Hi guys! I hope this chapter reads well. I never would have expected this story to include relationships other than Hook and Emma, or to include so many plot elements haha, but there wasn't really a way around it without including some. So I'm going to do my best to keep the focus on captain swan and fill in plot stuff as briefly as I can. When I started this story, the first chapter was a oneshot lol, and I've never written a story that has the scale this one seems to be heading toward, so I hope I do it justice xD But it's been so fun to see how things change with Gold gone, and I just freaking love writing captain swan lol.
So I hope you guys like this one :)
Thanks so much for all the kind words, it means so much!
~cosette141
Regina couldn't breathe.
Her mother was smiling.
At her.
There was no ulterior motive in her eyes, no coldness.
There was… love.
It was something she'd always dreamed of, always imagined.
How hadn't she realized how important having a heart could be?
"My baby," said Cora, that smile of hers growing. "You are enough."
It was like the icy grip around Regina's own heart suddenly melted.
The words washed through her like cool water, like relief.
"I am?" she whispered. Then, even quieter, she asked, "Mom?" It was like a question, like she needed to confirm that the woman who had looked and sounded like her mother, but was always out of reach, was finally here.
Cora just stared at her like she was looking at her for the first time in her life, like how Regina had looked at Henry the first time she held him. Slowly, gently, Cora reached for her face, her hands holding her, thumbs brushing over her skin. And it made Regina's eyes water because Cora had never touched her like this before.
"Regina…" Cora whispered, like she was saying her name for the first time. Cora touched her own chest for a moment, looking overwhelmed. Human. "It feels like the first time I've ever truly seen you."
"So you're not mad at me?" whispered Regina breathlessly, tears welling. "For giving you back your heart?"
"How could I be?" said Cora, shaking her head at the idea, even more warmth in her eyes. "Sweetheart, you gave me you." Cora suddenly pulled her into a hug. And the tears in Regina's eyes fell, because she's never done this before.
"I can't believe I wasted all these years not realizing I had everything I always wanted," Cora said over her shoulder. "I just wanted you to have everything I never had," she said softly, her voice giving into a hurt.
"I just wanted love," whispered Regina, hugging Cora, her mother, back even tighter.
And Cora returned it, making hot tears fall even faster down Regina's cheeks.
Pulling away a little, Cora looked at her, heartache in her eyes. "Regina… the boy you… Daniel… I am so sorry, Regina." And Cora's own eyes suddenly welled with tears, like her emotions were overwhelming her. "My dear… Regina, I've hurt you so deeply." Her face scrunched, emotion coloring eyes that Regina had never realized were brown underneath the blackness of all these years. She stumbled back away from Regina, hand over her mouth, and Regina suddenly saw her fingers shake. "What have I done to you, Regina?"
"It—It's not your fault," said Regina, almost robotically, the words worn and rehearsed over in her head a million times. Something she's forced herself to believe for years and years. "It was Snow White." Smiling a little, because it was so much easier to hate Snow White than the mother she finally got back, she smiled a watery smile. "She broke her promise. It wasn't your fault."
But Cora's eyes only grew richer in heartbreak. "I cannot stand to lie to you any longer with… with this," she whispered, fingers again touching her chest over her heart. "Honey, it was me," she said in a choked voice, like every second was overwhelming her more with emotions. "I made sure you saved her, I orchestrated your meeting, it was my doing, Regina." A tear slipped down Cora's cheeks. "I convinced young Snow to tell me your secret under a false pretense."
Regina blinked, tears freezing on her cheeks for a moment. She felt her emotions warring with each other.
That day that Cora had crushed Daniel's heart, the day that had changed Regina forever…
All these years, she knew she couldn't defeat, kill, get her vengeance from her mother for the actual committing of Daniel's death.
It was always easier to hate Snow.
Snow she could kill.
She had once thought, though she just would not die.
And the fact that True Love kept saving Snow's life over and over again, when Regina had lost hers, did not help.
Regina found herself looking at her mother, her emotions in chaos as she tried to make sense of it all.
Daniel…
She'd loved him more than anyone in the world, apart from her father (however differently). And he'd loved her back. They'd shared what Regina had once thought True Love, even if they'd only known each other a short time.
