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-FantasyWriterFoSho

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Summary of the Previous Chapter: Killian is trying to keep Emma conscious by telling her stories while Regina is running around trying to gather information. Mary Margaret also has a conversation with the imprisoned Snow Queen before she and David try to go and find Emma.

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Chapter Nineteen: Impermanent

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10:07PM -The Pawn Shop

Running out of time, Gold grew restless and began planning his next move.

For a while now, he's had an indecipherable feeling and the more he thought about it, the more pronounced it became. Deciding that it had to be about his now ruined timeframe, he tried pushing the sensation away, but it kept coming back.

Standing in the middle of the room, he glanced up at the clock and grew angry. It was around the time that he had actually planned on taking Emma's magic but because of the Snow Queen's impatience, that was no longer possible. Ever since she told me that she didn't want her magic anymore, I choose to have the ritual around midnight, but that is also unlikely, he thought bitterly. Especially now that the others are aware...

Thankfully, he had an unspecified amount of time for the ceremony and as long as he acquired Emma's magic as a reassuring booster, gathered more magic about the town then took Killian's heart, he would be in the clear.

He just needed to reschedule the event for a later date.

His heart then erupted in a spastic coil of pain, making his knees buckle before he ultimately collapsed down to the floor in agony. Grabbing at his chest, Gold tried to take it out, to examine it, but he didn't have enough strength to do that. Breathing slowly, he closed his eyes when they blurred, desperately trying to ignore his racing pulse.

I'm definity running out of time...

When it became bearable, he lurched to his feet then wallowed over to his counter where he had placed the hat and his cane. Picking both of them up, Gold waited until his tender chest dulled before raising a hand. He planned on putting his ideas into motion by collecting several magically inclined individuals in the town but suddenly stopped when he heard something suspicious outside of his shop.

Not again, Gold thought when his shield was then instantly dismantled by a powerful blast. Narrowing his eyes, he moved behind his counter and placed the items onto one of its shelves, seconds before his door swung open, revealing Regina and Belle.

Glancing them over, they appeared to be more than upset, but he was going to hold his ground.

Leaning forward, he gave them a placating smile.

"I guess privacy is no longer an option in Storybrooke anymore," he said, his gaze mainly focused on Regina, who was now standing where he had been minutes ago.

"Remove the dagger from Emma," she immediately demanded, her eyes unbending. "Then, you're going to stop whatever it is that you are planning on doing."

"Or what?" he inquired curiously.

"Or I'll stop you myself and I won't be lenient."

"No," he refused, his face turning serious. "I have reasons for what I'm doing, dearie. I won't stop them on the account of somebody's feelings. Besides," he continued, his nostrils flaring. "You're not that powerful to completely thwart my efforts."

"Have you seen your shield? Or paid attention to the other times I've beaten you today?" Regina quickly retorted, her fingers flexing.

Gold smirked. Though it was true that she wasn't as capable as he was, she did have the upper hand, in some respects, which presented him with more problems than solutions. I knew that she would prove to be a powerful ally for them, he silently acknowledged.

He was growing weaker and it was evidently showing.

"What about my feelings, Rumple?" Belle then asked, tugging his eyes into her direction. "Or do your plans not include your wife?"

Gold shook his head, his heart heavy. "I didn't mean you, Belle."

"So, you have taken my feelings into consideration?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Belle—"

"Because if you did," she argued, too mad to let him answer. "You wouldn't be doing this! You would've thought before you acted! You would've trusted me in all things!"

"I—" He began before cutting himself off. A strong feeling suddenly pierced his chest and it wasn't because of his condition. Looking away, his eyes widened when he realized what was happening.

My dagger, he thought. Something's happened to it…

"It's a warning," he whispered darkly. Raising a hand, he snapped it, ending their short conversation so he could promptly go back to the lakehouse.

"Rumple!" Belle yelled, dropping her arms to her side in frustration.

"Where the hell is he..." Regina trailed off, easily deducing where he was going. "His dagger! It has to be that!"

Grabbing at Belle, she hastily waved her hand, quickly teleporting them away so they could defend Emma and Killian.

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9:52PM -Abandoned Lakeside Mansion

"Emma? Emma?!" Killian shouted, interrupting another one of his stories when he saw her closing her eyes. Tossing away her sullied jacket and the medical kit, he leaned over her and firmly slapped her on her cheek. "Emma, wake up!"

