AN: I'm sorry for the delay again in updating - you can blame my sucky muse and then me discovering Outlander for that.

Thanks for everyone who's still sticking with me, every review/follow/reblog etc means so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Twenty One

There was a strange feeling in the air when Killian followed Emma up the last flight of stairs to the ground floor of the castle, and his tight grip on her hand was just as much for his comfort as it was for hers. He could see the tension in her shoulders, feel it in her grip, and he understood it perfectly.

Regina had left with Tink and Blue to deal with Rumpelstiltskin, and he was at the same time frustrated and relieved that she'd forced himself and Emma to stay behind. She was right that they were needed more in the city in the aftermath of the fighting, and neither of them wanted to leave Henry - who'd become unusually subdued after his near death - but they were both itching for answers... and retribution.

It wasn't just their personal struggles that hung heavy in their hearts, however. And even Rumpelstiltskin wasn't their only problem.

When they finally stepped into the entrance hall, Emma's hand gripped his impossibly tighter, and his breath caught in his throat. The castle doors had been opened and people were helping others in through the doors, guards and commoners alike, men that had not so long ago been desperate to invade the castle and destroy now working alongside the people of the city to help anyone who was injured. Their faces were drawn tight with a mix of confusion and relief, but he understood the regret that he saw there as well.

They were on the same side now that they had their memories back, but just minutes ago they'd been fighting each other as viciously as they could. And being carried to the opposite side of the hall than the injured were just as many unmoving bodies.

'How could he have done this?' Emma said from beside him, and he wasn't sure if her voice was shaking from anger or sadness but he was feeling both in equal measures. 'What did these people ever do to him to deserve this? What did we ever do to him?' She didn't wait for an answer - they wouldn't have one until Regina brought Rumpelstiltskin in. Instead she turned to Henry, who was standing quietly beside them, his face pale as he stared at the people who he'd been fighting with and against. 'You should rest, Henry. You've lost a lot of blood -'

'I'm fine,' Henry said quietly.

'Henry -'

'Mom, I'm fine.'

There was a tense silence for a few seconds. Killian wondered what it was like in her head, whether the part of her that she'd lost in the curse still wanted to treat Henry like the child that he certainly wasn't anymore. Eventually she nodded, her mouth tightening.

Dropping his hand but shooting him a look that told him to stay close, Emma started making her way through the people, searching faces and bending to help where she could. Killian followed her as she did, keeping half an eye on Henry and half on her; Henry was as adamant to help as Emma was, the two of them falling into their roles of responsibility as easily as breathing, but he wasn't about to let them work themselves to the ground without a care.

He couldn't quite believe that it was over. He'd been with them, by their sides for so long now, but now that their true memories were back there was no more pretending, no more hiding how much he cared for them, all of his family finally themselves again. It had been so painful, had worn him down so deeply, but now he'd make sure that nothing kept them apart.

A small thanks, at least, was that most of the people that he spoke to hadn't been separated from their loved ones. In fact, the people that he had a chance to speak to had been living much the lives that they'd done in the Enchanted Forest before the original curse had been cast.

It didn't surprise him that one trait that Emma had retained from her cursed self was a confidence in leadership - previously she'd shied away from it, felt undeserving of it, but now she moved from person to person without hesitation, ordering about whoever was nearby with barely more than a glance and a word. He was more than happy to follow her lead, constantly glancing over the faces of the wounded, trying to get a good look at the dead on the other side of the room. These were people who he'd befriended, either in Storybrooke or over the last few months. Of the familiar faces that he saw, none of them were close friends to him, but they were to someone, and he felt the loss of them burning into an angry pit in his chest, taking away from the relief that he felt at the breaking of the curse.

Why would he have done this?

A glance at Emma's face sent those thoughts from his mind, his concern for her making everything else irrelevant. She was still smeared with blood, his and Henry's and countless others', her face pale, and dark smudges under her eyes. She leaned her hands heavily on her knees to help herself to her feet, swaying slightly as she straightened.

He reached out quickly for her arm to steady her, and she glanced up at him only for a moment before trying to turn away.

