The jacket wasn't warm anymore.

It wasn't as frigid as the air in the cave, but it wasn't warm, either.

They were getting colder.

Emma was shaking harder now, her teeth a constant chatter. The tiredness she'd woken with was something that she'd been able to push aside for the most part—in no small part due to the jacket that was so thick it had to weigh over ten pounds alone, making her wonder how he wore this all year round—but now the exhaustion felt heavier, thicker. Emma blinked a few times, fear flitting through her, unsure how much longer she could fight it.

But she was a fighter, and he was a survivor, as he constantly liked to remind her after every lucky break of his.

She only prayed she'll be able to hear him say it yet again after this whole mess is over.

For the past however long, she and Killian had traded questions back and forth, a routine that helped keep Emma's own attention just as well as Killian's. None of the topics had been as invasive as the first questions, more along the lines of So, is Davy Jones real and are you related to him? and What is a 'Net Flicks', love?

But the game was no longer fun, because Killian's answers were coming slower.

Too slow.

Emma has needed to say his name more than once to get his attention for the past several questions, and, as far as she could tell, he wasn't shivering anymore.

"Killian?" asked Emma hesitantly, because she's already said his name more than once, and sometimes it takes a few seconds for him to find his voice, but it's been too long.

She turned to look at him.

His eyes were shut.

Panic shot through her.

Emma turned sharply, removing her hand from his limp one to touch his ice-cold cheek, shaking him. "Killian?" she asked urgently. Nothing. "Killian?!" Another shake.

He was still.

He was so still.

"Killian, no," she breathed.

Tears burned in her eyes.

"KILLIAN!" she nearly screamed, shaking him again, the tears spilling over and burning.

But he shifted at her shake suddenly, eyes cracking open.

Looking exhausted and disoriented, his eyes moved to shut again, but she grabbed his face with both hands even though she couldn't feel any of her fingers, and shook him again. "Killian! No, no—stay with me!"

His eyes opened again, and he blinked a few times, seeming to finally register her face. "S-Swan?" he whispered.

Another tear burned down her cheek. "Yes, now stay awake," she stressed, desperation and panic shaking her words more than her own shivers.

He breathed out, resting his head against the icy wall, blinking a few more times as if he was physically fighting sleep.

Emma grabbed him in a crushing hold, more tears falling. She all-but clung to him.

She was losing him.

She was losing him.

Flashes of Graham, of Neal, both dying in her arms flashed through her. "Killian," she choked out. "You have to stay awake. You have to."

Slowly, weakly, she felt his arms wrap around her, making more tears fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, love," he breathed hollowly. "Didn't mean… to scare you."

"It's fine, just don't do it again," she said firmly, trying to warm him with her own heat, but she barely had any left as it was.

He didn't reply, and Emma hugged him tighter because he was slipping away and she was losing him.

"I'm sorry," she blurted.

He managed to look at her. "Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry," she repeated, the gravity of the situation catching up with her in painful clarity. "I'm sorry for avoiding you. I'm sorry for being so… being so me. I'm sorry for taking so long." Her eyes burned. "Killian, I really do care about you. A lot. Like… like more than a lot," she said breathlessly. "I do. I'm just… I'm not good at this. I'm… I was scared, and I still am, and I don—I don't know what I'm doing and you do so much for me and I just keep pushing you away and I just—I just—"

His lips pressed softly to her forehead, stopping her words, the kiss like ice. Resting his head against hers, he whispered with a voice that lacked any strength, "Shh, love. You n-never owed me anything."

She tightened her fingers around his, even when he couldn't return the gesture.

A sob rose in her throat.

"Just being with you," said Killian slowly, words husky with the deepest of emotions and every effort just to speak them, "was everything to me. Knowing you felt the same…" He hesitated, a catch in his throat. "Emma… it meant the world."

Emma felt herself freeze, not having missed the fact that he was speaking in past tense.

Her fingers tightened even more around his, panic seizing her heart. "We're going to be fine, Killian," she said firmly. "Both of us. My dad is coming, he's going to save us. Both of us. You just have to stay awake a little longer."

