A/N: HI! First off, I'm so thankful that people are STILL following/favoriting this story this late in the game. It's amazing, and I love all of you so much! This story would not be what it is without you. That being said, this chapter is a lot shorter than you're used to-but I kind of had to end it where I did...Also, I apologize in advance for any pain this chapter may cause you... The lyrics are from Mirrors by Justin Timberlake (which btw I am SO happy he finally came out with some new stuff!) Okay, go read :)

'Cause I don't wanna lose you now
I'm lookin' right at the other half of me
The vacancy that sat in my heart
Is a space and now your home
Show me how to fight for now

Cora threw a ball of fire in their direction to make her presence known. Unfortunately for her, Killian saw it coming and pushed everyone out of the way just before it would have hit them. Shame, she thought. Though she did still need the boy for Regina…

"Cora," Hook addressed her. Emma was shielding Henry with her body, eyes wide towards her new love.

"My, isn't this sweet. Killian- you've gone soft on me," she said as she approached.

He smirked, eyes drifting to his new family and then back to her with caution. "What do you want?"

"I want to know how the two of you managed to wake up!" she exclaimed, her voice unusually confused and hostile. He laughed, stepping towards her.

"Well, Cora, you see there was this fault in your plan- the people of this town don't actually like you. They'd do anything to rid themselves of you, really. Including finding me and tearing that wretched bean off my neck," he spat.

"Yes it does seem I underestimated your worth to these people. Usually it's the other way around," she taunted.

"What do you really want?" Emma asked.

"Me. She wants me to get to Regina," Henry said while stepping around his mother. So the boy did pay attention.

"I don't really need you, boy. I just want Regina to come with me is all."

"You'll have to go through the town first," Emma told her. My, isn't she sure of herself. So much fire behind those eyes of hers.

"I prefer you asleep," Cora told her with a look of disgust.

"And I'd prefer you dead," she replied coolly. Cora gave a laugh before disappearing in a puff of smoke, only to reappear directly in front of Killian with her arm outstretched, invisibly choking him a foot off the ground- all happening in less than a second.

"Killian!" Emma screamed, running towards Cora but being propelled backwards.

"Mom?" Henry asked her, going to her side. Tsk tsk. Something had to be done about that. With a wave of her other hand Henry was tied to the nearby tree, struggling against the vines wrapped around his body and tightening- quickly.

"NO!" Emma screamed. She could stand, but that was it. Magic held her in place, half way between her son and true love.

"Choose," Cora commanded, her voice deadly with a cold edge to it.

"What?" Emma asked breathlessly.

"Em…Henry…" Killian managed.

"I'm not going to let her kill you!" she shouted at him. How sweet. Tears stained her cheeks as she looked frantically from person to person.

"Mom!" Henry cried out, sobbing now. This family's so dramatic…

"I'm not going to let her hurt you, Henry!" she assured him.

"Well, darling only one gets to live. So you very well may let me hurt him," she pointed out. Was no one getting this plan?

"NO!" Emma screamed.

"Emma," Killian choked out, his oxygen supply nearly gone. "I… love…. you."

Regina paced the office in the station, waiting for a call from someone telling her that her son had been found. She'd been ordered to stay put- not that she had much choice; Gold had been keeping a watchful eye on her. They all knew Cora wanted her and it would only draw her out if Regina were around.

But it didn't change the fact that Regina was desperate for information regarding her child. David called after a while to tell her the places he and Ruby had looked were vacant, and that he hadn't been able to get in touch with Emma in a while. Regina seriously hoped that meant good news. She stormed over to Rumple just in case.

"Gold, where the hell are Emma and Hook?" she demanded.

"What makes you think I know?"

"David says you were the last person to talk to them. Where. Are. They?" She was far from patient.

"I don't really know, dearie, only that they're somewhere past the town line." Useless. She already knew that! The two muddled over the chances of being about to reach out to them but came up with nothing- neither was willing to forget everything after all.

Regina just hoped Emma found her son before Cora found Emma.

Emma closed her eyes and focused on Killian and Henry. Why are you doing this? For them. I'm doing this for them! She drew her strength from her love and the cries her son was making and the lack of cries from Killian. She opened her eyes, focusing her energy, or rather magic, on Cora. It wasn't enough to knock the woman out, but it was obvious the older woman was losing her grip on them. She looked to Emma frantically, an edge in her gaze. Finally, Emma glanced over to Henry who was beginning to seriously struggle for air; and then she looked at Killian, noting how he was just hanging there midair. The sudden rush of pain she felt after seeing the people she loved being hurt was enough to give her the power she needed to release both Killian and Henry from her confines while freezing Cora in place.

"What in the-" Cora started, only to be interrupted.

"Mom!" Henry screamed, running to her and collapsing in her arms. Emma held him tight and cried, kissing his head and telling him she loved him. "Killian," he whispered. Emma glanced over her shoulder towards his limp body and felt a new sob work her up. She looked to Cora to ensure she was still in place, and closed her eyes once more to cast a protection spell around her family.

"What did you just do?" Cora shouted at her, unable to move towards them very much. Emma didn't know how long she could hold on the shield, but she had to get to Killian with the knowledge that Henry couldn't be hurt. She squeezed Henry's hand and walked over to her true love, silently praying he was still alive though fearing he wasn't.

