AN- There are some definite liberties I took with the source material, including a rewriting of the order of events that seemed most logical to set up in accordance with the change of plot. But much of it is still in here, just reimagined. I found having to write this chapter a little annoying because it's necessary but it doesn't allow me to be as creative. Like I got super lazy writing it so hopefully it isn't too poorly written.
**Chapter Four**
Goodbye
Snow leaned across the table to press her lips against Charmings in celebration for overcoming the dreamshade, happiness shining in her eyes — her mind finally at peace now that they could once again be happy together.
Snow pulled apart from Charming with a smile, stroking Charmings hand, which was situated across the table. She knew the look in his eyes all too well. "What are you thinking?" She wondered.
"I was thinking that maybe we could start on that baby…" Charming dropped his voice into a low rasp, his expression suggestive yet serious.
She was happy about the idea — she really was — that was until she caught a glimpse of Neal at the table behind them. He looked sad and pensive as he waited for Emma while nursing yet another cup of coffee. Snow sunk back against the vinyl seat and sighed, shaking her head in disappointment while Charming gave her a curious look.
"I don't mean right now…" He amended, wondering if he had said something wrong.
"No it's not that… Emma didn't listen to us." She provided, looking ahead while silently instructing Charming to do the same.
He swung around in his seat to see the same dismal display that was Neal sitting alone at Granny's, the last vestiges of hope leaving him as it sunk in that she had stood him up — not that he didn't deserve it.
Mary Margaret shook her head in dismay. She couldn't stand to see Neal in that state. With everything settled down at home, her daughter might finally be able to find her own happiness. Maybe she was wrong to push Emma toward Neal after everything that had happened between them — yet Emma refused to clue them in on the entire story.
"Do you think I was wrong to encourage her to take a chance on Neal?" She asked her husband.
"You were just doing what you thought was best." Charming offered, trying to ease her mind.
"Yeah, I seem to be making a lot of decisions on how to advise my daughter…" Snow berated herself. "Wrong ones." She drew out.
"No. You can't do that to yourself. Pushing her to find her happy ending isn't something you should be ashamed of." He attempted to make her feel better.
"It's just that we missed so much with her. I don't even feel like a parent. How am I supposed to help her when I barely know her?" She said defeatedly. "She keeps me at arms length and she won't let me in."
Charming opened and closed his mouth to speak but couldn't find the words.
"You are doing the best you can. Even the best parents who spent their entire lives with their children struggle in parenting…" He told her sincerely. "Which is why it's more important now than ever to gain more parenting experience."
Snow shot him a discerning look at his attempt to once again get her in the sheets but wondered if maybe he was right. Starting the parenting process might give her a fresh perspective on how to be a better parent to her daughter. "Perhaps you're right." She relented.
Mary Margaret exited the booth and moved toward the exit before whirling around to face her husband. "Well? Are you coming?"
Charming wasted no time in rising to his feet, nearly knocking over a mug in the process in a rush to spend the rest of the day in bed with her.
However — fate had other plans for them.
Snow and Charming heard a distant scream and exchanged looks before racing outside to investigate, the door chiming its bell as it slammed behind them in their hurry.
"What was that?" Snow flanked her husband as they descended the stairs.
"I don't know, but I don't want to wait to find out." He said as they stopped on the sidewalk only to be approached by Emma and Hook as they ran toward them.
Emma and Hook came to a screeching half in front of Emma's parents and turned to face them, an awkward look plastered on both their faces at the thought of confronting Snow and Charming given the previous night's activities.
Snow shifted her eyes from her daughter to the man beside her, her mind turning in suspicion as she noticed their every so slight disheveled appearances. It wasn't enough for Charming to notice unless he was looking for it, but she knew better. "Were you two just-" She pointed between them.
Emma and Killian exchanged glances between each other, an awkward silence filling the air.
Charming placed a hand on his hip, the urge to pummel the pirate to the ground and protect his daughter overwhelming him and driving his motivations. "You did what?!" He bellowed, his eyes murderous. He moved to take a step toward the pirate, his hand poised on his gun, which was safely tucked away in its holster. "You are dead pirate… Defiling my daughter…" He took a few more steps toward him.