He didn't respond right away.

"If—" His throat seemed to close. "If I…" he said heavily, voice sounding choked, "Emma, I want you to kn—"

"Stop," said Emma, eyes burning, her heart hammering and every nerve on edge.

But he didn't. He was fighting to speak the words, needing her to hear them. "Emma, I'm…trying…" he managed, eyes shutting before he forced them open again. "I don't… want to leave you," he whispered in a voice so pained, so wracked with sadness, his voice so scared, like he could feel himself losing his grasp. "But I… don't think… I don't think I…" His voice caught. "I'm sorry."

A tear slipped down his cheek.

"Killian, don't," Emma choked out. "You're not going to die."

He was silent for a long moment, the hesitation somehow more deafening than silence itself. His eyes cracked open. Then, he spoke, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Love… it's… it's getting difficult… to st-stay… awake," he whispered, every word like it took his every ounce of strength to speak, his eyes barely open.

"No, no, no, no," she mumbled, panic shooting through her, and she released his hand to slip hers out from the jacket to rest on his cheek, shaking a little until his eyes blinked open a little wider. "Killian, don't," she said firmly, eyes burning with more tears that threatened to spill. "I didn't just fall for you to watch you die, do you hear me?!"

That seemed to snatch his attention a little. His brow quirked, raising a fraction. "F-Fall… for me?" he questioned, prompted weakly, and it killed Emma to realize that he hadn't even been sure of that fact until right now.

"Yes," she said breathlessly, "fall for you. If stroking your ego is what it takes to keep you awake then fine." she said desperately, not caring about anything anymore other than him keeping his eyes open. "You actually are devilishly handsome. Happy?"

That made a silly little grin slip over his lips.

His eyes fell shut again.

"Killian, you have to stay awake," she said breathlessly, her voice shaking with far more than just cold. His eyes cracked open, but only barely. "I need you," she said desperately. "I need you." Her voice cracked, truth she's held behind her walls even from herself spilling over. "I…" Her voice cracked again, watching him struggle to stay with her. "I can't lose you. I can't." Her eyes burned. "Killian, please." A dry sob wracked her. "Don't leave me."

His eyes shut again, but he forced them open with what looked like everything he had. With obvious effort, he pressed his lips to her forehead, and he whispered, his words carrying a terrifying sense of finality, "Emma…" he breathed. "Thank you."

His eyes shut, voice barely able to finish speaking the words, the goodbye, and his head fell to her shoulder.

"No," whispered Emma, heart stopping. She shook him. "Killian!" She shook him harder, but he didn't move.

He was so still.

He looked—

Panic flooded through her. "No," she broke out, tears burning down her cheeks. "Killian," she choked out, burying her face in his chest, but she didn't have any heat left to give. "Don't leave me." Tears slipped down her cheeks, flaking into snow before they made it to her chin. "Killian, please." Her eyes shut, sobs and shivers wracking her.

A crackle of static made her jump a mile in her skin.

The walkie.

Dad.

"Emma! Hook! Are you two okay?"

Emma's hands—almost completely numb now—groped for the walkie, and it took three tries to pick it up between both palms, fatigue, weakness and trembling nearly making it slip from her grip.

"Emma!" called David again. "I'm outside. I'm with Elsa, she's going to take down the wall, we're going to get you two out of there! I'm coming."

Emma could briefly hear him yelling something, some speech-like words to someone else through the connection, but desperately Emma managed to press down the talk button with her palm. "Dad," she gasped out. "Killian—he's—he passed out and he—he won't wake up—I can't wake him up—I—he's freezing to death and I don't know what to do," her voice broke.

A horrible pause from David's side.

Then, "Emma, I'm coming. I'm right here. He's going to be fine."

Suddenly, Emma felt the whole cave structure shudder, some bright light erupting in one of the walls.

"Killian, hold on," she choked out, clinging to his body that was still so terrifyingly still, hoping against hope itself that they weren't already too late.