'I'm fine,' she said, just as convincingly as Henry had. It was a measure of her exhaustion that she only gave a small effort at trying to pull away, but he still didn't let her go.

'You need to rest,' he said, unable to keep the worry from his voice. 'The healing is draining your strength as well as your magic.' He'd seen it happen before when she pushed herself too hard.

Emma shook her head slowly, and he wondered if she realized how heavily she was now leaning on him. He supported her readily. 'It's not just that. I barely slept last night...'

Something flashed across her face, quickly hidden but there nonetheless, and he tightened his grip on her automatically. Whether she hadn't slept because she'd been up with Neal, or because she had been riddled with guilt over their tryst, he wasn't sure, but either way he knew that it was his fault. He swallowed hard to hold back his words of apology and explanation; once he started he wouldn't be able to stop until everything was told, and he knew that this was neither the time nor the place.

Not for the first time, he wondered what damage might have been done aside from the obvious.

There was movement beside him and he turned his head to see Henry reaching for his mother, the look on his face showing that he was aware of her overexertion as well. 'Mom,' he began, reaching for her other arm. 'You should -'

'Emma?'

Snow stood at the bottom of the staircase, one hand gripping the banister and the other clutching David's own. But there was a recognition, a knowledge in her eyes that was Snow and Mary Margaret combined, a tenseness in the way David held himself that spoke of too many times separated and reunited.

'Mom,' Emma whispered, then, a little louder, 'Dad,' and then Snow and David rushed forward, arms reaching. Emma stepped toward them and this time he let her go, noticing the little stumble in her step but not wanting to keep her from this.

He also noticed just how tightly they gripped each other, and itched to have her in his arms again himself. Yes, they'd been together during the curse, and with him for the last few months of it, but it wasn't the same. He never wanted to let her go again.

Snow held out her hand for Henry, and the young prince joined them without argument. Killian stood by awkwardly, unsure of his position in their lives for the first time in years, but it was Snow who reached out to him first.

Pulling back from Emma and Henry, she turned to him with tears in her eyes. 'Killian,' she said, her voice full of relief and a familiarity that had until now been lacking. And then her arms were around him too, despite the blood, despite any reservations that he'd expected her to have. 'You broke the curse. You saved us.'

Slowly, not quite sure of himself, he moved his arms to embrace her. Looking up, he caught David's eye over Snow's shoulder, and relaxed a little at the approving smile he sent him. 'Thank you, Killian,' he said sincerely, nodding at him without letting go of Emma, and Killian could only nod wordlessly back. He'd never done well with gratitude, having not done a lot to deserve it for most of his life, but David seemed to understand.

Snow pulled away, and he busied himself with clapping Henry on the back and making sure that he was still all right as Snow and Emma hugged once more. 'What's happening? How much do you know?'

They filled them in quickly on their suspicions on Rumpelstiltskin, and just as they finished with the immediate details, Regina appeared out of the air a few paces away. Some of the people in the hall barely reacted, but for others the memory of the person that she'd reverted to under the curse was too strong, and they flinched and averted their eyes. Thankfully, no one acted too obviously, hopefully mindful enough of how twisted their own memories had been, and either Regina didn't notice or pretended not to. He was thankful that he'd thought to mention Regina's innocence loudly enough that the people closest by had heard it.

Those false memories, and the actions that had been inspired by them, might cause trouble later, but at least it appeared that everyone's priorities were on the more immediate threat. 'Where is he?' Snow asked, stepping forward before Regina as Blue and Tink materialized a moment later. 'Where is Rumpelstiltskin?'

'He fled,' Tink said, turning quickly to her full size.

'We found him just outside the city gates,' Regina said with a scowl. 'Throwing balls of power and fire toward the castle, cackling away as crazily as ever. We tried to sneak up on him,' she said with a roll of her eyes to show just how well she'd thought of that plan, 'but he sensed us immediately and fled.' She turned to Henry, her voice taking on a different kind of edge. 'Are you all right?'