But in truth, Regina couldn't even exactly remember the sound of Daniel's voice, or many of the things he'd said to her. It was well over forty years since she'd known him; she was fully awake those twenty-eight years of the curse, and she was just beginning to feel them.
The urge to keep the blame on Snow White was blinding.
But she found her eyes welling again with tears that hurt as she looked at her mother.
Her mother, whom she had finally gotten for the first time.
The love she finally had to give.
And the fresh tears of age-old pain fell over her cheeks again, and she whispered, "You hurt me." And all the blame, all the hurt, all the hatred and the agony she had placed into Snow seized her chest in something that hurt. "I loved him. I loved him so much," her voice broke, and Cora hugged her again, tight and with tears of her own.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered over her shoulder. "I am so sorry, Regina."
"I don't want to be angry with you," admitted Regina, hugging her back.
"Shh," whispered Cora. "It's all right. I deserve your feelings, Regina. All of them." And Regina cried, shutting her eyes, feeling Cora hold her, whispering, "I will spend my life making it up to you, my little girl."
And as broken as it all was, Regina felt something inside her change.
It was relief as much as it was pain, like a broken dam.
It felt like starting over.
Mary Margaret's heart pounded as she bolted through the forest all the way to Gold's shop. No one was answering their phones.
Absolute terror was coursing through her.
It only increased when she made it to the shop.
She staggered to a stop in shock.
The entire place was practically in shambles. The front wall had been blown clean off, the roof was half gone, half caving in, and the walls were barely holding the structure together. Debris and dust were everywhere.
"David, Emma," breathed Mary Margaret, running even faster, stepping carefully over the debris. "No," she choked out, only freezing when she was on the sidewalk, and saw something that made her jaw drop.
Regina and Cora were standing in the middle of the wreckage that used to be the room of the shop, helping David to his feet.
For a moment, Mary Margaret wondered if she was dreaming.
But as she approached, heart lodged somewhere in her throat, they helped him to lean against a still-standing cabinet, and there she could see something wrong with his leg.
But he was alive.
"David!" she cried, rushing to David's side.
Already Mary Margaret could see something different.
Cora… she had color in her face.
There was a… a something about her that wasn't there before. It was as if seeing someone become themself after playing a part. They were the same… but different.
"It's all right," said David when he saw her, giving a winced smile, as he looked from Cora and Regina to her, looking like he was just as stunned by the situation as she was. "I… think," he added, brows kneading, and not looking like he was fully sure of that.
"Where's Emma?" asked Mary Margaret, looking for her, heart pounding again.
"She's fine," he said quickly. "She's okay. She went to check on Hook I think," he said, something else in his eyes at that.
Mary Margaret released the breath she'd been holding, finding her eyes on Regina and Cora again.
Cora was regarding David's leg, and murmured, "Allow me."
Mary Margaret blinked.
Did… did Cora just offer her help?
"Uh—" began David, incredibly unsure, but before he could say anything, Cora lifted her hand. With a flare of Cora's hand, a slight purple glow spun around David's knee, and he sucked in a breath, making Mary Margaret flinch, tightening her hand on his arm. But just a moment later, David let out a breath in relief. "Wow," he said, lifting himself from the cabinet and testing out his leg. "Uh, thanks," he said to Cora, that awkward, unsure lilt to his voice.
"It was my doing," said Cora, smile faltering.
Mary Margaret looked between them. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"
"I gave my mother her heart back," said Regina.
Mary Margaret's brows lifted.
She hadn't even thought of such a thing. "You did?"
Looking at Regina, Cora said, "And I thank goodness she did."
"So…" said Mary Margaret cautiously, muscles still rigid. "Does this mean…?"
"I will not hurt you or your family, if that's what you're asking," said Cora, with a winced smile. "My darling, Snow," she said quietly, looking at Mary Margaret with a look that reminded Mary Margaret of her own mother. She had never expected to see such a thing on Cora, of all people. "I am so sorry for the pain I caused you."
Mary Margaret's brows shot up. "You're—you're what?" whispered Mary Margaret, suddenly feeling like a little girl again. When she had looked to Cora with big eyes, hoping she could be someone to look up to after her own mother had gone.
