regina sneered.

The stricken look on Emma's face made Killian want to slap Regina, and Killian would never hit a woman, but Christ, Regina was hitting below the belt again.

"However, if you're really concerned about jail time and juvie records, then your boy toy and Sidney will have a chance to get into all of that during the debate." Regina took her to-go order from a scowling Ruby. "Have a good day, Jones. Miss Swan."

Regina left the diner, the second time in two days leaving behind a very angry Emma and Killian.

As for Gold, still sipping his tea in a corner table, he figured out just how to help the pirate win the election after watching that little scene. Though, it would very well hurt the people involved, it was his best chance to see just what this town was made of: loyalists or cowards.

Sorry I didn't give you guys the funeral scene, but I was so near tears writing Killian and Emma's grief that I couldn't put myself through the actual funeral let alone do that to all of you. And I know, killing Graham again was too much, but it had to be done.

A note on the red scarf. It was the Huntsman's. I've been looking at pictures trying to figure out what could've belonged to the Huntsman and not Graham, that Killian could keep and it would be a reminder that the curse is real. At least, it is a scarf from what I can tell in all of the pictures that I've found. It's never very clear, so I'm assuming that that's what it is.

The reasons for Emma's reasoning behind the tattoo: The Princess Bride, duh. But also, Eddy had stated once how it was the same flower on Charming's crest; that's why Emma said it was familiar. She had seen it on Charming's sleeve cuffs as he carried her off to the wardrobe though it's a very distant memory and I'm gonna attribute her remembering it to her being a magical product of True Love considering she was barely five minutes old at the time...(I say that it's his cuffs because I found a screen cap of when Charming placed Emma in the wardrobe, and even though it's blurry, you can tell that his cuff is a flower (also it was the only thing that he was wearing that was a flower when he took Emma)).

As for the battle for Sheriff, well, it's heating up for sure. The next chapter will deal with that and Gold's plan for Killian that may just cost the deputy his life.

I wish you all a Happy New Year! Be safe! Survive the hiatus (only 67 days to go, if Killian could survive a year without Emma, then we can survive a few months without our babies!).

Please review and PM me!