Almost done! I'm going to write one more chapter and an epilogue - hopefully I can have them finished ASAP. Thank you again for your support on this story! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as I have definitely enjoyed writing it. As always, all rights belong to the creators of OUAT.
"Okay, guys," Emma said, plopping down on the deck while resting a palm on her stomach. "I know I'm not sorcerer of the year, but I get the idea that the way this compass works would be hard for hard for anyone to understand. Just...clarify. Oh and I'd like that explanation minus the excessive use of the accent."
Killian suddenly broke out of his conversation to raise an eyebrow at his wife's sass. He chuckled a bit as he looked to Jack. Emma had gotten quite the kick out of watching the two men sail the ship. They'd bantered and traded tales - tasks that caused the lilt of Killian's voice to magnify a million times over as he found himself in familiar waters. He was such a scoundrel.
"I'm not sure I've had enough rum to engage in this conversation, mate," Jack said, holding up his hands in surrender.
Killian started down from the helm to where his wife was sitting. He dropped down next to her, taking her hand. She leaned her head against his shoulder as she felt him fishing around in his pocket.
"Well, darling," Killian began. "My father was given this compass when he took on his 'sacred' new role. It's cursed. It gives him the power to measure his time in service by letting him view events from days past. He can go back to certain instances - the main one being the night his crew demolished the town and he left home for good. The compass recognizes that as his 'point of no return' as it were. He can have a multitude of chances to start over on that day - go back to fix mistakes, find clues, and so forth."
"But it's his compass, right? If it's cursed to him, how are we going to be able to use it?"
"You weren't kidding about lacking in magical knowledge," he commented sarcastically as she hit him on the arm. "It is my father's compass, yes, but I'm his blood. Makes it possible for me to control it too."
"Blood magic," Emma recalled. "Killian, how do you know all of this?"
"I wasn't always on a quest for revenge, love," he replied, handing Emma the compass. "I spent a lot of my early years of piracy outrunning my father. A good pirate knows that when you want to escape a fate, you best find out as much as you can about the opponent's plan - you could call it finding their weakness. There's a vast amount of pirates roaming the waters, love. You can find a wealth of knowledge on most things if you know where to look."
"So we're going back in time...again?"
"I hadn't thought of it that way," Killian laughed ironically. "But yes, love. It would seem so."
"By the time all of this time travel nonsense is over, I'm not going to have a clue what year it is. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm correct or if I've totally lost track on counting the weeks left before the baby comes."
"Well, my dear," Killian perked up, kissing the top of her head. "For your information, it's about nine more weeks or so by my count."
She hadn't been serious of course, but she never stopped finding it so endearing that he was so diligent in keeping track. Emma shook her head at him which earned her a smirk from her husband. He looked back to the water and she linked her arm under his as they listened to the waves roll in against the wood of the ship. After a moment, Killian turned his view back up to the helm.
"Jack!"
"There really should be a 'captain' in there somewhere, mate," Jack replied as he yelled back.
"Apologies," Killian laughed. "Ready to pull this ship into port?"
"Aye, aye, Jones. Slow the boat, mind the tide...and drink up me hearties, yo ho!"
Emma rolled her eyes at the ostentatious captain as she gripped the compass and Killian's hand. She focused on her emotions as she'd been taught and the familiar white light surrounded them.
They'd landed in the shallow sea near Killian's port town and Jack docked them free of charge - which Emma assumed was not public knowledge to the men working the harbor. He'd opted to stay behind while they took care of matters to guard the Pearl, but arranged with Killian to stand by until they came back. As they exited the ship, he raised his flask to them and tossed them the satchel containing the heart.
"I'd wish you luck, mates, but there are two things that matter in this world - what a man can do and what a man can't do. I must say I've got an interesting amount of faith in the son of Davy Jones when it comes to cleaning up a mess like this."
Killian caught the bag one handed and nodded at him. Turning to look at Emma, he gave her an uneasy smile.
"Ready?"
"That depends," she replied. "Are you?"