Henry nodded, clearly trying to keep the impatience from his face at the fact that people kept worrying at him, but the boy had always been smart, and kept silent. Regina's face softened, her lip twitching slightly in acknowledgement of this sacrifice, before looking up to Snow and David. 'It appears as though we have a lot of catching up to do.'

Snow returned the smile, before it faded into uncertainty. 'We do, but we can't let Rumpelstiltskin get away with this. We have to go after him!'

'But not today,' Emma said. Her colour was starting to look better, and she was holding herself taller, no longer leaning on David. 'He's not going to attack us again today, not now that he's seen Regina's on our side. He must know that we have our memories back, and that we'll be pissed.'

Killian heard Snow's reluctant agreement, but his mind was no longer on their conversation. His attention was entirely on Emma; that purely Emma Swan comment from Princess Emma's lips simultaneously worried and thrilled him. To have his wife back was what he'd been yearning for every minute for the past few months, but he could only imagine the conflict going on in her head right now. And for how long? How hard would it be for her to distinguish between her true memories and the false ones brought by the curse?

And what about her feelings? She'd genuinely loved Neal when she'd first met him in her youth. And now, she'd spent several years as his wife, believing in her love for him again. Even if those memories had been false, what if something real had resurfaced from them?

'Killian?' Emma's hand slipped into his and when he turned his head to look at her, the smile that she directed toward him was enough to ease his doubts - a little, at least. 'You look troubled.'

'There's much to be troubled about,' he said, and while it was true, for the moment at least it felt insignificant. No matter what else, the curse was broken, and they were together.

Reluctant to let go of her hand, he instead lifted his arm, ignoring the twinge of pain and using his hook to brush aside her hair. Her smile trembled for a moment and then strengthened, her free hand coming up to touch his face before dropping to his arm. 'Killian, I...'

Her eyes flickered away and then back to his, and for the first time it occurred to him that she might be just as nervous about his reactions to her as he was of hers. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. She smiled, her eyes lighting up, and he was unable to stop the grin from spreading across his face just for having her look at him like that. Neither of them were overly fond of public displays of affection, but he'd spent far too long parted from her and besides, if anyone wanted to protest him kissing his wife when that kiss and woken them all up, they could just try and do so. Slipping his arm around her back, he bent his head toward her.

'Mama!'

Killian's head snapped up at the same time that Emma pulled back, and as quickly, the two of them immediately turning toward the source of the voice. Granny reached the bottom of the staircase, struggling with the three year old in her arms. Eva was clearly protesting not just being carried, but being held with her head to Granny's shoulder in a way that restricted her view of her surroundings - which was undoubtedly necessary, as far as he was concerned, but incredibly unfair in Eva's opinion.

The sight of the young girl sent an immediate twinge of pain and longing to Killian's chest, which only increased when Emma pulled away from him, dropping his hand to run toward her daughter. 'I'm sorry,' he heard Granny say, her voice muffled to his ears as though she was in another room instead of just a few paces away. 'She wanted you, and I thought you'd want to see her too. Besides, I really need to find Ruby.'

'Of course,' Emma said dismissively, then softened her tone with a smile, forced though it was. 'She shouldn't be out here, though.' Granny obviously agreed, surrendering Eva to Emma so that her head was tucked into her mother's neck.

'What's happening, Mama?' Eva said, her voice muffled but much more calm now that she was in Emma's arms.

'Nothing, honey, it's nothing,' she said, glancing around the room. Killian followed her gaze. There didn't appear to be many more people suffering too badly or waiting for assistance, but the row of dead at the other end of the hall was a little longer and just as confronting. Everyone else appeared to have been cleared out of the hall and were seeking treatment elsewhere.

Even so, it was not a place for the child. Emma hurried toward one of the receiving rooms attached to the hall, pausing at the doorway to throw a glance at him over her shoulder. He was too swept up in his own thoughts to interpret the look on her face before she disappeared into the room.

Did she want him to follow her? Did she want some time alone?

Is she mine?