Regina let out a heavy, weary breath. But she looked Mary Margaret in the eye, and it made Mary Margaret tense. But instead, Regina said, "If you hadn't mentioned that she didn't have the ability to love… I wouldn't have thought to return her heart." With a huge, heavy, almost reluctant breath, Regina said, "Thank you."
Mary Margaret gaped.
It took a little shake from David for Mary Margaret to find her voice. "I, uhm, I… Regina," she managed. "I'm happy for the two of you."
And for the rest of the world.
Regina's eyes as she looked at her mother seemed to say the same thing.
Movement from outside made them all turn to see Emma walk in, stepping carefully over the debris, making Mary Margaret nearly collapse with relief. Cora turned good, Regina just showed her gratitude, David was safe and so was Emma.
And with surprise, Mary Margaret saw Emma's arm around Hook's back, and the pirate was limping a little, leaning on her for support.
Mary Margaret felt herself freeze at the sight of them.
There was a touch of color that wasn't there before in both their faces. The arm Emma had around Hook's back, her fingers were clutched in the material of his coat. His arm was around her as well, but something about it… it didn't just look like physical support.
Something about it felt…
"David!" said Emma suddenly, seeming to snap out of a daze. "Your leg—" she began.
"Healed," said David with a grin. "Thanks to, well, uh, Cora," he said, a little more awkwardly. But his eyes moved to the pirate, and Mary Margaret was surprised to see not even a spec of the contempt in his eyes. "Hook, you all right?" asked David.
Mary Margaret blinked.
Clearly she missed far more than just the battle that went on in here.
Hook was just as surprised to hear concern from David. It took him a moment to find words. It was like he'd been stuck in the same daze Emma was. "I… er, aye, banged up, is all."
Cora suddenly approached them, making everyone except Regina flinch with the reflex of Cora's reputation. She regarded Hook with something sad. "I'm glad I didn't succeed in killing you." With another sigh, she waved her fingers the same way she did with David, and a slight glow washed over Hook, making his eyes shut. But when the glow faded, he stood a little straighter, tenderly touching his abdomen, seeming surprised to find it painless.
"You were right," murmured Cora to Hook. "It wouldn't have been worth it. It wouldn't have gotten me what I wanted." Turning to Regina, she smiled. "I have what I want right here."
Regina smiled back.
And Hook's eyes suddenly were on Emma, hers on his, and he said just as softly, "I understand entirely."
Mary Margaret blinked, looking from Emma to Hook and back.
And again.
Because though Hook had been healed, and no longer needed Emma's support, neither of them had let go of each other yet.
"Regina, darling," said Cora. "I think we have much to discuss."
Regina smiled, and Cora took her hand, both of them disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke.
"That was… not the way I expected things to go," said David, once they were gone.
"How close was it?" asked Mary Margaret, knowing for David and Hook to sustain injuries, and the state of the building, it had to have been close.
"Really close," said David, shaking his head. But he looked at Hook, something like awe in his eyes. "Hook," he said, making the pirate stiffen a little, and Mary Margaret saw Emma's fingers tighten on his jacket.
Puzzle pieces were clicking themselves together in her mind, creating an image that was becoming increasingly more curious.
"Cora… she almost killed Emma." said David, and Mary Margaret's chest tightened. "My leg," he said, a wince at the memory, "I couldn't get to her. But… But Hook…" His gaze slowly turning to Hook, he said hollowly, "He sacrificed himself for her."
Mary Margaret felt her brows lift.
"I… I don't really understand how you survived," David went on.
Emma swallowed. More color touching her cheeks, she said, "I, um, it was me. I… saved him with my magic… somehow."
More curious.
"But… why Emma?" asked Mary Margaret. "I thought Cora was trying to kill Hook?"
Hook's eyes suddenly found the floor, something pained slipping into them.
"Yeah," said David slowly, like he was realizing the same. "Cora said… you…"
But Mary Margaret watched the gears turn in his head, and suddenly David was putting two and two together.
"Wait," he said, and Mary Margaret felt herself tense as he put together the picture that she had just formed herself.
"You…" David slowly shook his head like he couldn't understand something, and Mary Margaret saw both Hook and Emma tense a little. "Cora was right? You—You care for Emma?" he said incredulously.
But he didn't need the confirmation that was in Hook's eyes.
Sacrificing his life was the truth as it was.
