I own nothing except my delusions.

Setting her duffle bag on the bed, Emma turned to the dresser, pulling open one of the drawers Killian had told her she was free to use. She had already hung up the few shirts she had that needed to go in the closet, leaving her with what she needed to store in the dresser.

There were only a couple of items in the drawer, just an old spyglass, his cutlass, and a leather bound journal. Reverently, she pulled each item, setting them atop the dresser with care. She noticed as she moved the journal that some of the pages were loose, marked with thick black lines and shapes.

Biting her lip guiltily, she carefully opened it to see the pages, looking in surprise at some hand drawn charcoal portraits.

Sinking down to the floor, she picked up the first one, one of a woman with wild dark hair and a fierce look in her pale eyes. With the mischievous set of her mouth, Emma knew she was looking at the likeness of Milah. Killian had described her to her, but seeing the picture of the woman Killian had loved so long ago was different, allowing her to finally put a face to her name.

Emma wasn't jealous of Milah, that she had held Killian's affections for so long. Instead she found herself wondering at the woman, wanting to know how she had taken to the sudden changes in her life, about how she fell in love with Killian.

Gently setting the page down, she peered at the next portrait. The man's grin matched Killian's, as well as the eyes, holding the same mischievous look as well as what Emma suspected to be color. He was dressed in what appeared to be an old naval uniform, medals decorating his jacket. His hair was different from Killian's, curlier and of a lighter color.

She found herself sending a silent gratitude to Liam, thanking him for taking care of Killian when the man in question was still a child and promising that she would look after him.

The final drawing at the bottom was less detailed than the others, as if drawn quickly or from faint memories. The woman looked more like Liam than Killian, but she had the same elfin ears as her younger son, as well as had the same eyes as them both.

"I have a hard time remembering her face," Killian's soft voice came from the doorway.

Not having heard him come in, she started, nearly dropping the old parchment.

"Sorry," he said with a small smile as he walked in. He kneeled down until he was sitting beside her on the floor. "She passed when I was young, so sometimes it's hard to remember what she looked like. I do know she would have liked you though."

Nodding with a small smile as she felt her cheeks blush, Emma set the picture of Alice down beside Milah and Liam before looking at Killian apologetically. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to go through your stuff. It was just in the drawer that-"

He shook his head, calming her down. "It's alright, Swan. I would have shown them to you eventually."

Feeling more at ease, she nodded. "You did all these?"

Killian scratched behind one of his reddening ears, making her lips curl in a small smile.

"Aye, when I was first imprisoned," he told her. "Milah was an artist. I don't know how many times I would go into my cabin and it would be covered in her drawings. She found I had a talent for it one day, and she encouraged me to pursue it."

"I agree with her," Emma told him with a soft smile.

He smiled shyly.

Turning back to the portraits, his voice dropped. "I really do miss them."

Nodding in understanding, she slipped her hand through his, intertwining their fingers. "They'd be proud of you."

He snorted. "I don't know about Liam. He was much like your father, and hated pirates. He would have hated what I became."

"Because serving under a corrupt king would have been better?" she questioned, not unkindly.

Leaning against him, she rested her head on his shoulder. "You did what you thought was right."

He wrapped his arm around her waist in response.

"I need to finish putting my stuff away," she said with a sigh. "I can do it while you get cleaned up."

Nodding, he lightly kissed her. "Aye, love. I'll be quick."

He helped her stand before retreating to the small bathroom, leaving her to unpack her bag.

Taking great care as she put the portraits back in the journal, she made a mental note to go shopping the next day.

Killian found himself nervous as he climbed out of Emma's vehicle, taking steady breaths in an attempt to calm himself.

Emma immediately picked up on his unease, slipping her hand through his. She looked up at him, her brows pinched in worry. "You okay?"

Stiffly, he nodded. "Aye. Just wondering at how I'll be received by your family. I did disappear for a week without a word."

She applied the slightest pressure in reassurance. "They understand. Believe me when I say they missed you, too."

Offering her a minuscule smile, he nodded.

"Come on," she encouraged, lightly tugging at his hand. "They'll be happy to see you."

Swallowing thickly, he followed her in, trusting Emma with everything he had.

He felt himself tense as she led him into her parent's home, three pairs of eyes all finding him immediately.

He had expected to be kicked out, for them to scream and yell at him. What he hadn't expected was for Mary Margaret to immediately go up to him and wrap her arms around him in a motherly hug. David approached a moment later, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We were worried about you," Mary Margaret said as she pulled back. "We all missed you."

David nodded in agreement.

"You're not gonna go away again, are you?" Henry asked from beside Emma.

Even with knowing how hard it would be with facing the prospect of not breaking his curse, he shook his head, knowing there was no way he could leave, that he cared about them all too much. "No, I'm not, lad. I promise that I'm gonna be sticking around from now on."

