Chapter 6: Wave of Remembrance

Emma paced the small room, chewing wearily on her lip as she watched the man on the bed in front of her. She felt her entire body freeze the moment Killian hit the ground, his eyes blank, staring into the sky. Her immediate fear was that she had shared too much information and overloaded him. But once she got to his side and realized he wasn't breathing, she was terrified she had killed him.

She was grateful to Mary Margaret and her quick thinking; her medical staff was by his side almost instantly. By the time they got him breathing again, Emma was certain her own heart had stopped beating in her chest.

He groaned from his place on the bed and Emma rushed to his side, pulling his hand into hers as he blinked his eyes opened and closed.

"What happened?"

"I'm so sorry, Killian, I knew I shouldn't have told you too much at once, dammit, I thought I had lost you." She said through tear-soaked sobs.

He reached across his chest, wiping tears from her face. "There, there Lass, there's no need to worry about me. I'm a survivor after all."

"Don't ever scare me like that again." She sobbed through half a smile.

"I apologize, Swan." He grinned. "Won't happen again."

"What did you call me?" She paused, recognizing his use of her last name, something Killian used frequently when referring to her, she didn't want the hope to soar in her chest.

"Uh, is Swan not your last name?" He asked in confusion. "I was sure I heard it mentioned."

She frowned, "Yeah I guess so." She said sadly.

"Have I upset you?"

"Of course not, no it's nothing. I'm just glad you're alright." She stepped away from him and he grabbed her hand, pulling her back toward the bed. As soon as he did, he dropped her hand, staring directly at her.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are, my gorgeous Swan?"

"Yes, but you can tell me again."

"When all of this settles and the walls come down, I'm gonna buy you a house on the ocean, and we will sit out on the porch and watch the ships come in until the sun sets over the water. And then I'm going to take you into the house and make love to you until the sun rises."

"When will we sleep?"

"Who needs sleep when I have you, love?"

"Are you alright? Dammit, where's the doctor?" He could hear Emma's raised voice as his vision swirled. Reaching out he took her hand again.

"I'm alright." He groaned. "Just another vision. Honestly, I'm fine, it didn't hurt as bad this time."

"You just told me you wouldn't scare me again." She scolded and he found himself laughing at the anger on her face. He sat up on the edge of the bed, stretching his back as he stepped down on the ground, ignoring Emma's constant pleas for him to sit down.

"I'm fine. I'm not going to lay in that bloody bed anymore."

"Why are you always so goddamn stubborn." She yelled.

"Stubborn? I'm not the one insisting that someone else has stolen my life." He returned her fire as she stood with her mouth open.

"Why is it such a bad thing for you to have his life?" She asked loudly, tears forming again at the corners of her eyes.

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, he didn't want to yell at her, none of this was her fault. "I'm sorry Emma, it's not my intention to hurt you." He didn't know how to stop her from crying, instead he pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her against his chest as she cried into him. Instinctively his hands found her hair, brushing the strands with his fingers. "Please don't cry, love."

She sniffled under his chin, her hands resting on his chest. He could get used to holding this woman, even if it wasn't his right to do so.

"I miss you so much." She said softly, before he felt her mouth against his chest, her hot breath causing a slight groan to get stuck in his throat.

"Emma…" He breathed the warning into her hair the moment he felt her mouth languidly move to his jawline. His eyes fell closed as her teeth skimmed his flesh.

"Come back to me, please." She begged, a stray tear dripping from her face onto his skin. He couldn't breathe, his heart was pounding through his chest, the pain traveling up his back as he groaned in discomfort and she pulled away from him, her face puffy and red, her eyes wide. "I'm sorry, oh God, Killian, I'm so sorry."

He squeezed his eyes shut, breathing through his nose as the pain subsided. When he was able to see through the slanted space of his narrowed eyes, he focused in on her face, the sadness across her features, the way she bit her lip to stop the tears from flowing, he would do anything to stop her pain. Anything.

Before his brain caught up with his body, he had pulled her into his arms again, his lips latching on to hers, a squeal of surprise escaping her open mouth. The moment she returned the kiss, his entire world exploded into light around him. It was as if the pull of her gravity had suddenly swallowed him whole. Everything else ceased to exist except for him and the woman in his arms.

His Emma. His world.

Visions invaded his thoughts, a wave of remembrance.

His mother cradling him in her arms as she sang a soft lullaby.

Mourning at the gravesite of his lost brother.

Being sworn in as an officer of the law, David Nolan standing before him as he placed his hand on the bible.

Emma Swan wrapped in a sheet, standing at the edge of his bed, staring out the window at the world below them.

Watching Emma walk away from him as he swore he would see her soon.

Standing there as Neal Cassidy stepped out of the shadows of his apartment, a gun in his hand.