But Emma suddenly let go of Hook to move in front of him. "David," she said, almost warningly, even though her voice just barely shook.
And more pieces were falling into place, and Mary Margaret watched it happen in her husband's eyes. "Wait," he repeated. "You—" He stopped himself. Looked between them, seeing Emma's fingers grab the edge of Hook's coat. "You care for each other?" he said incredulously.
Emma looked from him to Hook and back, biting her lip. "I–I… yeah," she mumbled, like she was figuring that out for herself in the same moment. And for the first time, Emma sounded young.
Mary Margaret suddenly caught the look of shock on Hook's face, that was far stronger than her own at Emma's admission.
David was frozen in incredulity, and Mary Margaret found herself watching her husband with concern.
Mary Margaret's gaze back on the pirate, whose hand was gently on Emma's arm, she felt her own shock setting in.
Emma and Hook.
Emma and Hook.
Never would she ever expect her daughter, a princess, to fall for a pirate.
Especially not the most notorious pirate in all the realms.
The same one they met in the Enchanted Forest, the one who irritated them all.
Something had obviously happened in New York.
Something had changed in New York.
Because Mary Margaret has never seen Emma so… affectionate. Emma hardly even reciprocates hugs with her. Emma's physical contact was always minimal, even after the time she and Emma spent knowing each other as close friends and roommates, and especially after Emma learned she was her daughter.
Yet ever since the hospital earlier today, Mary Margaret realized in hindsight Hook and Emma had kept as near to each other as they could.
Emma Swan found comfort in someone else for the first time since Mary Margaret had known her.
Emma.
Emma.
For someone to bypass Emma's walls in such a way, to gain not just a semblance of her trust, but all of it?
For someone to do such a thing seemed impossible.
And for it to be Hook?!
But even Hook—his entire presence seemed… different. There wasn't a tension around him, that danger, that distrust of anyone and everything around him. That bitterness and resentment that he quite literally personified for so long.
How could two days change two people who were quite literally the most closed-off people Mary Margaret had ever known?
"Look," said Emma, her voice wavering just a little, and it surprised Mary Margaret to hear. She has never heard Emma so… so…
It clicked.
Vulnerable.
"I know you don't like him, or trust him," she told David, shifting her eyes to Mary Margaret and then back to David. "But I, um… I do," she said, stumbling over the words. And summoning up the strength that sounded more like the Emma that Mary Margaret knew, she said, "But whether or not you want to give Killian a chance, I want him around."
Again, the shock in Hook's eyes surpassed Mary Margaret's own.
Until David's brows kneaded, and he said, "Who's Killian?"
But Emma bit her lip, like she didn't mean to call him that in this moment, and she barely contained a roll of her eyes. "He has a name," she muttered.
The memory returned to Mary Margaret in an instant.
"Who are you?"
"Killian Jones. But most have taken to calling me by my more colorful moniker: Hook."
Somehow, the idea of Hook's name softened him. It fit the man that was standing before them, rather than the man they met.
And Hook was still staring at Emma in complete, open shock.
David suddenly approached Hook, and though Emma's expression hardened, Hook just regarded him like he expected another fist to the jaw.
Mary Margaret felt the urge to get in between them, when David said, "What you said to Cora," he said slowly, and Mary Margaret watched Hook swallow hard. "You said you didn't kill Gold for revenge." Looking from Emma to Hook, he said, "You really just killed him to save Emma?"
Hook swallowed again, his eyes gaining something unreadable. He looked at Emma, and Mary Margaret felt herself still. The amount of emotion she elicited in him… it reminded her of how she knew David to feel about her, and she him.
Meeting David's eyes, Hook said, "Aye."
David and Hook held each other's gaze for a long moment, and it felt like the room held its breath.
But finally, David said, "You saved her. Twice." A sigh. "Thank you for doing what I couldn't, Hook. For that… I'll always be grateful." He extended a hand, and Mary Margaret would never get used to seeing such shock in Hook's eyes. With what looked like reluctance, but the heaviness of words Hook earned, David said, "The least I owe you is a chance."
Slowly, still in shock, Hook took his hand, shaking it, giving him a minute nod of thanks, like he was utterly unable to speak.