Henry looked relieved as he stepped forward to hug him tightly. "Good."

Killian couldn't help smiling, the action and words reminding him so much of the woman who was remaining by his side.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, addressing all of them though he couldn't meet their eyes.

"Well, you're forgiven," Mary Margaret said as she cradled her stomach. "Now, come in here out of the cold."

Despite everything, he couldn't help smiling weakly.

"Actually, can we talk for a minute?" David asked him.

Killian tensed, uneasy as possible subjects of conversation ran through his head.

"It's nothing too bad," David reassured him.

Steadying himself, Killian nodded. "Aye. Of course, mate."

Emma squeezed his hand once before reaching up to lightly kiss him. "I'll be down here when you're done."

He nodded as he released her hand to follow David up to the roof.

David remained quiet, making Killian grow nervous, making him wonder if he'd fallen from David's good graces.

"Emma told us why you disappeared," David finally said. "After her encounter with Gold, she ended up telling me."

Killian nodded. "I know."

Sighing, David looked over at him. "I'll be honest. I can't even begin to imagine how hard it is with what you're going through. I just wish you'd talked to us instead of disappearing. It was a hard week."

"I'm sorry," Killian said apologetically. "It was too much. Emma's attack made me remember what I am and that someday-"

He stopped, not wanting to continue the thought.

Nodding in understanding, David's voice was quieter. "I know."

They were silent, both thinking of what they could say.

"Emma said you don't want to ever get married," David said, the question implied.

Nodding, Killian looked out over the town. "I don't want her to be tied to me. I want her to have a chance."

"A chance?" David asked, his brow pinched in confusion. "A chance for what?"

"A normal life," Killian told him, looking back at him. "I can't give her that. I can't give her a family, a husband she can grow old with. If she meets someone who can give her all of that, I don't want to stand in her way. I want her to have a happy, normal life, and I can't give her that."

"But what about what Emma wants?" David asked quietly.

Swallowing at the lump in his throat, Killian shook his head, turning his eyes back toward the town. "She said that this is enough for her, but I can't help but think about sometime later from now, she'll want something more. I don't want her to wake up one day and realize that she's wasted her life with someone who can't give her what she deserves."

"What if your curse was broken?" David inquired. "Would you still have your reservations?"

"No," Killian answered definitively, not even having to think about the answer.

David was quiet for a long moment before speaking again. "You love her."

Killian turned back to face David, to show that there was nothing but honesty in his answer. "More than anything."

Nodding, David offered him a small smile. "I know the whole thing is pretty rotten, but I am really happy to hear that."

Returning a small smile of his own, Killian nodded.

"C'mon," David said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Let's get back inside. It will be a lot warmer and we can have dinner."

Killian followed him back down, the promised warmth meeting him as he stepped back into the building.

Emma greeted him as he followed David into the loft, giving him a tender smile from across the small room. He returned it, feeling his chest warm at the sight of her.

Emma set the thin books and boxes on the table in a small area away from the various spell books, feeling anxious. She had wanted to surprise him with the supplies the second she found the portraits the previous night, resulting in her scouring the town to find art supplies. Finding what she wanted had been harder than expected, having no idea what things like paper weight and grades for pencils and charcoal meant.

She was proud of herself with the selection she bought, hoping that he would like it.

She had left it all in her car originally as she had arrived at the cabin, letting her start on a simple dinner for them. As soon as he had come in for the day and retreated to clean up, she had snuck out to get everything, rearranging it constantly in her nerves.

Turning off the oven as she pulled their dinner, she looked back as she heard Killian approach the main room, nervously chewing her lip.

His eyes immediately landed in the foreign objects, making him pinch his brow in curiosity.

"Swan, what's this?" he asked as he moved to inspect what she had brought.

She crossed her arms as she moved closer, watching him. "Drawing supplies. I tried to stick with what I knew you knew, but I did get a couple other little things like some kneaded erasers and pastels if you wanted to work in color-"

She was cut off as she suddenly found him kissing her, holding her to his chest.

"Thank you," he breathed out as they broke apart.

Giving him a small, gentle smile, she rested her forehead to his. "It's nothing. If it's something you like doing, I want you to do it."

His smile widened. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Well, if I knew about it, I would have done it sooner," she teased.

He laughed. "Well, I can think of a few ways to show you how much it means."

Emma released a laugh as he suddenly picked her up. "What about dinner?"

Killian smirked before leaning in for a searing kiss. "Dinner can wait."

Author's note: I'm glad you all were so interested in the story ideas, and we have a winner for what the next one will be. It was close, but the third story won out. I'll be starting to write it right away, and in the mean time, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Thanks to everyone who voted!

Teaser: "He hasn't been by here at all," Mary Margaret said stiffly.

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