Being placed in a machine as he screamed Emma's name before the door slammed shut and the blackness took him away, burying his thoughts in the recesses of his mind.

It all came back to him in a heartbeat, an instant of pain and then nothing but the feel of the woman in his arms.

He pulled away from her, his palm resting against her cheek. "Emma?" He felt the tears pooling, blinding his vision, as her green eyes, eyes he wanted to be lost in for the rest of his eternity, stared up at him. "You're alright!"

"Killian?" She said with a gulp as he nodded his head, pressing his lips to hers once more, he felt her entire weight push toward him, knocking him back against the wall with a laugh. Suddenly she was peppering him with kisses on his cheek, his jaw, his forehead. "It's you."

"Aye love, it's me." He said, resting his head against her forehead. "Sorry it took me so long to find you."

She smiled at him before launching into his arms again. "I missed you so much." She breathed against his neck, her hands fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. He reached up, cupping a hand against hers, stilling her movement.

"Shouldn't we inform the others?"

She bit her lip and he melted. "We can tell them in the morning." The moment she smiled with a mischievous gleam he lifted her off her feet and carried her to the bed.

"As you wish, M'lady." He teased as he deposited her onto the bed.

He kissed her as if it were the first time their mouths had touched, like rediscovering something you thought you once lost. Holding her in his arms, their bodies sliding against each other in a mixture of heat and sweat, he swore to her that he would never leave her again. When she fell over the edge, his name on her lips, he wasn't sure how he had survived without her for so long.

As they lay together in the dark, her heart beating against his chest, her eyes sought his as if she had something she needed to say, something weighing on her heart.

She sat up, the sheets pooling around her waist. "Killian, there's something I need to tell you."

He sat up, pressing his mouth to her shoulder. "You can tell me anything, love." She turned toward him, letting the sheets fall around her.

Suddenly the door to the room swung open and Will stepped through the archway. "Emma…Oi." His hand went to his face. "I uh…"

"Would you please wait outside." Emma said, swearing under her breath.

"Yup, can do. Sorry 'bout that…"

"Get out Will!" She shouted, trying to pull her sheet against her chest.

As soon as the door closed she fell against his chest. "He's never going to stop talking about this." She groaned.

"Go see what he wants." He smiled. Kissing her forehead. "I'm not going anywhere."

"You'd better not." She smiled, sliding out from the sheets as he leaned against the wall, watching her dress, happy to once again feel like himself.

Emma stepped outside the door, Will was leaning against the wall.

"Oi, I told you that man would fall for you in any reality, but that didn't mean I wanted to witness it."

"Next time try knocking."

"He was out cold, how was I to know you two would be shacking up right after he almost died."

"He remembered." She said suddenly. "That was Killian, not James."

"Wait, what? Are you serious? And your first thought was to give him a proper shag before you let the rest of us know?"

She rolled her eyes. "We were going to tell everyone in the morning."

"Plans changed. Mary Margaret wants to see everyone now."

"Why? What's happened?"

"Well, if you're done having sex with your boyfriend, perhaps we could all find out." She slapped him on the shoulder and retreated to the room. "We'll be right there."

When she entered, Killian was still sitting on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "Mary Margaret wants to see everyone now. I'm not sure what's going on, but Will seemed to think it was important."

He stood from the bed, gathering his clothes from the floor. "Did he say what the urgency was about?"

She shook her head and continued dressing herself, trying not to let her nerves get to her. "No, just that she wanted to see everyone right away."

He paused, stepping closer to her, stilling her in her place as he lifted her chin, pulling her eyes to his. "Whatever it is, we'll face it together. You and me, love."

"God, I missed you." He bent slightly to kiss her lips, letting her continue the task of pulling her clothes on. They walked hand in hand toward the control center, smiling at each other before entering the room.

"Together." He reminded her before stepping through the door.

The door opened and Killian stepped through the opening, his grip on Emma's hand tightening. He didn't miss the way everyone gawked at them, whispers rumbling through the group.

Mary Margaret stepped toward them, pausing as she stared at their entangled hands. "It's a pleasure to final meet you, Lady Nolan. David mentioned you in passing more than once."

"Killian?" She exclaimed.

"Aye, seems the fog has lifted."

"Thank God."

"What's going on?" Emma interrupted.

"David called me an hour ago. He's on his way with Regina to the Eastern border. He said they got a call about a body, a man named Felix Croft."

"He worked for Neal." Emma said nervously. "He attacked me on the pier, he might have killed me if Ruby hadn't taken him down."

Mary Margaret frowned, "They are pinning it on Killian."

"What?"

"David told me that an eyewitness put you at the scene and that they saw you kill the man."

"Clearly it's a lie." Emma squeaked.