And Mary Margaret stepped up to David's side, smiling at Hook. "We're both grateful for what you did for Emma." In many, many ways. Ways that Mary Margaret was dying to talk to Emma about. "And if there's anything we've learned today… people certainly can change."
Hook smiled, and Mary Margaret was taken aback a little, by the lack of mischief and ulterior motive in the expression.
He was smiling because he was happy.
He looked at Emma, and from the way her own lips tilted at the sight of him, so was she.
"Mom? Mom!"
The four of them turned at the familiar little voice, and suddenly Henry was running inside, nearly tripping over the debris of the building to get to them.
He raced past Mary Margaret and David, crashing into Emma's arms.
Emma hugged him hard, bending to her knees to hug him properly, and Mary Margaret felt herself smile as she watched Emma's eyes shut. And maybe a pang of hurt in Mary Margaret's own chest, at the desire for her daughter to look at her, to love her, to hug her the way Henry did with Emma.
But Mary Margaret took a breath.
One thing at a time.
"You're okay!" exclaimed Henry over Emma's shoulder.
"Yeah, kid," whispered Emma.
They pulled apart, and Henry smiled brilliantly at her, only to see Hook behind her, and his eyes widened.
"Captain!" he cried excitedly, and to everyone's surprise, he practically tackled Hook in a hug just like the one he gave Emma.
Hook's eyes shot wide, and he caught Henry, stumbling back from the force of the tackle.
The look in Hook's eyes was unlike anything Mary Margaret had ever seen before.
Slowly, Hook's hand settled on Henry's shoulder, and he smiled, something so warm it could have melted ice.
Henry pulled back, giving Hook that bright, overjoyed grin. He turned his hug to Mary Margaret, as well as giving one to David, but Hook looked frozen, like he couldn't believe it happened.
"Where's Cora?" Henry gasped out suddenly, looking from all their faces.
A little more commotion sounded from outside, footsteps, and Ruby's head poked in. "Henry!" she chastised. "I said to wait for—" But she saw the state of the building. "What on earth—" She lifted her eyes, catching Mary Margaret's. "You're okay!" She ran inside, carefully, and she gave Mary Margaret a hug. Pulling back, she said, "Everything got quiet, so we were afraid that Cora…" Her voice trailed off, and it wasn't hard to imagine what she'd thought. It was exactly what Mary Margaret had thought before she got here herself.
"What happened here?" came Leroy's voice, and suddenly there were more people approaching, taking stock of the destruction with apprehension.
"It's over," said Mary Margaret, loud enough for the newcomers to hear.
"Cora's dead?" asked Leroy bluntly.
Half the town was suddenly within view, and for the first time since before the curse, Mary Margaret felt like Snow White. Princess. Queen. Leader. And with the air of a fresh start, she smiled. "No," she said. "Better."
"Regina gave her back her heart, and she stopped attacking." said David.
"She's… good now," said Mary Margaret, the words a little awkward. "Or, at least, she isn't evil anymore."
"Wait a minute," said Leroy, "you're trying to tell me that this whole time, we could have just given her back an organ and all of a sudden she's good?"
"Love… is a powerful thing," said Mary Margaret, voice wistful with the heaviness, the truth of it.
He shook his head, taking in the mess of the place. "Gold is gonna have a cow when he sees what happened to his shop," muttered Leroy.
David exchanged a look with the others, one that lingered on Hook, before he turned back to Leroy to say, "Gold… is dead."
That got a chorus of exclamations from the crowd.
Mother Superior pushed gently through a few people. "He's what?"
"He, well," said David, looking from Hook to Emma back to the people. Their people. "He was killed."
"Killed," repeated Mother Superior, looking among their faces. "Who's the new Dark One?" she asked, voice low, fearful.
"There is no new Dark One," said Emma suddenly, looking from Hook, who had gone tense. "Gold…" Her voice caught a little, but she said, "He tried to kill me in New York." A ripple of concerned surprise, and Emma looked uncomfortable with it. "Hook… stopped him," said Emma, gently stepping around the words. "Gold is gone and so is his power."
"Of course," breathed Mother Superior. "The Darkness… it would have no tether out there. It wouldn't be able to survive."
"Wait," said Leroy. "Gold is gone? He's really gone?"