Killian stood resolute, his jaw clenched and his position fixed where he stood.
Mary Margaret placed a hand on his chest, rocking him backwards to get him to retreat. "Charming, this is not the time." She told him.
"Damn right it isn't the time. You may have saved my life pirate, but I will not hesitate to kill you where you stand." He threatened, nearly spitting in anger.
"Charming!" Snow snapped as if calling off a wild dog.
Another loud shriek resonated through the street and Emma took off running in its direction.
"This isn't over pirate." David barked, signaling to him that he was watching him as he followed his daughter through the streets of Storybrooke, Snow jogging behind him.
"Didn't think it was…" He shook his head before running behind them.
They arrived at the nunnery just in time to see Blue being ripped in two by Pan's shadow, her lifeless body stumbling to the ground.
"That's-" Mary Margaret gestured.
"Impossible…" Emma concluded, staring at the scene before her in confusion. Pan's shadow was safely locked inside the mainsail of Hook's ship with no way of getting out unless-
"She's gone." David announced, sinking backward in his stance in defeat after checking Blue's pulse.
"Emma, you and Hook go to the Jolly Roger and investigate the sail. If Pan's shadow is still locked inside then we have no idea who we are dealing with." Snow ralied the team together.
"And if not?" Emma wondered, the question leaving a bad taste in her mouth.
"Then we should all be worried." Snow said ominously.
Emma and Hook rounded the corner heading toward the direction of the docks. The pair sprinted down the pier with a single objective in mind.
Emma gasped in horror as she caught sight of the ship, the black sail nowhere to be seen. She nearly collapsed but Hook placed his body behind hers to catch her in case she fell. "Henry!" She screamed in panic.
"Is safe with Regina." He assured her. "She would never let anything happen to the boy…" He told her, turning her around so that he could pull her into his arms. "I would never let anything happen to him." He vowed, hugging her to his chest as he cupped the back of her head.
After a moment or two they parted and glanced at one another trying to decide how to proceed.
"Let's go meet up with your family and Regina." He suggested and Emma gave a silent nod of agreement.
Regina had taken Henry to her vault to protect him against Pan's shadow but when they arrived the door to the crypt was ajar.
"Regina…" Emma sprinted toward the door, throwing it open to see her body on the floor. "Regina!" She yelled as she knelt down beside to wake her.
Regina opened her eyes groaned as Emma moved to help her up into a sitting position.
"What the hell happened?" Emma asked the Queen, her eyes wide with fear. "Where is Henry?"
"He took it." Regina whispered prompting confusion from Emma and Hook.
"Regina?" Emma gave her a skeptical look, wondering what the mayor was talking about.
"He took it." Regina stood to her feet, brushing off her trench coat as she fixed her appearance.
"Took what?" Emma pleaded with her. "Regina, what did he take?"
"The dark curse."
"What would Henry want with the dark curse?" David wondered, puzzled as he paced the length of Regina's vault.
"Charming, sit down. You are going to burn a hole through the floor." Snow told him from the spot where she sat with Emma, an arm wrapped protectively around her as Killian stared on in longing to comfort her but he knew he couldn't — not with the Charming's watching his every move. There was still a matter of facing the prince for his transgressions.
"That is not Henry." Emma declared. "I know my son and that's not him."
"Emma, what are you suggesting?" Regina turned toward the woman she shared a son with.
"I'm not sure but I think it's time we find out who we locked up in pandora's box." Emma said with determination.
"Are you mad?" The Dark One asked in his Scottish lilt to the idea of releasing Pan from the box.
"Rumple." Belle cautioned him gently, trying to calm him down.
"Do you understand what you are asking me to do?" Rumple gestured in his characteristically mynical movements. "If you are wrong about this-" He stated in warning. "The consequences would be dire."
"I'm not wrong." Emma assured him, her tone definite, void of any hesitation.
"If you are wrong then I'm afraid there will be no stopping him this time." Rumple said once more, giving them time to fully contemplate their situation and give them time to back out.