He didn't reply - just took a deep breath and her hand as they headed back up the road toward the old house, which after tonight, would cease to exist.
That's how Emma ended up sitting on a very uncomfortable chair in their old room at the inn. Her arms were folded across her chest and she wore a look that would rival a pouting child. Of course he hadn't let her accompany him. He'd demanded - although he would claim he 'requested' - that she stay in town and he'd be back shortly. Before he'd gone, he made sure to bring her something to eat as pirate ships don't tend to have the biggest or healthiest variety of foods. On the ground next to her, Killian had left his own satchel - the one that Gibbs had given him the day they left. She knew it contained the compass, but she found herself curious about what other items her pirate had been toting about. Well if I have to sit here and wait, I might as well do some intel, she thought to herself as she picked up the leather bag.
The bag was actually empty except for a folded piece of parchment. Emma didn't hesitate to open it up. Hey it serves him right for leaving me here, she justified in her mind. Killian's penmanship had always been beautiful - she admired the strokes of ink before beginning to read.
Dear Mister Gibbs,
The journey went well and we retrieved what we were looking for. Thank you for helping us to locate Jack - he was immensely helpful as another veteran of the water. The item in question will help us put an end to this madness. I'm returning it to my childhood home before the raid occurs tonight. Because it shall be my father setting blaze to the house when darkness falls tonight, no other man will have to take on the curse. I figured it best to let the man be his own undoing and in doing so, I hope it shall rid the world of the evil that is Davy Jones. It truly means a great deal to me that you took such a gamble with Emma and I. Many men would have tossed us aside with our ramblings, but we were lucky to find you again. I shall never forget the sacrifices you made for me as well as my brother. You're a good man, Gibbs - and a hell of a pirate despite what Jack claims to know. Take care and know that I am forever grateful for what you've done.
Fondest Regards, Killian
Emma paused as Killian's plan suddenly became clear. He's going to let Davy Jones destroy his own heart when he burns down the house tonight, she realized. She didn't know how he'd conjured up such a brilliant idea, but she felt a tingle of hope in her bones that it would actually work.
Killian climbed the dirt walkway to the old house cautiously. He knew his mother would be in town working as she typically was during the daylight hours. He assumed that meant that he and Liam would be absent from the home as well, but he wanted to make sure. He peered in the window and saw no one. He sighed with relief, but just as he was about to enter, he heard playful noise coming from the field behind the structure. He furrowed his eyebrows and wandered to the side of the house, kneeling down to spy.
He saw himself there - the happy and imaginative little boy he once was. He was playing with Liam, dashing through the tall grass of the vacant field as his hair blew in the breeze. They laughed wildly, tackling one another to the ground and rising again to repeat the chase. It was a sight for sore eyes to see his brother, but even more so to see them together. Killian's eyes watered slightly as a faint smile traced his lips. Seeing himself with Liam and his knowledge of the future made him realize one of the most important insights he'd found on this trip. He would be okay. He was a survivor.
Tearing himself away from the view of the boys, he found the front door to the home again and slipped inside. The wardrobe where his father kept valuables such as the compass was in the corner of the room - he couldn't stash the heart there or it would fall right back into the hands of Davy Jones. He bit his lip, looking around the open room. His eyes fell upon the trunk that his mother kept at the foot of her bed. She kept winter quilts she'd made and a few keepsakes of the boys inside. Killian knew his father would never look there - he didn't want anything to do with mementos of his past life unless they would directly help him. He took a long stride to the chest and opened it.
He was about to bury the heart under a blanket when he found it - a little wooden ship that Liam had helped him build with sticks they'd gathered around the harbor. It was terribly made, honestly, but Killian was no less fascinated by it. It was a happier time when he'd had his brother there to distract from the pain of life - he had protected him and made sure he grew up with a sense of pride. When Liam had died, Killian lost everything - he no longer had the only light force in his life that reminded him to be good. He hadn't had it for hundred of years after that - until he found Emma. Setting the little ship on the ground in front of the trunk, he made quick work of laying the heart under a thick quilt, one that he knew would burn quickly when fire overtook the home. He shut the lid and closed his eyes briefly. Pocketing the wooden keepsake, he smiled softly. They'd done it. He could finally move on. Tonight, it would all be over.