He was dimly aware of Snow starting to take control of the situation again now that they'd regrouped, but no one seemed to be asking anything of him and once he took that first step toward that receiving room, he wasn't sure that he would have been capable of stopping anyway. Whatever the truth, he didn't want to be parted from them for a moment longer than necessary, and he'd always be standing ready for her unless she bid him not to.

He hesitated in the doorway, unsure of whether to enter, unable to leave. There was a long table down one end of the room and some couches at the other, and that's where Eva sat, frowning up at Emma, who perched on the edge of the couch beside her.

'Why are you so dirty, Mama?'

Emma, who had been in the process of smoothing Eva's hair, snatched her hand back, looking herself over before smiling weakly at her. 'It's nothing, sweetheart. Some people were hurting and I had to make them better, and I got a little dirty.'

The sight of the sword going through Henry, the blood everywhere, so much blood, made his stomach turn and he must have made some sound because both Emma and Eva looked up to him, the curious expression on their faces almost identical. He couldn't find the words he wanted, or any words at all, so he just looked at them, drinking in the sight of them together, giving into the depth of his longing just in case he was about to lose that chance.

'Killy's just as dirty as you are, Mama,' Eva whispered loudly and although his lips twitched, his heart ached because he wanted this girl to be his more than he'd dared to admit, and these last few minutes of not knowing might be better than the truth.

Emma could see straight through him, however, staring up at him with her lips parted, a questioning look on her face. 'Killian?'

He opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head. Seeing that he was struggling, Emma murmured something to Eva before walking up to him, pulling him properly into the room and closing the door behind him. 'Killian,' she said again, her brow furrowing in concern. 'Are you -'

'I need to know,' he said in a rush, the stoppered words now falling out uncontrolled. His hand closed around her arm, needing to hold onto something. Eva's attention had wavered from them, and he forced himself to look away from her to face Emma fully. 'It's haunted me every day since I learned about her, and I can't stand to not know for a moment longer. Were you with child before the curse took you from me? Is she mine?'

The look of surprise on her face and her quick draw of breath felt like a fist tightening in his gut, and it took all of his effort to stop himself from immediately jumping to the worst conclusion. Emma's hand quickly came up to cover his, pulling it from her arm and threading their fingers together. 'Yes,' she said, her eyes crinkling, the corner of her mouth lifting in a sad smile. 'Yes, Killian, she's yours. She's your daughter.'

Before he could stop himself, he tugged her towards him, his left arm slipping around her waist, his other hand dropping hers to pull her closer, unable to bear the slightest amount of distance between them in that moment. His head dropped to her shoulder, his face turned into her neck and he actually trembled with the strength of his relief.

Her arms came around him just as quickly, a low sound escaping the back of her throat that sounded just how he felt. 'I found out that I was pregnant the day that we were going to leave,' she said after a moment, her voice strained, and then when she pulled back, he saw dismay forming in her eyes. 'You've been here this whole time and not known. I can't imagine what it's been like for you.' Her teeth dug hard into her lower lip and he wanted to kiss that mouth so badly but was still more than aware of Eva - his child, his daughter - sitting nearby. He turned to look at her, quietened now that she was near her mother, happily tugging at a small tear in her skirts. 'I wanted to surprise you when we got there, but instead...'

Looking back to Emma, he lifted his hand to cup her face, his thumb brushing over her cheek. '"Surprise" would be an understatement,' he said dryly, trying not to think of his reaction when Neal had first told him. 'It doesn't matter now,' he said, closing his eyes for a moment to let the truth settle over him. And along with the thrill of possibility was a tendril of fear, the knowledge that at some point, everyone that he'd cared for had slipped through his fingers. He ducked his head, suddenly anxious. 'I'm not sure how to be a good father,' he said uncertainly.

Emma's laughter made him look up again quickly. 'Killian, Henry loves you like a father,' she said gently. 'You've always done so well by him. And you've been great with Eva since you've been here. She kind of adores you already.' Her smile turned tentative.

Having more children wasn't something that they'd spoken about - not seriously, anyway - and this was certainly a unique way of broaching the subject, but although he hadn't dared consider it for a long time before he'd met Emma, he'd wanted so desperately to be a father. He knew without a doubt that he'd have given anything to keep little Eva in his life.