Emma nodded toward him to proceed, her look stern as she watched Rumple unseal the box, a plume of smoke rising up from its depths to reveal Pan.
The group in Gold's shop raised their weapons, prepared to strike in case things went south.
Emma placed a hand out in front of them to stand back and let her handle it. She took a couple careful steps toward him. "Henry?" She looked at him, her eyes searching his face for any trace of her son.
"Mom?" He asked, his expression relaxing as he recognized his mother.
"Careful Miss Swan." The Dark One warned, gritting his teeth, keeping his eyes trained on his father.
"Watch it imp. If she says it's him. It's him." Killian bit back in retort.
Emma turned back toward Killian, giving him a smile in gratitude for his support.
"Where was the first place we connected? Not met — connected." She asked.
Pan smiled, relaxing at the recollection of the memory. "My castle."
"And what did I say?" Emma latched on, wanting to be absolutely certain.
"You told me why you gave me up — to give me my best chance." Henry in Pan's body, answered.
"Henry." Emma wrapped her arms around him, crushing him to her chest in a tight hug.
"Mom." Henry, using Pan's voice lamented as he embraced her.
Regina crossed the room and came to stand behind them, placing a hand on his shoulder before joining the warm display.
"We have to stop Pan." Henry said, fear striking him as he was released from their grip.
"Don't worry. Pan will pay for his crimes." Rumple threatened, a death grip on his cane.
"I think you are all forgetting one important detail." Regina reminded them. "Pan has the dark curse."
"Pan has the dark curse? You brought it here? Are you absolutely daft?" Rumple accused, berating his pupil.
"What was I supposed to do? Leave it in the Enchanted Forest?" Regina suggested, feeling attacked.
"Enough! We need to find out what he has planned before he has a chance to cast the curse." Emma shouted over the bickering. "This isn't going to help us defeat Pan. We need to do what we do best." She said, effectively silencing the group.
"Kil- Hook, find Tink and Neal and capture Pan's shadow before it can do anymore harm to the town. Destroy it and it might release Blue." Emma instructed in a commanding voice.
Killian couldn't resist looking at her awestruck by how demanding she was. He admired her strength and leadership — with every new trait he cataloged adding to the growing list of reasons he loved her. "As always, I admire your passion, love." He said cheekily before dismissing himself.
"Gold, how do we get Henry back into his body?" Emma directed her question toward the Dark One.
"It won't be easy but leave it to me." Gold said.
Killian met up with Tink and Neal to retrieve Pan's shadow. They followed it into the nunnery as Pan's shadow attempted to snatch the faeries.
"How do we stop it?" Neal called over the sound of the howling wind, holding onto the coconut in his hand as they hid beneath one of the pews in the sanctuary.
"Your star map. We have to use it to trap it." Killian told him.
"How are we supposed to get near it and get it lit without losing our lives?" Neal shouted against the shadow's bellowing.
"Leave it to me." Tink volunteered. "But I'm going to need a distraction."
After forming a plan to ensnare the shadow, the group prepared to execute it.
"Are we ready?" Killian asked for confirmation.
Neal and Tink nodded in agreement.
"Well then let's get to it." Killian said before slipping out from the pew, putting himself in full view of the shadow and making himself its primary target so that Tink could fly up to capture the shadow in the confines of the tropical prison.
"Hey!" Killian yelled, drawing the attention of the shadow. Pan's shadow charged at him in fury and Hook was cunning enough to dodge its attack. "Is that the best you got?" He taunted it, a smug grin plastered on his face.
He continued to bait the shadow for as long as he could withstand it, using his wit to outsmart the shadow. Out of the corner of his eye he was able to catch a glimpse of Tink fluttering in a gleam of green magic and sending the shadow swirling into the coconut before landing steadily on her feet.
Killian panted, resting his hook and hand on his knees to catch his breath, watching as Tink threw the trapped shadow into the fire.
The corpse screamed into the blaze, disappearing into a plume of black smoke.
Tink rounded Hook, confronting him on his selfless courage in the face of danger.
"Ah. Look who is still a faerie." He quipped.
"Look who is still a pirate." She commented in amusement. "You've changed Hook." She observed.
