Chapter 17
Emma POV:

It's a five minute walk to the beach. I get there and lean on a rock and watch the waves. This was the beach where I was found. I wonder how I ended up here after I was in Camelot? Was Merlin able to find peace knowing the dark one is a thing of the past? All questions I will never know the answers to.
I close my eyes and let the calming sound of the waves put me to sleep.

-

"Emma!"

I hear a familiar voice but it can't be.I open my eyes. I'm sitting in my little yellow bug and I see someone sitting in the passenger seat who I haven't seen in years. "Neil!" I exclaim.

"Yeah! It's really great to see you." He says with a smile.

"Where are we? Am I dreaming?" I ask.

"Nawh. If you were dreaming there would be talking doughnuts or something like that." He says with a laugh. "Think of this as a long distance call from an old friend."

"It's really you!" I smile as tears start to pool up in my eyes.

"Hows our son?" He asks, with genuine concern.

"Great!" I look down then back up at him, "He misses his dad." I say with a frown. "He's growing up."

"I bet!" He laughs.

"Is this the underworld?" I ask.

"No, but that is why I'm here. Once you get there its not an easy place to get out of. You escaped Emma. You may not remember that place but you were there before Hook brought you back from the dead." He sighs

"I would have brought you back too if I had known it was possible." I say as the tears start to fall.

He grabs my hand. "I'm happy where I am now. I only came here because I care about you Emma. You're in danger. The devil is in Storybrooke. Leave it to you to bring hell on earth." As he laughs darkly.

"The demon the other day. He must have sent that. Who is he?" I ask.

Neil shakes his head, "I don't know who he is but be careful Emma." He gives me a kiss on the forehead. "I love you Emma. I always have and I always will." He gets out of the car.

"Wait! How do we defeat him?" I ask but get no reply before Everything fades away.

-

I hear the sound of the waves as I start to wake. I try to open my eyes, struggling to adjust to the brightness of the day. I must have dozed off. The tide is coming in now and it's started to snow. I shiver, now feeling the cold.

"Well, hello there!" I hear a mans voice.

I look around and spot the guy that the voice came from. It's Samael, the guy that saved me the other day. He's wearing a jacket and some jeans now. Looks like he's assimilating quite quickly.

"Hi." I reply. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." He retorts.

"I just needed some time alone with my thoughts. I haven't been alone since I got back from Camelot. If you met my family, you'd understand. They can be a bit overbearing." I reply.

"Ah! Yes, family can be a messy thing. I don't speak to anyone in my family anymore. My father in particular, vilified me. In many ways he made me become who I am today." He gives me a sympathetic smile. "But that's not all that is bothering you. Why so glum?" He asks as he leans against the rock next to me.

"I have forgotten someone. I feel terrible that I can't remember them. You met him the other day. Killian, the sheriff." I spill my feelings, as if I can't control my words. Why am I being so honest with this perfect stranger?

He looks at me and his brows furrowed, "Memory loss?" He asks.

I sigh and put my face in my hands. "I just wish I knew what to do."

He smiles at me, "Perhaps you should ask Killian? Maybe if you relive some of the moments you shared it would come back to you."

I smile at him. "Yeah. Maybe." I start to shiver more. The snow has started to accumulate on the ground now and it's getting windy.

"I think we both better head back to our hovels? Wouldn't you agree, Emma?" Samael suggests, smiling.

I nod without further argument. I turn to leave but he grabs my hand. I turn back to face him. He smiles at me, as he pulls my hand up to his lips and he kisses my knuckles.

Still smiling and holding my gaze, "Enjoy your time with your family while you can. You never know what will happen tomorrow. Best thing to do, is live every day like it will be your last."

With that he drops my hand. I nod and turn, slowly starting to walk away. I can still feel his eyes on me as I walk. Neil's words start to play back in my head. Is Samael a biblical name? I can't remember.

I start to run as fear starts to take over. I look back behind me but I don't see him. Not fully paying attention as I run forward, I run into someone.

"Ouch!" I hold my nose and look at who I connected with. Killian is standing in front of me, looking completely unaffected by the impact.

"Whoa Swan! What are you running away from?" He asks as he looks behind me.

"I don't know." I admit, not exactly sure if he's talking about the actual running or the back peddling I've been doing since I found out he loved me.

He sighs looking down at the ground. He looks back at me and puts his hand on my chin rubbing his thumb at the edge. His eyes look like they are searching for something. Perhaps permission to kiss me?

"You can't kiss me again." I say in an attempt to convince myself against the idea.

"I know." He says, still holding my chin.

"It's not right." I say as I lean away slightly from his hand.

He lowers it and nods "It's right. Just not right now." He says, with a frown. He turns and starts to walk up the steps to the house.

I instantly regret what I said. It's not that I don't want to kiss him. I can feel the connection between us but I don't fully understand it.

"Killian, wait!" I yell.

He stops midway up the steps without turning around.

"This thing we have, it's never been easy, has it?" I ask.

He turns to face me, "True love never is, Swan."

"You really think that's what we had?" I ask, still in disbelief.

He walks back down the steps and stands just a few inches from me, so close that I can smell his aftershave. "Aye, we did." I can see it in his eyes. He truly believes that.

"I want to remember!" I state more determined than ever.

He smiles, "Well we kissed already and that didn't work, so true loves kiss is out." He laughs. "Not sure how else we can reverse the effects of a spell."

"Maybe if you tell me how we met?" I gesture between us, "Maybe it will jog my memory."

He raises an eyebrow, "Tell you what, Swan. You agree to go out on a date with me, and I'll tell you anything you'd like to know about us."

Gazing at his intensely blue eyes, I pause. A date? I put my hands up to my face to hide the rosy cheeks and the small smile growing. I would chalk up the rosy cheeks to the cold but the smile is another matter. "When?" I ask

He smiles, as if knowing he's gotten the answer he wanted from that request. "How about New years Eve?" He asks.

"Okay." I say as I look away.

I can feel the smile even though I can't see it on his face.

"So are you going to tell me something about how we met?" I ask waiting for a reply.

"Patience, love. It will give us something to talk about during our date. It's getting pretty cold out now. We should go back inside." He suggests.

I nod still not turning to look at him. I look down at the snow that has started to accumulate on the ground. I reach down and grab some of the snow, feeling it between my fingers.

Against my better judgement I form it into a ball and turn to face him. His back is turned and he is looking towards the ocean. I toss it and it connects, hitting him in the back of his head.

I put my hands up to my mouth trying to suppress my laugh.

He turns around with the biggest scowl on his face "You threw snow at me!" He accused.

"I did no such thing!" I lie with laughter clearly in my tone despite my best efforts to retain it.

The biggest mischievous grin spreads across his face as he reaches down to get his own snow. I start towards the stairs when I hear the door open.

I see Killian whip the snowball towards me and I duck.

"What are you two..." He doesn't even get to finish his sentence before Killian's snowball hits my dad right in his face.

I see the shock spread across Killian's face. "Sorry mate, I was aiming for your daughter."

I laugh so hard I have to hold my stomach. Both my dad and Killian stare at me. They both start to laugh with me after a brief pause.

David is the first to speak as we all try to catch our breath from all the laughing. "It would appear I came at a bad time"

"That's unfortunate," I reply as I bent down to grab some more snow, shaping it into a ball and tossing it at him.

"Very well, if that is how it is," He said, brushing the snow off his coat. Though his face was pale, his cheeks were burning red. He reaches down to gather snow. Killian does the same.

I let out a squealed as I start to run away from their attack, the rest of the afternoon falling away to laughter and fun that I had not had in a long time. Her dream of Neil and his warning completely forgotten.