"He is," confirmed David, smiling at Mary Margaret, a confidence and a sureness that she loved about him.
"Cora's tamed and Gold's dead?" Leroy shook his head, smile spreading. "There's a happy ending I never thought I'd see."
"I'm going to lose all my business," added Archie with a little grin.
Mary Margaret smiled.
It certainly seemed like things were changing for the better.
It felt like a new beginning.
For everyone.
"Hey!" came a voice suddenly, and Granny was picking up something from a pile of debris; what looked like an antique trinket. "I've been looking everywhere for this!"
"Yeah…" said David, looking around the wreckage. "I think it's high time we get back what Gold took from everyone."
In more ways than one, mused Mary Margaret at the thought.
And for the next few hours, more and more of the townspeople were rifling through the wreckage, finding and repossessing things that Gold had taken from them. Including Mary Margaret and David, finding plenty of their own belongings. It was dark by the time most had left, the shop mostly just piles of broken wood and magical items and potions that Blue said she would be going through over the next few days.
The feeling of peace, of calm that hasn't been present yet in Storybrooke was suddenly beginning to settle.
And Mary Margaret found herself standing among that wreckage, wondering how, sometimes, things had to shatter to be put back together into something more wonderful than it was before.
At the thought, the truest example of the words, her eyes were once again on Emma and Hook.
Who were still and had spent the entire day inches from each other.
Emma was smiling, she was safe, and she was… happy.
Mary Margaret smiled.
"Emma?"
Emma was startled a little from what felt like a daze, and lifted her head at Mary Margaret's voice.
Her mother was standing beside them, and Emma smiled a little. "This was quite the garage sale," she said dryly, though she hadn't been paying much attention to it.
Her mind was…
Elsewhere.
"Quite," agreed Mary Margaret with a little laugh. "You think it's time for Henry to get to bed?"
Emma looked over her shoulder, suddenly realizing how dark it was. And how exhausted she felt.
The entire day—the past two days—had been a blur of emotion, and the reason was standing right beside her, so close his coat was brushing her arm.
But Emma's eyes found Henry, who was playing with one of the swords he found. Hook's eyes were on him, like he was both fond and prepared to stop Henry from hurting himself.
"Oh—" said Emma. "Right."
But the idea of taking Henry home reminded her of what going home meant.
So much has happened… so much has changed since New York, since what happened, since…
…him.
And it suddenly occurred to her that things were safe now. She had a job, she had a son…
How was it that all of a sudden, after forty-eight hours, she can't imagine being more than a few inches away from him?
The danger might have gone, but she felt familiar fear slowly creep back into her.
The fear was almost as overwhelming as it was when she'd been arrested; the first time she'd been away from Neal, the only person she'd felt safe with.
Ever.
Trying to breathe through the rising fear, Emma met her mother's waiting gaze.
"Yeah," said Emma, biting her lip, anxiety shifting in her chest suddenly. "Can you… can you tell Henry? I'll… be a second," she mumbled, biting her lip harder, and Mary Margaret's eyes shifted knowingly toward Hook and back to Emma, and she nodded.
Subtly taking Hook's wrist, tearing the pirate's attention from Henry, surprising herself with how comfortable and right it still felt to touch him so easily, Emma pulled him gently with her.
He didn't protest one bit, allowing her to pull him out of the space until they were outside around back.
And Emma took a breath, facing him.
Every single feeling that assaulted her when they'd kissed suddenly rushed back now that they were alone, and she almost felt too overwhelmed to speak.
But before she could even find the words to say, the desperation bubbling up in her chest, the don't leave she felt the urge to repeat, the words she'd wished she'd said to Neal so many times, like it could have made a difference, Hook smiled, his brow lifting gently, knowingly.
"Love," he said softly. "Go home with your boy and your parents." An even softer smile, "Gods know you need some rest."
Emma swallowed, that anxiety creeping even further up her spine. She opened her mouth to say something, but he smiled again, something sure, and he said, "I told you, Emma. I'm not going bloody anywhere." And stepped closer to her, touching her face, and Emma felt the anxiety quell. "How could I?" he whispered.
But flashes of watches of Tallahassee of we're almost home of sorry, sweetheart, your boy took off were hitting her, and hitting her hard, and she swallowed again.