"You always were quite perceptive." He noted.
"It's Emma isn't it?" Tink concluded, shifting her feet and crossing her arms over her chest.
"What gave you that impression?" He raised a single eyebrow in intrigue.
"The pirate I met in Neverland was hellbent on getting his revenge." She told him matter-of-factly. "I never knew you to care about anyone other than yourself… You did for her."
"I haven't the slightest clue what you're talking about." He played coy on the subject.
"I'm not naive Hook. I know a man in love when I see it. I also happen to know she feels the same." She confessed.
"Do you now?" He wondered, feigning his lack of knowledge on the subject as he grasped the leather belt that synched his vest into place.
Tink's eyes drifted to his hand, the sight of his belt haphazardly done up bringing a knowing smile to her face.
"Are you forgetting that I am a faerie?" She teased before closing the distance between them and looking him dead in the eye. "Besides I can smell her wafting off you. If you are going to deny whatever is going on between you, at least have the decency to wash up afterwards. And for God's sake Hook fix your belt." She crossed in front of him to greet the other members of their party.
Killian slipped his tongue from his mouth, sweeping it over his lips before grinning cockily and righting himself before meeting up with the others.
Emma was growing impatient as Gold rustled through his shop to find the thing he needed to separate Pan from Henry. She busied herself with touring Gold's shop, treating the experience like a twisted trip to a museum. Only instead of fossils and plaques there were magical artifacts and trophies of his magical conquests.
She inspected each object with curiosity and interest, wondering the story and origin behind each thing she found in the shop. Emma paused in front of her mother, who had been occupying herself the same way.
Mary Margaret looked at the object with remorse and longing. It was apparent that the crystal mobile had belonged to her once upon a time. Holding the blue crystal unicorn that adored the object, tears formed in her eyes at the memory of its intended purpose.
"Pretty." Emma admired, shaking Snow from her trance.
"This mobile used to hang above your crib." She told Emma.
Emma's eyes widened at the mention of the life she was supposed to have with her parents and felt the pang of sadness rush over her.
"It was supposed to hang over your crib." Snow amended regretfully.
"I like it." Emma said, a small smile gracing her lips hoping to comfort Snow.
"Giving you up before the curse was the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Snow said scornfully, her eyes pricking at the thought.
"I know." Emma agreed painfully.
"Everytime I look at you I think about what would have happened if I didn't have to…" Snow mused, her eyes still fixed on the mobile in front of her.
"I did the same thing with Henry." Emma crossed in front of her mother to lean on one of the glass cases holding all of the Dark One's curiosities.
"You were doing what you had to. You were giving him his best chance." Snow defended, walking around to face Emma where she stood.
"So were you." Emma was quick to remind her. "But still, things would have been very different if I had kept him. We would have had a life together. A normal one…"
"Do you ever think about doing it again? You know, raising a child from infancy? Just to be a parent." Snow asked, referring to the secret she had divulged in the Echo Caves in Neverland.
"There is part of me that thinks I'm done with children. There's another part of me that doesn't want to rule it out just yet." Emma told her truthfully.
"With Hook?" Snow brought up the subject, not bothering to tiptoe about the topic.
"So much for subtlety." Emma blanched at the mention of Hook's name.
"You told me about the kiss you shared in Neverland. I just thought that-" Snow stuttered.
"That I'm ready to talk about my love life to my mother?" Emma furrowed her brow, wondering if Snow realized how ridiculous she sounded.
"Well I want you to be able to talk about these things with me but I understand if you aren't quite comfortable with it yet." Snow assessed, sensing her daughter's discomfort.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you things. I do. I just don't know what there is to say. Not yet at least." Emma promised, still trying to process this thing between her and Killian.
"You will tell me when you're ready." Snow gave her a curt nod.
"Are you ready?" They heard Gold ask Henry from across the room.
Henry nodded before taking his place on the sofa, relaxing against it as Gold positioned the wand above Pan's body.
"It's time." Emma told her mother before she dragged her feet to be at Henry's side.
"The moment you are returned to your own body, come find us." Emma said, reminding Henry.