He entered the inn quietly, finding in Emma in the chair where he'd left her. Luckily, she was less distraught looking and Killian hoped she could eventually understand why. He told himself he'd explain one day, but in that moment, it didn't matter. They would be safe now.
Walking back to the docks to find Jack, Emma watched Killian out of the corner of her eye. She had a look of astonishment that was trying and failing to hide. Killian knew she'd figured it out and as he pondered how she'd done that, he remembered the letter he'd left in the satchel. He turned to grin at her as the moved along, a silent gesture that he knew she'd read it. She winked at him and pulled him along as she spotted Jack sitting on the dock, bottle in hand as he drank rum that Emma hoped he'd obtained honestly.
"Seeing as how you're still alive," Jack addressed, standing to meet them. "I'd say things went very well?"
"Aye," Killian replied, caressing the hand of Emma's that he was holding. "Jack, thank you-"
"Nothing of it, mate. Gibbs did corner me on this one, of course, but hey," he said, pulling a map from his back pocket. "Why fight when you can negotiate?"
The dingy piece of parchment read The Fountain of Youth at the top. It was littered with faded symbols which would lead the old captain to it - or so the legend said.
"Seems like a fair trade," Killian nodded. "Will you see him again before you go?"
"Yes, my boy. Mutiny has served him well and Gibbs has served me well. Wouldn't be good form to leave him behind now would it? Besides, if you've seen that man, this trip is exactly what he needs."
"I do hope it wouldn't be too much to ask you to give him this for me?"
Killian held out the satchel - the letter still tucked away inside. Jack snatched it and slung it over his shoulder. Jack began to signal his lead as he took of his hat and gestured in goodbye.
"Mrs. Jones," he bowed toward Emma as he smirked at Killian. "It never would have worked between us, darling. Truly sorry."
Emma rolled her eyes at his ridiculous remark. He took hold of a rope and pulled on it to alert his crew to lift him back on board. They watched him rise to the deck and as the crew began to pull anchor, he turned one more to face them.
"Now under normal circumstances, I'd yell back some sort of condescending comment in favor of my escape," Jack yelled, a hand gesturing toward the town. "But it appears that oddly no taunt is necessary here. Now batten down the hatches and muster up, you filthy dogs!"
Killian chuckled as he listened to Jack reprimand the crew - it was something he may have once said. Emma nudged him in the shoulder playfully.
"Well, captain," she asked. "Now what?"
Darkness began to fall over the village and before long, cannon fire could be heard from all around. The slaves of the Dutchman flooded the town as Killian and Emma watched from the wood's edge. He pulled the spyglass Jack had given him from his back pocket, focusing it on his old home. Within a few minutes, the worn down house lit up with the glow of flames. Smoke began to rise and Killian moved the instrument back to its hiding place.
"We did it," he whispered.
"Yes," Emma said. "I guess you're right, pirate. We do make quite the team."
"Come on," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Let's go home."
He'd stowed the magic bean carefully in a buttoned pocket so they'd have it when this moment came. Retrieving it carefully, he tossed it into the open clearing just behind them and the whirl of a portal appeared. He yanked Emma toward him, clutching her against his chest to keep her safe. She kissed him softly and they both took the leap back to the world they had waited for - a new, safer version of the same old Storybrooke.
Landing back in the barn with a tumbling thud, Emma searched Killian's features to make sure he'd made it without harm. He sighed and kissed her forehead, rising to his feet to help her up.
"Okay, love," he said, drawing his hand around her waist with a smile. "Don't you have a doctor's appointment to make?"
"One other call to make first."
She located her phone just off to the side on a small pile of straw. She figured she'd lost it when they fell through - not that a cellphone would have been useful living in the past anyway. She quickly searched her contacts and found who she was looking for.
"Hey, Leroy," she spoke into the phone, nodding her head at Killian. "How would you like to round up the dwarves and tear down a barn for me?"
