Hi, so here is another chapter and after re-working my plan, I can confirm there are only three more chapters left of this story! Therefore some of the events of Season 4 will be skipped. As I said before my plan is that everyone gets their happy ending and if that means huge chunks of the plot are changed then this is an AU story.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine just this chapter and the ideas I play around with.

Please Read and Review.

The Summit Of My Desires

Chapter 24-With A Little Help From My Friends

Elsa hides in the ice wall as she and Emma have a conversation about magic and love and loss and legacy. Liam and Killian on the outside come to blows trying to find a way to save them and the Snow Queen begins to make her move.

Storybrooke. After Zelena, After the Ice Wall.

Liam was at the ice wall staring at it silently when Emma arrived. Killian was next to him watching and the two of them standing side by side conversing with barely there looks seemed to almost solidify their unbreakable relationship.

Or did it?

It was a hard one to crack. Then again Liam was a hard one to crack. Emma had considered herself an expert on reading people—her superpower had only been honed by her skills since she had been in Storybrooke and yet Liam had remained the one person that had always been out of step to the music that was her magic. He was hard to understand and she thought that maybe he liked it like that. That he liked being the silent, brooding type in the corner watching over everyone and everything with quiet eyes and a twist to his mouth.

And Emma could get that, really she could. She remembered what it was like to watch and wonder what was going on. She remembered Liam throughout Neverland and Zelena and the curses as a silent, strong presence, never verbose, always strong, always inflexible but dependable, solid. A solid solider in whatever war needed to be done.

It had shook her she had to admit to see the scathing look on his face when he had called her a monster. A monster who was using his brother for her own gains and thinking little of the consequences.

What had been even more galling was that fact that he had been right.

Emma had come to that conclusion somewhere along the whole time-travel thing she had struggled with what was in front of her. And what was in front of her was that she had been rather rude to Killian throughout their pre-relationship or whatever it was and that she had also been rather annoyed it had been Liam who had called her out on it.

He had such a straight forwards way of putting her in her place, of telling her the truth that it was staggering. She didn't want to even think it but she couldn't help but think if Elsa ever did become the Queen she was in her own world, that Liam would be a rather impressive King Consort—or whatever he would become.

Somehow though she could not see him ever playing a conventional role.

She got out of the car her Dad by her side. Killian flashed her a smile, Liam smiled at David but his look with her was guarded and Emma supposed sadly that it did not help that this was further proof that Elsa had lost control of her magic. She thought about calling Gold or Regina but the thought of disturbing either one of them in their new found happiness (or God forbid interrupting them as they were consummating this new found happiness) was utterly nauseating.

"Is it Elsa in there?"

"Not sure" Killian answered shortly. "Liam got a call on the phone-thingy when the power went out. We were watching some sort of movie on the tele-thing."

He looked at Liam to make sure he had gotten all the modern words right and Emma caught Liam's eye and had to look away least she start giggling.

"Yes" Liam nodded. "And it's a shame, the movie was rather good. Peter Pan you know Emma. The Disney version"

Emma choked on her laugher. Liam looked away but his mouth lifted up as if he was smiling and she knew he had understood.

Killian scowled.

"So, an ice wall" she said turning back to the problem at hand.

"Elsa didn't come home last night but that doesn't mean she did this" Liam pointed out. "You two didn't know her in the Enchanted Forest when she was straight out of that urn, her magic was dangerous then, uncontrollable and unmanageable and she still managed to make sure that nobody but me found out that she had magic in the first place. Yeah she's struggling but not enough to do that—"

He gestured to the ice wall.

"So who?" Emma asked. There was no point in fighting against Liam's absolute conviction that Elsa was innocent. She knew Liam, she knew Killian, she knew the Jones brothers when they were in love. There was no denying the point either that he had made. If Elsa had managed to fool an entire kingdom looking to kill at the first sign of magic, If she'd survived twenty eight years without magic only to have it slam back into her with little issue then surely Zelena had not been that powerful enough to make it turn out like this?

She gritted her teeth and paused. She could have sworn she saw a flash of yellow blonde against the ice and she knew that Elsa was listening to the man she loved quiet declaration and the rest of the worlds tendency to blame something that they didn't understand on the one person who did.

"I'm going to go check it out"

"Do you think that's wise love. Liam tried and it looks very unstable."

By that Emma took it to mean that Liam had ran towards the danger in a hope of getting Elsa back and Killian had, had to tackle his brother down into the ground in order to stop the ice shards from killing him.

"Emma he has a point."

"I have magic too Dad" she said with an eye roll. "Gives me a bit of an advantage"

As Regina Mills would say if she was here, that was the response of the very stupid.

Because as soon as she saw Elsa the ice came crashing down.

Typical.