"Find us." Regina nodded her agreement.
Gold waved the wand over his body, instructing Henry to not take his eyes off of it as the wand worked its magic.
Emma and the rest of her family watched on in horror as Pan's body convulsed as the soul within it was torn apart and separated.
Regina, Emma, David and Mary Margaret left the shop in search of Henry leaving Gold to deal with Pan.
The group rushed down main street, running into Killian, Neal and Tink along the way.
"Henry!" Emma called out, frantically searching the streets for any sign of him.
"Henry?" Reginia yelled in the other direction as the remainder of the group scanned between the buildings.
"Mom!" Henry raced out of the clock tower, running toward his mothers. "It's me. It's me. I'm back." He crashed into their arms, once again reunited.
Killian couldn't resist the urge to smile at the warm familial display in the middle of the street. It was something he had been accustomed to seeing in the last 100 years or so and something that alluded him personally — not that it was at the top of his agenda.
"Mom, you just saw me. You just saw me." He repeated, wondering why they were acting that way.
"We know, kid." Emma said, ruffling the hair at the top of his head.
"Yeah, but it wasn't you." Regina chimed in.
The reunion was short lived. They were now in a race against the clock to stop the curse.
"It's up to you." Emma nodded to Regina in support
Regina clutched the scroll containing the dark curse in her hand, ready to unfurl its contents to stop the curse when a purple light flashed and she collapsed on the ground.
"Regina!" Emma shouted, rushing toward her.
"Mom!" Henry called out in concern, bending down to see if she was okay.
Moments ticked on as Emma repeated Regina's name, shaking her in an attempt to wake her.
"Regina? Regina? Regina!" The savior chanted.
"Emma?" Regina whispered, her voice hoarse as she tried to sit up.
Emma, with the help of Neal and Henry helped Regina back onto her feet. "Are you okay?" Emma asked, checking her over.
"Yeah everything is fine." Regina lied, brushing herself off.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Mary Margaret pled, David's arm around her lower back. "What happened when you touched it?"
"I saw what needed to be done." Regina said, her voice heavy as she looked at Henry.
"Mom, are you going to be okay?" Henry asked.
"The important thing is that you will be." Regina leaned over to face her son.
"No he won't-" The sound of Pan's voice cut through the exchange in the town square.
"He has the-" Killian warned before they were all plunged into a magical paralysis, watching helplessly as Pan detailed his plans in true villain fashion.
While in this state they were unable to move but still fully cognizant of what was going in front of them as Gold and Pan tussled in the street.
Once Gold stabbed his father with the dagger they were enveloped in an intense golden light and when it dissipated both of them were gone, the dagger falling to the ground in the wake of the skirmish.
Snow covered her mouth in horror while the rest of the group stood bewildered, never imagining they would ever see Rumplstilitskin's demise. But Belle took at the hardest, crumbling to the ground as sobs wracked her body.
With nothing left to say, Regina stared at the dark curse and moved to retrieve it.
"Regina?" Snow spoke up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Regina replied, bending down to pick up the magical object before rising to her feet, glancing at the town around her.
"Neal, I am so sorry." Emma gave her condolences.
"My father did what he had to do. He saved us." Neal said tearfully.
Killian clenched his jaw, unsure of how he felt in that moment. He had spent generations seeking out a way to destroy the Dark One but never did he think his expiration would come to pass by anyone other than Killian himself. On the other hand, Bae was Milah's son and he had just lost his father.
"I know the Dark One and I didn't always see eye to eye…" Killian began to explain, drawing Neal's attention.
"That's an understatement." Neal laughed behind his tears. "You spent your life trying to kill him."
"Aye. But I am loath to see a boy lose his father." Hook tried to ease Baelfire's pain, stepping into a role that wasn't his but one that Milah would have wanted him to take up in that moment.
Emma shot a sympathetic smile in Killian's direction, silently thanking him for his words.
Killian stepped back and allowed Neal to reflect on what had just occurred.
"He died a hero…" Neal lemented. "Regina?" Neal turned toward the Queen. "Don't let my father die in vain. Can you stop this thing?"
