Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta. You've helped so much with this story! I appreciate the help on the Epilogue and making sure everything is wrapped up correctly.

Emma wanted to curse. She'd learned quite a few over the years and even more over her time on the Jolly Roger. She chuckled to herself, "cursing like a sailor" took on a whole new meaning to her. Of course, the crew hadn't used those words when they thought she could overhear.

She slammed the books on Neverland closed. What the bloody hell did it mean that water had a living memory?! That particular mystery needed to be solved for her to make any sense of where Liam's body ended up. She desperately wanted to give Killian closure with his brother.

Her mind had latched on to Elsa. She had ice powers, and it sounded like she had a lot of magic. Emma hoped that she would know more about the properties of water. It was a long shot, but it seemed like it was her best hope.

Hope.

Now, married to her true love, her mother's obsession with hope made more sense to her. With Killian by her side, everything felt possible, even bringing his brother's body home to him. She decided to hold onto hope. After all, wasn't Killian worth it?

David stood, disgruntled in front of a good portion of his knights, "Does anyone want to explain to me why I'm hearing you have a bill for destroying a tavern? There is a wedding celebration later today, and you've been in a bar brawl with knights from a neighboring kingdom! These people are our guests!"

Nathan Dalton stepped forward. "Sorry, Your Highness. We plan to pay the bill right away."

"And apologize to the men you beat up!" David yelled.

"Unless it's an order from our King, we won't, Your Highness." Nathan was cautious about being respectful. He understood that his king was upset, but he knew none of them felt the least bit bad for the fight.

"And why is that?! What could possibly justify the fight you had?!"

"They called Killian a dirty pirate," he answered. "We pointed out he bathes quite frequently and that he wasn't dirty." There was chuckling in the crowd at that comment. "Then someone threw a punch at the guy who insulted Killian." He shrugged, "And I'm not sure what all happened after that except that the bill shows the tavern was destroyed. All I knew was every man was fighting."

David nodded. "I have only one more question. Do they look worse than you all?"

"Yes, Your Highness. We could all walk out of the tavern. Their friends had to come and wake them up before they left."

"Good," David said, surprising them all. "I'll pay the bill for the damage. That should get across that The Crown won't put up with anyone insulting Killian. I will say, though, if you'd lost, I would have left you all to pay the bill."

Killian fidgeted in the clothing he was wearing for the ball. Emma shook her head and kissed his cheek. "Why are you nervous?"

"I'm not! I'm…" he sighed. "Your parents are going to give me the title of Prince today. It's strange."

"Which is why they waited as long as they did. They didn't want to overwhelm you. They wanted to be careful of your tender feelings," she teased.

He pulled Emma tightly up against him, "Take that back, Love," he said tauntingly and started kissing down her neck.

She arched into his kisses. "And why should I? I like my punishment."

He lifted the skirt of her dress and said, "I'll make it worth your while."

"I take it back," she yelled out.

Suddenly, white smoke swirled around them, and they were naked.

"That's handy, Swan." He lifted her and laid her on the bed. "Lock the door too."

He then started kissing all over her body. "I guess I can be a prince. That way, I get to ravish the princess regularly. You're mine."

"All yours. Now, take me!" She moaned out. His kisses were driving her wild.

He thrust into her warm, wet, tight heat and cursed. "You feel so damn good. This, right here, is my favorite place to be." He then made love to her. He couldn't hold back, and she didn't want him to. He took her hard, and she was screaming out in ecstasy.

They both orgasmed, and he rolled to the side and held her close. "I can't get enough of you."

They were dressed and entering the ballroom when they saw Thomas, Aurora and Phillip's son. Killian turned and had them walk towards him. Tinkerbell and Emma had been right. He liked Thomas a lot.

He looked around at the gathered nobility and visiting dignitaries. He realized that he was where he was supposed to be, by Emma's side and among friends.

Here is a short preview of the first chapter of the sequel, A Treasure Worth Saving, which will post tomorrow:

Killian still was overwhelmed sometimes. Oddly enough, it wasn't being a prince or living in a palace. It wasn't Emma, well, not only her. He had a family, and he was liked.

When David patted him on the back and asked him how his day was going, he had to take a deep breath before he answered. He never thought he'd have someone in his life that felt like a father. On top of that, they were friends. The only thing they didn't discuss was the private parts of Killian's and Emma's relationship. After all, he still was her dad.

A rule that he breached after too many glasses of rum. David, Killian, and Robin had decided to go out drinking together. They had too many drinks, yet not quite enough at the same time. Too many, so their tongues were loosened, but not enough to forget what was said the next day.

Robin had commented on Regina's preferences in tying him up in bed. Killian laughed and shared that Emma liked sex before every formal occasion. She liked seeing him all dressed up. He even commented about how her magic was handy for taking out wrinkles.

Killian was on the floor with his lip bleeding before he remembered that David didn't like hearing about his little girl's sex life. Oops.

The whole tavern grew quiet as soon as David threw the punch. Killian knew they were wondering what his reaction would be. He was contrite enough to admit loudly, "Fair enough, David. I shouldn't tell you about your daughter's sex life."

There was a general gasp around the room, and everyone went back to drinking. They did hear some comments that Killian was an idiot. Killian agreed and switched to water for the next round.

The rest of the night progressed much better. Killian liked David and Robin. Besides the family ties, the three of them had similar views on marriage and family. That helped to cement their friendship. They all fought for who they loved.

That night on their walk home from the tavern, they were all laughing. Killian walked in between them, and it struck him again. He had a family.

Emma had given him so much. Sometimes he wondered what she got out of their marriage.

He said goodbye to the others and walked into their rooms. Emma was still up.

She took one look at him and shook her head, "What did you say to my father to get punched?"

To be continued...