Her eyes flew open and she strained her neck when she turned to look up at him, her brow slightly raised. "No need...to slap...that hard, Killian," she began, giving him a small smirk. "I'm already...in pain. I don't...need anymore injuries..."

"I'm sorry, love," he apologized, his eyes large when he gently rubbed at her cheek to take the sting away. "Just...just don't fall asleep..."

"Will you...gently wake me up again...if I do?" Emma teased, which made him smile. "Your touch has...always had a...calming effect on me..."

"Aye, but that isn't exactly something you need at the moment..."

Giving her one more look, Killian then turned to his side and continued to clean up the area around them. Folding her jacket onto the kit, he immediately began telling her another story, but one more stimulating than the last, but when there was a lull in it, Emma instantly took advantage of it.

She needed to talk to him about...his future.

Despite Killian dressing her wound, she wasn't getting any better. Had the stabbing been a non-magical one, she believed that she would've greatly improved under his supervision, but instead, she was feeling weaker...and so tired.

Swallowing hard against her blistering throat, Emma could taste some blood at the very back of it. "Killian..." she breathed, his name easily rolling off of her swollen tongue.

He looked at her, the story dying in his mouth at her grave expression. Moving closer to her face, he leaned to his side. "What is it, love?"

"When I...die," she began, every word a challenge for her at this point.

It has to be said.

"Don't," Killian immediately dismissed, shaking his head at the thought.

""I want...Regina to take...care of...Henry, like...she always has..." Gasping for air, she fought against a coughing spell by concentrating on getting her words out. "Tell her...I'm sorry that...I ruined her...personal life and how...I wish that I could...make it up to her..."

"Stop it," Killian whispered, his eyes welling with tears. Pushing away from her, he looked to his other side, his soul breaking. Then, in one fell move, he scooted closer to her and carefully scooped her against his chest, needing to feel her body in his now trembling arms.

Bending over her, Killian laid his head against the right side of her face, his shaky fingers gently padding her stomach in order to find hers.

"Also...please tell my...parents that I'm sorry," she continued, needing to wipe her slate clean. "I haven't been...the best daughter...or sister to Neal. One of the...reasons why I was...so irritated with them...was because I was...jealous of my brother..." Blinking away her own tears, she dug deep within herself. "He gets to have...them and I didn't...then I almost...hurt my dad..."

"That was an accident," Killian fervently interrupted, his words harsh in her ear. "All that had occurred at the station isn't a reflection of who you are. You wouldn't purposefully hurt us. I need you to understand that."

"I know," she admitted, finally putting that situation to rest. "I do...I understand. Now..." she stopped, moving to speak directly into one of his ears, her tears continuing to prickle at her eyes. "Now...this is very...important." Taking in a shallow breath, she continued. "I don't want...you to give into...revenge over my...death, like you...did with Milah. I want you...to go on and find...happiness. You deserve...it..."

"Stop!" he shouted, pulling away to look at her. A tear was now running down one of his cheeks. "Emma, I can't..."

She shook her head at him. "There's something...else that I have...to say..."

"N-no," he replied, his voice cracking. ""Stay still and don't speak. You n-need to conserve your energy." Noticing that her hands had moved closer to her chest, he gently brought them back down to her now bandaged stomach, making her wince. "I'm sorry," he whispered, a sob deep in his throat.

"Please," she continued with a grunt. She would not be deterred. "Watch after...Henry. He'll need...guidance into adulthood...I want you to...guide him."

Killian closed his eyes. They shouldn't be having this conversation. This shouldn't be happening to them. They were supposed to have their happily ever after. "This isn't fair," he whispered to the room, his grief overwhelming him. "We should have our entire lives together, Swan. We—"

Moving one of her trembling hands from his, Emma raised it to cup his cheek, which both broke him and stilled his words. Squeezing his eyes tighter, tears poured from them and a tremor shook his body.

Slipping further away and fearing that she wouldn't get another chance to tell him how she felt, Emma struggled against her weak body, which began to convulse under the strain of her efforts and movements. He responded by hugging her tighter and leaning his forehead against hers. "Killian," she managed to say, her voice hushed. "I...I love you..."

Once again, he backed away to look at her. "Emma..."