"Yes." She said, frustrated at their meddling as she tried to prepare her soul for what she had to do to save the town.
"It's here! The curse is here!" Grumpy announced, running into the center of town as a green cloud of magic slowly hurdled toward them.
Thunder cracked the sky like a vicious storm as the curse approached, the group turning to Regina to stop it.
"Regina, can you do it?" Snow asked desperately.
"Yes." She said quietly, pausing and clearing her throat. "Yes."
Sensing something wrong, Emma confronted Regina. "What's the price? Gold said there was a price. What is it?"
"It's not our price. It's mine." Regina told her, spinning around to face the rest of the group and more importantly, her son. "In order to stop the curse, I have to give up the thing I love most."
Emma's eyes widened and she reached for Henry, knowing that the boy would be scared. She wrapped Henry up, holding him protectively against her as Regina continued her explanation.
"I can never see him again. I have no choice, I have to undo what I started." Regina said.
"The original curse?" Snow wondered. "The one that brought us to Storybrooke?"
"It created Storybrooke…" Regina corrected. "And it doesn't belong here and neither do any of us."
"Breaking the curse destroys the town." David acknowledged.
"It will be as if none of us were ever here and all of us will go back to where we're from and prevented from ever returning." Regina explained further.
"Back to the Enchanted Forest?" Emma provided for clarification, the name of the location still feeling foreign on her tongue despite having been once before.
"All of us…" She looked around at the others standing around her. "Except Henry. He will stay here because he was born here."
"Alone?" Emma shuttered at the thought of leaving her boy in the same system she was raised in. The idea terrified her even more than Pan's curse. Emma clutched Henry tightly in fear.
"No. You will take him because you're the savior and you were created to break the curse… and once again you can escape it." She told Emma.
"I don't want to. I can't. We can't. We'll go back with everyone." She suggested, pleading for another way.
"That's not an option. I can't be with him. If I don't pay the price then none of this will work." Regina said as the sounds of the curse drew closer to them.
"Emma you have to go." Snow encouraged. The last thing the princess would want is to be separated from her child by yet another curse. How many lifetimes would she have to suffer the same fate?
Killian felt his heart constrict in his chest, a sensation he had only felt one other time before when Rumple had held in his hand getting ready to squeeze it and end his life. However, the pain resigning through his body was far more painful than death. This was a loss of another kind — one that would undoubtedly leave him broken-hearted.
"But I just found you…" Emma complained, her eyes darting back to where Killian stood, his back erect.
"And now it's time for us to leave you again… for your best chance… for his…" Snow continued.
"No. No." She denied. "I'm not done. This can't be how it ends." Emma thought aloud. "I'm the savior. I'm supposed to give everyone their happy endings. I haven't even gotten a chance-"
"Happy endings are not always what we think they'll be. But that's part of the journey. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." Snow said earnestly. "And look around you. Everyone here is a better person for having met you."
Emma glanced around, pausing for a beat to look Killian directly in the eye. To see him in such a disheveled state tore away at her own heart and she had to fight off the tears that threatened to spring forth at the realization that she would have to leave him behind with the rest of her family.
"You can leave and have the life you always wanted and be normal." Snow said, reminding Emma of the conversation they shared in Gold's pawn shop earlier that day. "It's time to believe in yourself Emma. It's time to find hope and be happy."
"There is no other choice. You have to go." Regina told Emma, mournfully accepting to leave her son with the woman she at once hated with every fiber of her being.
Emma's mind raced with everything that she had yet to do and the possibilities she was leaving behind. She had just found her parents and now she was being forced to leave them. She was also leaving a man that cared for her deeply — a man that would go to the ends of the earth for her and trade his life for hers if need be. How was she going to be strong enough to walk over the town line and give all of that up? She was finally building a home there — and now she was going to have to leave it all behind.
With the curse rapidly approaching, they gathered at the town line to say their final goodbyes before the curse would whisk them all back to the land of magic.
Emma ran into the arms of her parents, embracing them with all her might. David held her to him tightly, refusing to let go as he held the back of her head to his shoulder like he wished he could have done when she was little — but he was deprived of the chance.