She fell to her knees at his side, her hands shaking as they hovered over his body. Gently she touched his cheeks, tracing the scars. "Please," she whispered. Memories flooded back to her of Graham's death and she shut her eyes to forget it- the way his heart gave out, the way she shook him helplessly and waited for a heartbeat or a breath that would never be. She needed to focus damn it. Her hand found its way to his chest, and pressed against where his heart was, feeling for a something- anything.

But there was nothing.

"No!" she cried, her body refusing to believe he was gone. She would not lose him. She tried to remember CPR but couldn't, and began to panic. This couldn't be the end. Not after everything they went through- not after she just woke up! She would not lose him. She was somewhat certain her life would drain from her if he was gone. She had Henry of course, but losing Killian would be like losing herself. Even Henry wouldn't be able to fix the wound that was already forming inside her.

Emma's legs gave out from her kneeled position as the pain hit her like a wall. She slumped down to lie next to him, pulling his arm under her head and kissing the left hand that shouldn't even be there. She felt cold and empty. Seeking comfort, she turned her body towards him, resting her head against his chest and crying.

That's when she heard it.

Thump- thump…..thump- thump…..She looked up at his face and touched his jaw, tears of relief flooding her face. It was faint, and it was slow, but it was there- his heart was still beating. She wasn't sure how long he'd last without medical assistance, but she didn't have the patience to wait for Whale. She moved slightly to get a better angle and lowered her head to his, his lips hovering above his. "I love you, you damn pirate. Wake up." She pressed her lips to his, her hand finding its way to his chest once more to see if it had any affect.

(By this time Emma had long forgotten to enforce the protection spell- it took a bit of concentration considering she was still new to this whole magic thing, and the fear of losing Killian had stripped her of her focus. But it didn't matter really; Cora was just as transfixed as Henry was, both staring at the shattered couple before them, wondering what would happen.)

After a horrifying moment of him not responding, she felt his mouth shift and open against hers, his tongue tracing her lips. Emma knew her tears were slipping onto his cheeks now, but she didn't care- he was alive and he was awake. His hand came up to her head to hold her against him, their kiss deepening. Emma put all the fear, all the pain into that kiss, and so did he.

When Killian blacked out all he thought was Emma. He wasn't really aware of anything while he was unconscious, but the second her lips touched his he sure as hell woke up. It took him a minute to realize what was happening, at which point he kissed her back- eagerly. He could feel her relief travel through their bodies as they kissed, and he fell in love with her all over again. He shifted his body so he was in a more seated position, only to tilt their bodies so he was angled over her. They broke for air for only a few seconds before Emma pulled his back, her fingers toying with his hair. If only she knew how good that felt…

Killian's hand traced down her body, resting at her hip while the other skimmed her jaw line, eliciting goose bumps all over her body. He let out a soft moan when her hands raked over his back while she simultaneously tugged at his lower lip.

That was when they realized they were very much not alone, and the trance that had kept Henry and Cora silent was gone entirely.

"Dear Lord, I really wish I'd been wrong about the two of you," Cora complained.

"Eww," Henry shouted in disgust, drawing both Killian and Emma out of their spell. He pulled back from her, their eyes meeting for the first time since he'd blacked out. He was struck with how stunning she was, even now with a slightly swollen lip and tears down her red embarrassed cheeks. He grazed his knuckles across her cheek and smiled.

"Hey, beautiful," he greeted her.

"Hey yourself," she replied, staring pointedly at his lips. Killian's gaze narrowed and he wondered if she in fact was trying to kill him. She glanced back up to meet his gaze with a heated one of her own. "I love you. Don't you ever leave me like that again," she told him. Damn the others, they were just going to have to deal with this. He kissed her again, much slower. Their lips moved methodically, memorizing the way each other reacted. Killian caressed her cheek and moved to lay a soft kiss at the spot just under her jaw before going back to her lips, missing the contact.

"Mom!" Henry whined. Emma broke free and laughed, kissing Killian's cheek before pushing him off her enough to sit.

If Henry thought the kiss back when he was still trapped was bad, this was horrible. The level of not okay it was for him to have seen that was obscenely high. That right there took 'scarred for life' to a whole new level. He never wanted to see them kiss. Ever. Again. What was even the point? Kissing just seemed gross to him, especially like that.

Thankfully, the two managed to stop and Emma sat up, smiling at him. "Sorry kid," she said sheepishly. Her voice was raw from crying and breathless from the horribly embarrassing incident that just occurred. Killian glanced over at him and then chuckled- apparently Henry must have looked pretty darn disgusted because even Cora held a small smirk before returning to her cold glare- surprisingly enough she had yet to attack again, though; Henry wondered why but didn't want to question it.

Henry walked over to his mom, Emma standing to meet him in a hug. "Sorry," she said again.

"S'okay, I guess…but um…what about Cora?" he whispered as quietly as he could manage. Emma turned towards the woman and pushed Henry behind her.

"We're done here," Emma said boldly.

"Oh I don't think we are," she replied.

"Yes. We are. If you wanted to kill them still you'd have done it by now. Admit it- you don't want them dead, do you?" Emma challenged.

Cora seemed to think for a moment before effectively evading the question. "You may have saved them this time, but Emma-"she paused, moving towards them and tilting her head to the side. "You're reckless. You can't control much more magic- quite frankly I'm surprised you managed that much. I doubt you'll be able to do it again without a bit of practice. You have until noon tomorrow to turn either the boy or Regina over. Or I will take one of those you love, dear Emma." With that she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A/N: Okay so I kind of left it hanging there, but I had to end it before this turned into a HUGE monster chapter. Tell me what you thought :)