"Emma," he said softly, firmly, making her look at him. "I promise you," he whispered. "I am not going anywhere."
The devotion in his voice, in his eyes, in him was so strong she could feel it.
So she took a breath, and she tried something new.
Trust.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" she said instead, a little tilt to her lips.
And he smiled too, seeing the trust in her eyes, and he grinned. "Something with you, I hope."
She smiled. His thumb brushed over her skin, in a way that made her eyes shut to the feeling. She opened them, his eyes already on hers, the moonlight making the blue in his even deeper.
"Goodnight, Emma," whispered Hook.
"Goodnight, Killian," she whispered back, watching his eyes light up with that surprise at the sound of his name, and she felt the same warmth at saying it. She liked saying it, almost as much as she liked seeing his reaction to it.
And before she could stop herself, she hugged him, wrapping her arms around him, shutting her eyes.
He held her right back, hand brushing over her hair, and it felt just as safe as it did in the apartment, in New York. She should be afraid of the overwhelming emotion, she should be afraid of how quickly she developed a need for him, but every fear evaporated in his embrace. She smiled against his chest, feeling lighter than she's ever felt before. And she felt him kiss her hair, making her heart jump and her eyes burn a little because no one has ever wanted her like this before.
He could walk away.
He had every opportunity to walk away.
But instead, he risked his life for her, and stayed anyway.
After a moment, they both pulled back, standing frozen, neither wanting to walk away.
"I will see you tomorrow," he whispered, like a promise.
Emma smiled. "Good."
He let go of her then, like it took every effort to do so.
And then, he headed for the docks, and Emma watched him go, smiling when he gave her a last look over his shoulder.
Emma pulled herself around the side of the building, letting herself fall against the still-standing wall, shutting her eyes, alone for the first time in days. Her mind took her back to the daze she'd been in ever since it happened.
She kissed him.
She kissed him.
And it felt so…
…right.
Never in her life has a kiss felt like that.
These past few days, Hook had been there when she needed someone.
And now, safe and sound, that need has only grown stronger.
She'd fought that feeling at every chance over the past decade, and yet…
She couldn't fight it this time.
She didn't want to fight it this time.
The sheer feeling that had washed through her in that moment, that kiss, it was like nothing she's ever felt before.
Yet at the same time, it was terrifying, because the idea of him leaving, of being alone again…
She knew it already.
She wouldn't be able to handle it.
Emma took a shuddering breath, trying to quell the fear in her chest.
He'd nearly died protecting her today.
No one has ever saved her before, but he did.
Twice.
The last person, the only other person, who had cared for her was Neal, and he loved her until it was no longer convenient.
Yet… Hook has stayed long past convenience already.
Emma felt herself smile.
Trust.
Trust.
She walked back inside, and saw Henry with her parents. Henry caught her eye.
Henry approached her with a smile, rubbing his eyes a little with the exhaustion Emma felt herself. He looked over her shoulder, and around her, brows furrowing. "Where's Captain Hook?"
"He went back to his ship," said Emma, her chest jumping a little with the flit of fear. "It's bedtime for all of us, kid."
Henry's brows scrunched more. "But—But he's not leaving, is he?"
And Emma felt herself smile a little, at how much Henry has grown to care for Hook as well. "No," she said softly. "He's not."
Because he promised, and because she trusted that promise.
Henry let out a breath. "Good," he said, and Emma felt her smile grow, hearing him echo her own words to the man in question.
But, because she hasn't really gotten the chance yet, she bent down, fixing his hair a little. "How are you doing?" she asked honestly. "After everything that happened… are you okay?"
Henry rubbed his eyes again, but he smiled. "You're okay," he said, "so I'm okay."
Emma smiled, pulling him to her chest, hugging him tight. "You're a tough kid, do you know that?" she said softly. "Most kids don't have to deal with crazy stuff like this. You're pretty amazing."
She felt him smile. "I must get it from you."
If Emma could possibly feel more emotions, she would burst.
David drove the four of them home in a cruiser, Henry falling asleep on Emma's shoulder, and Emma almost doing the same.
But soon, she was lying down on her own bed in the loft, Henry tucked into his own bed, sleeping soundly, the lights out on a long day.
And she couldn't help thinking how empty her bed felt. It was something she'd never noticed before.
