This can be a standalone story taking place after the Echo Caves scene, but for those who've read chapter 2 of my story "Echoes", you'll see a few similarities. That's because this was the alternate ending I had for that fic, and I ended up liking the other one more. This is quite different from it, however, only sharing a few of the same lines of dialogue, and it's from Emma's pov instead of Hook's. I couldn't quite part ways with this alternate ending, so I decided to put it up here as its own entity.

Hope you guys like it! :)

~cosette141

"What we have with her is unique."

Emma screwed her eyes shut, trying to will herself to sleep.

"But she's all grown up."

Emma's eyes burned.

She would not cry.

She would not cry.

"But it's not what I wanted."

A tear betrayed her, slipping through her lashes, hitting the Neverland dirt beneath her.

It felt like she was right back in the foster homes.

Lying in bed.

Wishing her parents would find and save her.

And now she had them.

And they didn't want her either.

Another tear followed the first.

No one did.

Emma's eyes opened suddenly, hearing something from somewhere in the distance. She'd heard the cries of the Lost Boys all night, but this was different.

It almost sounded like...

Music.

Emma lifted herself onto her elbow, wiping stray tears from her cheeks, straining to hear.

It was definitely music.

Looking around to the others, she noted everyone—Neal, Hook, and her parents—were still asleep.

It was almost a soothing sort of melody. Sort of like a lullaby.

More than anything, it made her feel better.

Something made her stand, dropping her blanket to the ground and walk toward it.

She wasn't far into the trees, following the sound of the music as it gradually became louder, practically luring her, when a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her.

Emma whirled around.

"Bloody hell," said Hook exasperatedly, a look of fear in his eyes that she hasn't seen before. "What the devil do you think you're doing out here?"

Emma blinked, her heart pounding.

It felt like she'd been shaken from a stupor.

She could still hear it though, the music, even if it was slightly quieter. She looked in the direction of it. "I heard something," she murmured.

Hook's hand, still around her arm, tightened. "Emma, look at me." She did, though it felt like she had to tear her attention away. If anything, he looked more scared. "Heard what?" he bit out.

"Music," she said quietly.

Hook's eyes widened slightly, surprise and then something very sad darkening his eyes. "Why?" he suddenly asked, so quietly Emma wasn't even sure she was asking her or just thinking aloud.

"Why?" asked Emma, raising her brows. "Because I'd have to be deaf not to?"

Hook briefly shut his eyes, but did not let go of her arm. When he opened them, he asked, "This is the first time you've heard it?"

Emma's brows kneaded. "Yeah, why?"

Hook sighed, something weary. "Because," he said. "Pan uses it to gage the loyalty of his Lost Boys. Only those who feel completely unloved or unwanted can hear it," he said quietly.

Emma froze.

"Emma," he said softly, "what's changed?"

Emma's eyes found the ground, her walls going up.

Hook's gaze never left her, confusion kneading his brows as he seemed to try to figure it out himself.

Then—

"Bloody hell."

Emma looked at him, seeing something dawn in his eyes. "The Echo Cave," he said quietly. "Your mother's secret." He shut his eyes. "Emma, love—"

Not for the first time, Emma hated that she was an open book to him.

"I'm not what they wanted, big deal," said Emma, attempting for the words to come out like she didn't care, but they had bite to them, and speaking them aloud was like salt on an open wound.

Unfortunately, she'd already given herself away since the stupid music told the pirate everything he needed to know.

"Emma, your parents love you," he said gently, a twinge of desperation to his voice.

"So that's why they're staying on this hellish island and didn't bother to ask me to stay?"

Emma couldn't help the anger in her words, feeling heat from the pain, the loneliness, and now the fact that she accidentally spilled every bean to Hook by admitting she heard the damn music.

Hook sighed, looking pained. "I'm sure they simply didn't want to condemn you to the same fate, love," he said quietly.

Emma felt that heat rise in her. She looked away. "Yeah, they just want to condemn a different kid to it."

She felt him hesitate.

Yeah.

Can't quite explain that one away.

"What of… Neal?"

Emma looked at Hook.

It looked like it physically pained him to say his name.

"He loves you, Emma," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I heard his confession," he said with a very, very tight smile.

Emma stared at the ground, letting the music fill the silence. "Neal loves what's convenient," said Emma quietly. "He decided to love me when his girlfriend turned out to be evil. Hell, he set me up for the crime he committed and he let me go to jail for him the same freaking day he told me he loved me." She glared at the dirt. "Forgive me if I don't exactly trust his feelings now."

"That's your history with Baelfire?"

Emma looked up, seeing a mix of shock and fury in Hook's eyes.

The music was suddenly louder.

Emma tore her gaze away from Hook to look back through the trees.

The music felt better.

It felt like she didn't need to cry.

It felt like she didn't need to run away.

It felt like she didn't need any—

"Emma!"