Watching Killian break his heart over the woman he loved was as therapeutic as it was sick Liam thought. His brother was never the kind to crack his voice over a woman, indeed Killian had never expressed any romantic intention of any kind when they had been in each other's lives and to see him like this was to see his little brother finally become mature.

David and Killian had all but thrown themselves towards the ice but Liam had kept back because he thought on two fronts, A, there was a very good chance the ice could crack again and kill all of them and B, because he knew Elsa and he knew enough to know that she would be alright and contact them soon. He knew it even as he knew it was not her that had caused this, as he knew it in his bones. He knew Elsa as he knew himself, indeed they were a part of each others lives in a way that Snow and Charming were except Liam had not hacked out his heart—yet.

Watching Killian in the same predicament was rather eye opening. He had never really thought of Killian as the kind of man who could do that—but then again his brother had waged a vendetta for over two centuries against an unbeatable foe over the married woman he had been enamoured with so Liam could admit he didn't know the depth of Killian's emotions as well as he did pre-Neverland (the first time).

"It's Emma" he said to the two men who were literally driving themselves mad trying to get to her. "She'd be the first to admit she's a survivor. She'll be fine"

He wasn't being callus, only truthful but he supposed Killian might not have seen it that way.

"If Elsa did this—" he growled and the grip Liam had on his not so insignificant temper suddenly snapped clean in two.

"Elsa did not do this"

"Of course she didn't…and you would say that. Is it any wonder people are concerned?"

"Well It wouldn't take too long for them to find out now would it?" he snarled back. "What with you telling everyone. I let you into my home brother and you betrayed me by spilling secrets about my fiancé to the people who are only looking for a reason to mistrust her. Why would I even bother trying to explain myself or my fiancé to you?"

Killian punched him. Liam punched him back on the rebound and then the two of them were in the snow and David Nolan looking furious himself was doing his best to break up the fight that just kept on coming because neither one of them it was clear to see, had given up or gotten soft when it came to their hand to hand combat.

"Jesus" David said pulling them apart by grabbing Killian by the shoulders and throwing him sideways.

"Can the two of you put this off for another time? Like when my daughter and her friend are not trapped behind several tons of ice!?"

He sounded slightly hysterical. Liam understood and appreciated the feeling.

He pushed himself upwards wincing as he touched his lip which was rather tender. Killian was prodding at his eye glowering at him.

And then the radio crackled to life.

Elsa had been sat propped against one of the supporting beams of…ice? When Emma had all but stumbled into this little hidey-hole thing. She was torn between admitting that this was really rather cool (no pun intended) and really frightening because this was power on a scale that she didn't get much of a chance to see from Elsa. Gold and Regina did this in their sleep it was hard to remember that Elsa could do stuff like this too when she so rarely used her magic.

Elsa was wearing a pair of ripped blue jeans a while ribbed shirt under a flannel thing that Emma was willing to bet her next weeks coffee's worth was Liam's. Her eyes were unfocused but unlike Emma she didn't appear to be affected by the cold in any way instead she was sat with her legs outstretched, one on top of the other, her hands in her lap and her hair in a loose braid pulled to the side.

"Hey Elsa"

Bloody hell, she should really start investing in decent jackets. She liked leather, loved it in fact but she really didn't realise until just now that it was really not practical. Or warm.

And warm right now felt really fucking good.

"Hello Emma" Elsa said flatly staring at the snowflakes that were forming above her. "I guess you're here to arrest me?"

"No. Just…any chance you can get this down?"

Elsa snorted. "Sure" she said in a voice loaded with sarcasm and devoid of any humour. "If it was me that put it up. Or created that snowman. See I don't remember doing any of it"

Emma blinked.

"Is that because of Zelena?"

"No Emma it's because I didn't do it" Elsa snapped. "I'm just trying to figure out who in Arendelle had the same powers I did. God knows it was never talked about. My parents would have fawned over someone who would have had powers that matched their freak of a daughter. I assumed I was alone"

"Your parents didn't like you having magic that much did they?"

Elsa stared at her with wide blue eyes.

"No" she said flatly. "They didn't"

Emma wanted to ask more but Elsa's parents, her family, her sister seemed to be locked in that forbidden place that only Liam ever seemed to get near.

"Well if it makes you feel any better Liam's fighting Killian right now over you. He doesn't think you did it either"

Elsa grinned once before it slid off her face.

"He's better than what I ever thought I'd get" she said finally. "You know if my mother and father were here they'd be amazed to see it. The Queen with a husband to be…a chance of a family. Children. In Arendelle they were prepared to bribe husbands to marry me. Nobody wanted to shack their kid up to the freak. I would have had to cut my power in half so he could have some as a chip on the table"

It was Emma's turn to snort this time. If Elsa's parents had been alive she thought she would have liked to tell them what utter assholes they had been. Yeah that would have been good.