Something was missing, and she knew what it was.
Who it was.
It felt frigid without his touch, without him near, but remembering his promise, the one in his eyes, his voice, his kiss…
The cold faded, replaced with the trust that had bloomed in her chest, warming everything it touched. She closed her eyes, smiling at it.
God, she could not wait until tomorrow.
Hook entered his cabin, the door falling shut behind him.
He leaned against it, his fingers ghosting his lips.
She kissed him.
She kissed him.
A smile touched his face.
Never in any of his years has a kiss felt like that.
Not Milah, not any of the nameless women throughout the years.
Emma's kiss…
It felt like her.
Sweet and fragile and passionate…
And more than that—
She'd called him by his name.
His eyes shut, emotions overwhelming him.
He hasn't heard that name in hundreds of years.
It took him completely, utterly by surprise to hear it through Emma's voice, only later remembering that he had introduced himself back in the Enchanted Forest, and she remembered.
She called him by his name.
He had no idea how much he'd missed being known as himself, rather than Hook.
Emma made him feel like him again.
And bloody hell, she cared for him.
It was no longer an assumption, it was no longer his own perception, she'd admitted it.
And gods, were her feelings reciprocated.
Ever since that apartment, since New York, he couldn't stand to be away from her. He could hardly keep from touching her, but for such a different reason than his encounters with women in the past.
There was this overwhelming need in his chest to feel her, to have her near, to protect her.
Bloody hell, he nearly died for her, and he'd make the decision over and over again because she was bloody worth it.
Gods.
He shut his eyes, taking a shuddering breath.
He'd been alone for centuries.
In love with a ghost for all that time.
But to feel something, something real, for someone alive…
He'd forgotten what it felt like.
And never once had he wanted to find someone else.
Not like that.
But… Emma…
Opening his eyes, he let out a breath, remembering something.
Someone.
Milah.
For centuries, she was on his mind nearly every minute of every day.
Hell, she was his sole and only purpose three days ago.
However inadvertently…
Milah had finally been avenged.
But he knew now, however, that vengeance was worth nothing. Northing for him… and nothing for Milah.
She was still dead, and he would still have been alone.
Yet now…
He isn't alone anymore.
Not only does he have Emma, the very thought sending warmth through his whole body, but Henry. The embrace the lad had given him—
It had felt like nothing he'd ever experienced before.
Both Henry and Emma's defending him, wanting him, had touched him in ways nothing ever has.
And above that, her parents had offered him a second chance.
And that… that was something he would have thought someone like him had run out of a long, long time ago.
"Are you going to stay?"
Emma's question had been so desperate, so identical to her voice in that apartment, when she'd been broken in his arms.
She wanted him.
And bloody hell, no one's wanted him in centuries.
He suddenly couldn't imagine being alone again.
He knew with a terrifying certainty that he couldn't bloody handle it.
Every desperation that had been in Emma's voice, in her eyes when she'd said goodnight…
It was the same fear in his own chest.
A vulnerability she'd released within him that he'd forgotten was even still there.
He wanted Emma, and he'd want her forever.
There was just one thing he wanted to do first.
Slowly, Hook lifted himself from the door, walking to his desk, pulling out something that had always been close at hand, so worn and so loved.
He sighed, looking at the painting of Milah.
Wherever she was now, he truly hoped she was happy.
But it was time for him to be happy.
He smiled, whispering, "Rest, Milah."
And he folded the portrait back up, putting it into the smallest box of things that Hook had left of Liam.
And with a sigh, he let her go, closing the drawer.
Hook detached his namesake, feeling the exhaustion of the past two days, sinking down to his bed.
It felt like something was missing, and he knew exactly what it was.
Who it was.
He laid back, shut his eyes and smiled, hope filling him for the first time in centuries.
Gods, he could not wait until tomorrow.
a/n: I am going by what canon suggested for Cora, where she immediately lost her bloodthirstiness the second she got her heart back. We won't see a ton of Cora, or too much Regina, moving forward, but I do hope that I was at least close to how Cora might act if she was given back the ability to love and feel the extent of her emotions.
The next chapter has a ton of captain swan and captain cobra fluff planned, and I hope to have it written and up soon!
Thanks for reading :)
~cosette141