Henry joined the family hug as Emma let a few tears slip past her iron-clad defenses.
After reluctantly parting from her parents she turned her attention to Neal.
"I'm sorry." Emma said again.
"Don't be. You brought me to my son and I could never be mad at that. Take care of him for me, alright?"
"Of course." Emma said before pulling him into a hug.
Emma faced Regina once more as Regina provided information she had kept from Emma as to how the curse worked.
"Once you cross the town line nothing will remain. Not even your memories. But I can give you new ones. You and Henry will have the life you always imagined. When you leave it will be like you have always been together." Regina explained.
This new bit of information was enough to drive her over the edge. How could she leave now knowing that the last few years will never have happened? How was she expected to now follow through with what she had to do knowing she would lose her memories? She would forget her parents — Hook… No. She wouldn't allow herself to forget. Never.
While everyone's attention was kept on Henry, Emma approached Killian, whose face was bowed as he tried to hide his expression. The last thing he wanted to do was show her how weak he was when it came to her. But still there was no denying she had managed to climb her way into his heart — without her to guide him he knew that the hole she would inevitably leave in her wake would be impossible to fill.
"That is quite a vessel you captain there Swan." He said, gesturing to the yellow bug.
The last thing he wanted to do was say goodbye. He had never been good at them. Any experience he had with them ultimately led him on his path to self-destruction. His father had abandoned him when he was young. He lost his brother to the dreamshade in Neverland and he lost the love of his life to the man who had just risked his life to save them all. A goodbye was the last thing he needed. He had slowly been transforming into the man he wanted to become. The man that was worthy of capturing her heart.
"I know what you're doing. You're trying to distract me." She recognized, seeing past the facade he was trying to put on for her.
"Now, why would I go and do a thing like that?" He pondered, hoping to keep her on a light course of conversation.
Emma forced a smile to her lips but released a choked sob instead.
He canted his head in concern before settling on pulling her into his chest, the comforting scent of worn leather, the ocean, and rum filling her up. "I don't know if I can do this Killian." She shook her head in dismay, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed into his leather jacket, the material muffling the sound of her cries.
Killian cupped the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair as he placed his head atop hers, trying to find the confidence that was currently evading him. The sound of her cries, tore away at him, eating him up like a plague he was helpless to stop. She shuttered in his protective hold and sniffled, sucking back his own tears that threatened to fall.
"Swan, look at me." He instructed, pulling her back a bit in order to face him. He wished he hadn't looked her in the eye, her emerald green eyes were conflicted against his ocean blue, trying to fein calm and serenity even though he was inwardly distraught beyond all recognition.
Killian placed his arm and hook on each of her shoulders, mapping out the planes of her face knowing he might be seeing them for the last time. He wore an expression of complete ardor and content for the woman who had stolen his heart. "I know you can do this."
"No. No I can't. I'm not strong enough." She shook her head violently.
"This is the hardest part. Once you cross that line you won't even remember me or anyone else here." Killian's lip quivered at the thought that not only would she not remember who he was, it would be like the night they had shared never existed in her eyes.
"No." She denied vehemently. "I won't forget. I refuse-"
Killian cut her off by connecting his lips to hers, the force of his lips pressed against hers nearly knocking her off balance.
She didn't want to let go but swallowed the sobs as she backed away and Killian sucked in his breath, raising a fist to his mouth as he choked on his own emotion.
"I will be right here." Killian placed his hand over heart, her own hand coming to rest over his. He dropped his hand from her and slowly reached around his neck to produce a chain with a single ring on it. "I want you to have this." He told her, reaching for her hand and placing it inside her outstretched palm before moving to close it within her grasp.
"It belonged to my brother. It kept him safe and now I want you to have it so that some part of me is watching over you."
"Thank you." She said, testing the metal between her fingers.
"There isn't a day that will go by that I don't think of you." Killian offered her a sorrowful smile.
"Good." She took some solace in the thought that she would be with him wherever he went like a ghost he couldn't escape.
"This isn't goodbye Swan. I will find you. I will always find you." He declared.