"I'm sorry" she said sitting down. The ice was cold on her skin but in truth she couldn't feel her hands or legs anymore and she remembered enough to know that from her biology classes in High School, that was not a good thing.

"Don't be" Elsa said with a shrug. "It's not like it's anything different. You all think I'm responsible for this."

She said it with such a flatness that there was very little that Emma could say that would convince her that she was wrong. And she found that she could not look her friend in the eye and lie to her about it.

"I'm sorry" she said again hating that it was so little and yet all she had.

"Don't be" Elsa said again. "It's the curse that comes with this. You, me, Regina, Gold…something goes wrong and magic is usually to blame and yet it is the thing that everyone wants, the thing that can solve every problem."

There was another long pause as Emma took that in.

"I don't think I'm cursed" she said softly. "And I don't think you are either. I think we just…we just need to love it. It's a part of us. Whatever you or I think of Regina or Gold they love their magic, they can accept it. And neither one of them was born with it"

Elsa looked at her then as if she was considering the words she was thinking before she said them.

"I don't know what's happening Emma. But I know I didn't do this…whatever is happening, whoever is creating this…it's not me. I don't know who and I don't know why, but this is not me. It's comforting and yet different all the same. It reeks of familiarity, but I don't know from where."

There was a long pause as Emma took that in. She was shuddering so hard that she thought she was vibrating. Elsa was now beginning to look at her with concern that was rapidly turning to terror and Emma knew enough to know she was going into shock.

Fantastic.

"I believe you" she chattered out. "But we need to get out of here. So Elsa…" and then she trailed off as her head hit the floor and she remembered no more.

It was hard to remember what came next. David dragging them apart or the ice wall coming down.

Liam spat on the floor feeling the blood coat his teeth. His brother might not have two hands but he damn well knew how to use his hook as an advantage.

"Great" David said looking furious. "Now that the two of you have so kindly decided to act your age perhaps we can get on with this so that the woman you both claim to love—" he shot a disturbingly dark look at Killian that told Liam he still did not approve of his daughter with a pirate and then ploughed on regardless.

"Then we can get them out without causing bodily or structural damage. Now—" he was cut off abruptly though as there was a great keening sound and suddenly with a blast of air so cold it hit the back of the throat and rubbed it raw there was a hole and Emma Swan half fell out of it and into his brother's arms as Elsa stepped down dainty and threw herself into his.

David just rolled his eyes and went to hug his daughter.

Blankets were shared out, cocoa poured and Henry back with news that Regina didn't know who had put up the wall nor could she take it down. Elsa had commented that perhaps that could be tomorrow's problem and once she and Emma were warmed up (more Emma than Elsa) the family made to go their separate ways. Killian had mentioned staying with Emma for a bit longer and Liam had said they would see him at home. Elsa could guess what had transpired between the two of them but without warning at the end they were both grinning with each other.

"Why do we put up with the two of them?" she asked Emma as she pulled her jacket out of the pile.

"Lord only knows" came the reply. Elsa grinned. Liam and Killian were too much brothers. They fought like cats and dogs in a basket together but they would die for each other. Hell they both had at one point. They would fight and make up within seconds. Today was just another example of sometimes you needed to hit something rather than talk through your problems.

Elsa thought of Hans and thought briefly smiling to herself, she understood that feeling all too well.

"You ok?" Liam asked his lips brushing past her ear as they walked home their fingers linked together.

"Yes" she said simply. "I know what I can do Liam. Whatever I…whatever happened…I know that wasn't me. And I think once I admitted that to myself everything will slot back into place with my magic. I want a life with you, I want a wedding with you and everything and anything in between."

"I want kids Elsa" Liam said suddenly stopping. "I know our baby wasn't planned and then we lost it and we never really talked but—I want—"

"I want them too" she said cutting across him. "And I want you. I want to stand there and say in front of everyone that I chose you and you chose me. And I think I need to do that first…and…" and here she needed to be brave.

"And I think I want to find my sister. I think I want to give her the option of coming to the wedding. I think the time is right"

Liam said nothing.

"Ok" he said finally. "I want you to be happy Els…if Anna helps then…"

He trailed off and Elsa nodded leaning her head against his shoulder as they carried on walking down Main Street.

"Also" she said into the silence. "Do you think we can find a way to kick Killian off the couch? I'm pretty sure that between his clothes and the way he sleeps there be something living there soon enough"

Liam's joyful laughter could be heard the entire way down Main Street.

Next Chapter-Several events take place over the next chapter-Ingrid is revealed as the Snow Queen as she puts pressure on Emma to lose control. Elsa comes full circle on her magic as the spell of Shattered Sight is put into action and a necklace from Anna turns up that leads to another shock.

And let me know what you think and I will do my best to bring you the next chapter sooner rather than later.