"You...have to say...it back now," she said with a teasing, fragile smile. Rubbing her thumb against his stained cheek, she prompted him with a small head tilt. "It's...rude if you don't..."

"You...you don't," Killian fumbled, his heart pounding as he tried to keep his emotions together. Finally, he shook his head, his eyes stormy. "I need you to stop talking. You are making dying declarations and...it's breaking my heart..."

Still smiling, Emma grappled with focusing on his face."...Say it b-back...please..."

"You know how I feel for you, Swan," he responded, selfishly unwilling to tell her so he didn't have to finish it with a goodbye. "I told you at that ice cave and alluded to it for months..."

"I...n-need to hear...it," she urged, shivering in pain.

A moment of silence passed between them before Killian, who was still holding her gaze, tightened his hold on her. "Emma...I've been in love with you since I first saw you in the Enchanted Forest, particularly when you climbed that beanstock with me." He released a ragged breath as more heartbroken tears slipped from his eyes. "And since that day, I've never stopped falling..."

Emma gave him a loving, but breathless, laugh before wincing and biting her lip. Eyes fluttering and looking off into the distance, she looked very pale in the dim lighting and was growing cold. Despite the dressing, her blood was barely clotting or being contained beneath it and was beginning to spill onto his legs and, once again, to the floor below her in dangerous amounts.

She was bleeding out.

Getting an idea, Killian suddenly leaned down and passionately crushed his lips to hers, hoping that despite what Regina had said about no cures, magical or otherwise, it would save her. Tasting cooper, he kissed her a bit longer before breaking it, giving it a few more seconds before looking down at her stomach.

No change.

It didn't work.

Chest heavy and tight, Killian shook his head in denial. It worked with the mirror, why can't it work with this? Why does magic have to be unnecessarily cruel to the ones I love?

"I won't let you die," he then whispered, brokenly. With a soft groan, Emma's eyes shifted back to his face, her hand semi-slipping from his cheek. Stretching over to grab the kit and the bucket, Killian quickly wiped away her blood and rebandaged her stomach before decisively shifting her in his arms. "Love," he began, looking back into her eyes. "I need you to press down on the wound."

Too weak to speak, Emma complied and dropped her hand down to join the other one. Pressing lightly, she tried to quell the urge to just close her already heavy eyes and drift away.

Carefully minding her midriff, Killian slowly picked them both up, his feet slightly staggering under their combined weight. Softly shushing her whimpers with his voice and a gentle sway, he briefly leaned his forehead again against hers and swallowed hard before he began moving them over to the door, intent on walking them back into town with nothing but his sheer will.

He didn't get far.

Startled back by an emerging burgundy cloud, Killian's jaw clenched when it revealed a menacing looking Gold.

"Get out of my way, crocodile," he sneered, slightly twisting away to protect the important bundle in his arms.

A purple smoke then appeared behind Killian.

"Nice try, Gold," Regina announced, stepping forward with a threatening hand up. "But evading us wasn't a smart move."

Irritated, Gold remained quiet as his eyes roamed over the tormented Killian to the dying Emma to his discarded, now glowing dagger on the floor. That's what that feeling was, he reasoned, trying to hide his surprise. It was telling me that the spell wasn't complete. It had been removed before it was time, reverting what was supposed to be a magical occurrence into more of a deadly injury...

Seeing what he had interested him, Regina dropped her stance and tried to grab for it but he thwarted her efforts by immediately calling it to him.

Taking a step closer, Gold's eyes narrowed back onto Killian. "How about a trade?"

Killian responded with a glare.

"Her life for your heart," he continued, lying in order to get what he wanted. He had already lost the prospect of having Emma's magic as a booster and she was paying dearly for it.

'Rumple, don't," Belle warned, moving closer to stand beside Regina, who had her hands up once again. "If you don't stop this now, I'll never forgive you."

Her words cut him deeply, but his exterior remained unflinchingly cold. Without glancing at her, Gold continued to talk to Killian, hating him even more for involving Belle—despite her personally seeing him with the dagger at the ice cave. "What's it to be, Captain? Her life or the prospect of losing yours?"

Swallowing hard, Killian looked down at Emma, who was breathing laboriously with wide eyes.

Meeting Gold's gaze, he nodded his head.

Taking a step back, he then crouched down and began lowering Emma to the floor.

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