"I'm not concerned about Felix." Mary Margaret shook her head. "David told me that he was going to be out all night as they investigated the scene. So that means that both Regina and David will be indisposed this evening, now is our time to get to the data port. But we don't have a lot of time. We need to move now."

"How are we going to get into Regina's office?" Emma asked.

"You tell me." The woman looked in his direction. "You had a plan previously, how were you planning to get into her office."

"There's a thing about Regina that not a lot of people knew, there had been a few death threats on her life, so she had a secret entrance built into her office, very secure and only a select number of people know the code to access it."

"How does that help us, Mate?" Will interjected.

"Because I was one of those select people." He said with a wink.

"Ok, then we have our way in."

"How? The minute they see Killian on the streets they will alert Regina. Did you forget about the shoot to kill order?"

"That's why Killian isn't going." Mary Margaret announced.

Killian's heart sank. "If you think I'm letting Emma do this alone, I can assure you that you are wrong."

"It's too dangerous, if you go, we'll be caught immediately. The only chance we have is if you stay behind."

"She's right." Emma said softly beside him. "You'd never make it past the walls."

He turned toward her, "We said we would do this together."

"Killian, you put your life on the line to protect me, it's time for me to return the favor. I can do this."

"You'll still be helpful from here." Mary Margaret assured.

"How exactly would I be of help from the underground? Babysitting?" He said sarcastically.

"I can't take Henry with me."

"I was talking about Will." He added, a small pout on his face that slowly turned into a smile.

"Cheeky bastard." Will swore, sitting down at the table across from him.

"You'll be on the communicator, you have the code, we'll be your eyes, but you need to talk us through how to get to the office. We still need you."

He nodded at the dark-haired woman standing in front of him. "Aye, then when do you leave?"

Emma cooed softly with her son in her arms, rocking back and forth in the middle of the room. "Baby mine, don't you cry. Baby mine, dry your eyes. Rest your head close to my heart. Never to part, baby of mine." She ran her hand across his chubby little cheek as his bright blue eyes smiled up at her. She felt a tear slip onto her cheek.

"If anything goes wrong, promise me, you'll take care of him." She spoke softly, trying to keep her voice calm as she spoke.

"Love, nothing is going to go wrong. You get in, enter the code, upload the information, and get out."

She looked up at Killian and smiled nervously. "I know, but just in case. Promise me."

He stepped beside her and wrapped his arm around her, bending to place a soft kiss against her brow. "I will protect him with my life."

"Thank you." She smiled down at Henry as she placed him into his bed. Turning she wrapped her arms around Killian's waist, enveloping herself in his scent as he pulled her against him.

"Stay close to Will."

She laughed. "You know I could kick his ass, right?"

"For me, please, I need you to come home to me." He almost begged, his voice cracking as he spoke. She melted into his embrace, feeling the gravity of the situation before her. She was so close to completing her mission, she wanted it to be over, to finally feel safe. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

She heard a knock on the door causing them to break contact. "It's time." Will announced, sticking his head into the crack in the door.

She lifted her jacket from the chair beside her and pulled her arms through the sleeves. When she turned she saw Killian leaning over to pick Henry up from his bed. She held her breath, watching as the boy leaned his head against the man's broad chest.

"Killian…" She said softly. "When I get back, we need to talk."

His eyes met hers, full of worry and anxiety. "I've found when a woman says that I'm rarely in for a pleasant conversation."

"Emma, we need to go." Will pushed the door further open, stepping inside. "Sorry."

"Go love, we'll talk when you return." He said with a smile and Emma crossed the room to press a kiss to her son's head, leaning up on her toes to then meet Killian's lips.

"I'll be back soon."

"I know you will." He said with confidence before clearing his throat. "Stay close to her." His remark was directed across the room to Will.

"I won't let anything happen to her." He said with a nod.

"I meant that so she could protect you." He chuckled.

"Bugger off." Will grumbled as he walked out of the door with Killian and Emma close behind.

Emma followed the group through the maze of dark halls until they reached a giant hanger with the sound of water all around them. Sitting at the end of the room was a small boat.

"Alright, we get in and we get right back out. That's it. We have no room for error." Mary Margaret stated firmly. "We can't make any mistakes because we only have a few hours before David comes back to the office with that bucket of rust."

Emma turned and wrapped her arms one more time around Killian's neck, running her hand along the back of her son's head. Leaning against his ear she whispered, "Take care of him, Henry." She kissed her son and then smiled at Killian. "Be right back." She stepped onto the boat and sat down in between Ruby and Will.

The boat pulled away from the bunker and she watched as Killian stood at the edge of the water, her son wrapped protectively in his arms, until the fog overtook them, and she was surrounded by darkness.