Emma blinked, suddenly realizing she was pulling on his grip in an attempt to follow it.

Hook was now standing in front of her, blocking where the music was coming from, his hand even tighter on her arm, his hook circling her other.

If he had looked worried earlier, it was nothing compared to now.

The look in his eyes was nothing short of panic.

"Swan," he breathed. "Don't listen to it!"

"Why do you care?" she snapped.

With a sort of desperation in his eyes, mixed with a rare vulnerability she's only seen from him once, he said, "You do remember my secret," he said slowly. "Don't you?"

Emma huffed a sigh. "Hook—"

"I want you, Emma," he said gently, a soft smile tilting his lips.

But Emma was fed up, and she was not in the damn mood.

So she scoffed. "Yeah," she snapped. "You want to get me in bed."

Shock made him physically recoil.

He nearly let her go.

"You—" he began, looking at a loss for words. "That's why you think I want you?"

"Why else would you?"

Her own words made her eyes burn. She looked away, forcing herself not to cry.

But she saw the look in his eyes at her response.

He looked like he'd been punched.

"You really think that?"

His words were quiet.

Emma felt her eyes burn.

And she couldn't help the tear that slipped down her cheek.

There was a sort of heartbreak in Hook's eyes and she looked away.

"Emma…"

She fixed her eyes on the ground, trying to stop the burn in her eyes and wishing the damn music wasn't so loud.

The cold metal of his hook touched her chin, tilting her head up, forcing her to look him in the eye.

There was pain in those blue eyes.

He shut his eyes briefly, letting out a breath. When he opened them, he said, "Emma, I think you are stunning. And that kiss…" He smiled a little, something hollow, and Emma tried not to think about it. "I'm not going to say I'm not looking forward to another." She tried to look away, but he kept his hook beneath her chin. "Emma, your beauty is not why I desire you." And with a rare moment of uncertainty in his eyes, he averted his own gaze. "And if my use of clever comments has led you to believe that… I'm sorry, love."

He let out a short breath, like he had in the Echo Cave, as if in preparation.

"Emma," he said softly, meeting her eyes. "You're unlike anyone I've ever met. The more I learn about you, the more I want to know. You're so bloody… special." He smiled, and Emma watched his eyes. But it was all truth. "Emma, I promised myself two things in my life. That I would never return to this accursed island," he muttered, "and that I would kill Rumplestiltskin." Moving his hook to shift her hair, he said softly, "I met you, Emma, and I broke both."

Emma blinked.

Hook smiled softly, such a rare look on him, and it made him look nothing short of beautiful. "If the Echo Cave hadn't convinced you of the honesty in my feelings for you, that should."

Emma stepped away from him, and, with great reluctance, he let her go. Emma willed away the burn behind her eyes. "Hook…"

He leveled a gaze on her. "I didn't tell you to win your heart, Emma," he said softly. "I told you because I want you to know. I don't care who has disappointed you in the past; I promise you, Emma. I will want you forever, whether you want me or not. You are bloody worth it." He stepped closer to her, touching her cheek with his hand. "You needn't believe me, love. I will gladly prove it to you. Over and over again if I must, until the very day I die."

Emma held his gaze.

Perhaps a part of her knew, even before the Echo Cave, that Hook's feelings for her were more than just lust.

But, at one point, she had thought Neal would love her forever.

And that her parents would make sure she was never an orphan again.

Neal had promised her Tallahassee and broke it within days.

And her parents were going to stay here, and start a new family, never to see her again.

Earlier tonight, she'd never felt so alone, so… unwanted.

But then…

No one had ever showed such devotion to her. Not Neal, not her parents, no one. Hook had chosen to come back to a land he hated, he swore to never again step foot, for her.

How she hadn't realized the depth of his feelings for her until now, she didn't know. She couldn't exactly fathom. She believed it, but understanding it was another thing entirely. Why did he find her so special when everyone else in her life so easily walked away?

Emma let the silence spread, unsure how to respond to such a—

She blinked.

Silence.

She looked around. "The music," she said suddenly. "It stopped."

Hook smiled, and it held such an innocent sort of joy that Emma couldn't help but return it.

Perhaps she'd found an adequate response after all.

Emma met his eyes, feeling her vulnerability creep up her spine. "Thanks," she said softly.

He smiled, relief clear in his eyes. "Of course, love."

"For coming to Neverland," she finished, seeing something change in his eyes. "For helping me." Feeling a touch of color in her cheeks that she was glad the night would hide, she said, so softly she didn't even know if he would hear, "I'm glad you're here."

He smiled, hearing it nonetheless. "Nowhere else I'd rather be, love."

Emma smiled

Emma started back toward the camp, knowing that things with her parents were still a raw wound. But knowing that there was someone who wanted her—for her—felt like cool water over the burning, one tiny mend in her broken heart.

Hook hesitated a moment longer before following.

Silence.

He smiled.

The music had stopped, indeed.