He wasn't sure how well he'd do, but at least now he'd have the chance.

'Emma,' he said hesitantly, pulling back a little to speak seriously. This wasn't something that he wanted to broach at all, let alone now, but he knew that Neal deserved better than silence. 'Neal will be wanting answers just as much as I did.'

Her eyes widened. 'Neal hasn't been cursed since you got here,' she said slowly.

He'd told her as much earlier, but he knew that she likely hadn't had the chance to consider the ramifications of that. 'That's right,' he said, a knot forming in his stomach at what her reaction might be. There had been a lot of lies told to her, and he'd played a part in his fair share of them.

Her only thought, however, seemed to be for Eva. 'He'd have spent this whole time wondering if she's his daughter too,' she said, dropping her voice with a glance at Eva.

Killian grimaced. 'And he won't be getting the same good news as I did.'

'He's going to be heartbroken,' Emma said quietly, leaning forward to rest her head on his chest, turning to watch Eva. Pressing a comforting kiss to the top of her head, he followed her gaze. Eva was completely oblivious to their worries, now having torn another small strip in her dress and twisting the two together.

He wasn't sure what was worse; him missing the first years of his daughter's life, or Neal finding out that his daughter wasn't truly his.

'This is so messed up,' Emma whispered after a moment and he couldn't help but laugh, the relief at having his own Emma back unable to be held back. His arm tightened around her, still feeling the need to keep her as close as possible.

He was confident that it would be a long while before that subsided.

There was a quiet knock at the door, and after a pause it opened to reveal Neal, looking just as tormented as he'd felt only minutes ago. His eyes went immediately to Eva, and Killian reluctantly put some space between himself and Emma when Neal looked to them searchingly. He cleared his throat before speaking. 'Snow said you were in here,' he said, his gaze flickering between the two of them and Eva, and it appeared that he was just as scared of the truth as he had been.

''Ello, Papa,' Eva piped up cheerfully from the other side of the room, making everyone wince.

'Hello, sweetheart,' Neal said, forcing a smile. 'I...' Hesitating for a moment, he crossed the room quickly, pulling Eva up into a tight hug. 'Just let me talk to your mother for a minute, all right?'

When Emma looked back up at him, there was a nervous fear in her eyes that Killian understood completely, but he was also unsurprised when it turned into a reluctant determination. 'There's a lot of details to figure out,' she said to him, quietly and quickly. 'Will you watch her while I talk to Neal? We'll deal with the rest later, together. All right?'

He nodded, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth before he walked over to the couch where Eva sat, avoiding Neal's gaze as he passed him because he knew that he wouldn't have been able to hide the truth in his eyes. They'd been together in the heartache of not knowing since he'd arrived, but the truth had the power to break the friendship that they'd managed to build over the years. Instead, he focused on Eva, on the warmth that spread through his chest despite his worries when she looked up at him and grinned.

'May I sit with you, lass?' he asked, trying to appear casual but feeling anything but.

Silently nodding her assent, Eva watched him as he sat down beside her, not quite certain of how familiar to act. Eva took that choice away from him, squirming across the couch until her small arm was pressed against his, leaning her head against him. 'Everyone is mad or sad,' she said glumly, looking down to her ruined skirt. 'Is it gonna be better soon?'

She looked up at him with watery eyes, and he let himself slip his arm around her, unable to stop himself from comforting her.

It sent another wave of longing through him when she snuggled against him so readily, and he had to remind himself that this life was his now; this girl was his daughter, the woman nearby was once again his wife.

He tried not to pay attention to Emma and Neal, wanting to give them as much privacy as possible, but he couldn't help but hear as Neal's voice raised from a whisper to something more desperate, his denial reaching his ears clearly. Killian glanced up unwillingly and when he saw Emma pulling a broken-looking Neal into her arms he quickly looked away, all too aware that it just as easily could have been him in that situation. He tightened his grip around Eva, wanting to protect her from whatever distress and confusion that might be coming her way, and needing to take a small amount of comfort for himself.

'I hope so, sweetheart.'

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