Emma took one last look around at the people around her, tears seeping down her face as she wrestled with the courage to drag her feet to the car. Henry took his spot in the passenger seat as Emma brought the bug to life and slammed the door shut behind her. She leaned forward against the onslaught of emotion bubbling inside her but she remained fixed despite the loss she felt and gripped the steering wheel tightly as the people she loved began to disappear in a plume of green smoke.
One by one they descended into its depths, their reflections disappearing in her rear view mirror as the bug steadily crossed the town line.
8 and a half months later…
"Henry, get your coat on. You're going to be late for school." Emma told her son as he finished the last of his strawberry poptart, a breakfast item that had been a staple in their household since Henry was old enough to chew.
"Alright. Alright. I'm hurrying." He rebuffed his mother's attempts to get him ready for school.
"That is the last time I let you stay up all night playing video games." Emma scolded as she fastened the buttons of her oversized winter coat. The weather had been unseasonably cold this year and she felt like she was wearing every last layer of clothing she owned.
"You didn't let me stay up late. You passed out again and I stayed up while you snored on the couch." Henry said brushing the crumbs from his hands.
"You could have woken me." She said, glaring at him as she tugged on her shoes, using a hand against the wall to keep her balanced.
"Mom, you've been working really hard these days and you needed to rest." Henry told her.
"When did you become such an adult?" She wondered, ruffling the hair on the top of his head like she used to when he was younger only to have her son shrug her off.
"Coat. Now." Emma repeated her earlier request.
Emma rolled her eyes at the sound of Henry huffing as he went in search of his coat so she could walk him to school even though he had told her repeatedly that she didn't need to. What kind of parent would she be if she let her son walk to the few blocks to school on his own? This was New York after all.
Henry returned to the living area with his coat thrown over his shoulders and his knit scarf hanging from his shoulders.
"There? Was that so hard?" Emma asked before they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Are you expecting someone?" Henry wondered.
"No." Emma said, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity. "Stay here." She instructed him before moving toward the door to open it. Her hand closed over the handle and swung open to reveal the most peculiar man she had ever seen. His entire body was clothed in dark leather that looked like something he had procured at an upscale renaissance faire.
"Swan." He said, a smile plastered on his face brightening the contours of his face.
"Wait, do I know you?" She put her hand out to push him away from getting inside her home.
"No you don't. But I know you." He said, causing even more confusion.
"Mom?" Henry called from behind Emma.
"It's nice to see you again lad." Killian acknowledged Henry, smiling down at him, happy to see another familiar face. "You've grown quite a bit."
"Who the hell are you. How do you know my son?" Emma questioned.
"I know you don't remember me, but I can make you." He said, lunging toward her, his lips inches from hers.
Her eyes widened at the man's attempt to sexually assault her right outside her door and she moved to knee him in the groin.
The man tumbled backward, groaning as he clutched the injured area, realizing that his actions may have not been the best course of action.
"You." Emma accused, clutching her stomach, the material of her coat clenching around her swollen belly.
Killian's expression dropped at the sight of her womb round with child, his eyes darting back and forth to her stomach and then her face. "Swan, are you-" He asked, a million thoughts running through his head.
"Stay away from me." She barked in warning. "And stay the hell away from my family." She spat before slamming the door in his face.
"Swan! Swan!" Killian pleaded from outside the door.
"Mom, are you alright?" Henry asked frantically, coming to his mother's side. "Is the baby alright?" He searched for any sign of distress. "Who was that?"
Emma breathed deeply, her hand on her lower back, exhausted from her encounter with the handsome leather-clad stranger. "That was no one. He won't be bothering us anymore. But don't worry about me, I'm fine." She provided calmly stroking her stomach as her unborn child moved around rapidly inside her.
AN- Okay so there were a lot of things I omitted from the episode but do any of us really care about the supporting characters on the Captain Swan show? No. I'm sorry if I did any of your favorites dirty but it is super difficult to write characters you really don't give a shit about. And what about that cliffhanger, huh? I'm going to try my best to continue writing this short multi-chapter fic but don't hate me if school gets in the way. Shit happens. Let me know what you thought in the comments.