As the image on the dreamcatcher disappeared, Killian let the shock come over him. They had just witnessed Milah's story and what had happened to her after she had died in his arms. They found out why she was alive and the explanation actually made sense. Kind of. In a way. In a very strange way.
Killian was dumbstruck by all of the things they found out, but there was one thing above all that shocked him the most. Milah had tried to find him. She tried to find him after she was brought back to life and the reason she couldn't find him was because he went to Neverland right after her dead. He knew that. He knew that she wasn't able to find him because he was in a different land. Neverland was different from all the other realms. Pan wouldn't let anyone come and go from the island if he didn't had something to gain from that so even with her new powers, Milah wouldn't have been able to find him there.
"That was…" Milah started to speak, breaking the silence in the room (not to mention the river of thoughts that was flowing through his mind) while still looking at the dreamcatcher in Emma's hand. "Wow."
"So you are a… Nereid?" Emma asked, confusion being obvious on her face. Killian moved his eyes from her to all the others and saw that Emma's look was mirrored on their faces as well.
"Apparently. Or at least I was one and now I've been released from that duty from what the queen told me," Milah said haltingly.
"How? Why?" Mary Margaret asked from behind Emma. "The king said he couldn't let you do that."
"Because she found Hook," Regina started to talk and Killian looked at her with wide eyes. "He didn't want to let her go because she hadn't found Hook back then. But she found him when she came here," Regina explained.
"I was supposed to help Killian with something. What was that?" Milah asked, looking from Regina to Killian.
Regina shook her head. "That, I don't know."
The silence fell around them once again. Killian couldn't stop thinking about Milah's question. Her mission was to find him and help him. But with what? With his revenge? He doubted the king bought Milah back to life just to help him get his revenge on the Crocodile. Perhaps to help him get over her death? At that time, something like that would have been impossible for Killian. Almost as impossible as believing that he could love again. And yet, Killian couldn't put away the thought that while he spent years trying to find a way to revenge her death, she was alive looking for him.
The silence in the room was interrupted by the sound of David's phone. Killian looked at him and saw David's eyebrows coming together while he looked at the screen.
"It's a message from Grumpy," David said, looking at Emma. "Something is happening at the docks and he's asking for us to go there."
"What about Milah?" Ruby asked.
"Are you okay? Do you feel better? Can you be released from here?" Emma asked Milah.
Milah nodded at her. "Yeah, I can't wait to get out of this bed."
"Emma, you could stay here, make sure everything is alright, while we go and see what's happening at the docks," Mary Margaret proposed.
Emma looked at her with an eyebrow raised, "Don't you want me there?"
"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle," David said. "The problem is, most likely, just one of the dwarves."
"Alright. Killian and Ruby, can you stay with me, too?" Emma asked, looking at Killian and then at Ruby.
"Absolutely!" Ruby answered while Killian just nodded at her, still not trusting his voice.
"Good," David said and taking Mary Margaret's hand in his, they started to walk towards the door. Regina asked Emma if she needed anything else from her and Emma told her to go get Henry and thanked her for coming and helping them.
With that, Killian watched Mary Margaret, David and Regina leave the room. When they were gone, Killian looked at Emma. She was looking back at him with an unreadable expression in her eyes and that worried him because since the moment they met, she had been an open book to him and he was able to read every single emotion on her face. But now something had changed. He raised an eyebrow at her, silently asking her if she was okay and let out the breath he was holding when she closed her eyes and nodded at him.
"I am going to go talk to Whale to get him to release Milah," Emma told him.
"I'm coming with you," Ruby said, coming closer to Emma.
Emma looked at Killian, waiting for him to say anything and he had to search for his voice to finally be able to get out some words. "I am going to stay here. I need to talk to Milah," he finally spoke.
Emma and Ruby nodded at him and then left the room. Finally alone with Milah, Killian couldn't begin speaking the words that were stuck on his tongue, although he desperately wanted them out.
"I didn't know," Milah started to talk before him.
Killian moved his eyes to look at her. "What?" he asked confused.
Milah looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "I didn't know about any of this, what we just saw."
"I can tell that," Killian said with a low voice.
"Killian, are you upset?"
"No. I'm not upset," Killian said, shaking his head. "I am shocked." The whole situation made him think back to the moment they shared together when they came back from Neverland and he found out that Milah was alive.
"I am too," Milah admitted.
Killian let out a sigh and started to speak. "What I don't understand is what you were supposed to help me with."
"I think I was supposed to help you find your happiness," Milah said in a whisper. "After my death that is," she continued.
"I didn't need that! I just needed you back in my life!" Killian finally snapped at her.
"I don't understand why I wasn't able to find you!" Milah snapped back at him. "We could have been together if I would have found you! Where were you, Killian?" Milah asked, dropping her voice.
"Neverland! I was in Neverland, trying to find a way to avenge your death. I was in that damned place for 300 years, trying to find a way to kill the monster that killed my love! And all this time, she was alive in a different realm trying to find me!"
Milah opened her mouth to say something in response to what he had just said, but she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in," Milah answered and the door opened to reveal Emma's head.
"I talked to Whale," Emma started, looking straight at Milah and avoiding Killian's eyes. "He said you are free to go."
"Thank you, Emma."
"David also sent me a message and asked me to come to the docks. The three of us, actually," Emma said, finally looking at Killian.
"Okay. I'll get ready and be out in a few minutes," Milah said. Emma nodded at her and then closed the door, leaving them alone again.
"I will let you get ready," Killian told her, as he headed towards the door and out of the room.
He went to the hallway outside of the room and found Emma leaning on the opposite wall. He looked at Emma and realized that she was trying very hard to not look at him. That's when it hit him that she probably heard what he had told Milah just minutes ago.
"Did you hear what we were saying?" Killian asked her slowly, coming closer to her.
"I was coming back to tell you that David wanted us at the docks," Emma said, avoiding his question. But judging by her reaction, he was a hundred percent sure she had heard him.
"How much did you hear?" Killian asked again, putting a hand on her arm.
Emma closed her eyes and let out a deep breath when she answered, "Enough."
Killian looked her in the eyes. "Emma, it was nothing."
"It doesn't matter right now, Killian," Emma said, taking a step away from him.
Killian's heart dropped at her reaction. She was putting up her walls again because he was an idiot who just had to scream things he had wished were true hundreds of years ago. She was backing away from him, slipping through his fingers, because he was an idiot.
"Emma please," Killian said, taking a step forward.
"I am serious, Killian," Emma said, raising a hand in front of him. "We don't have time for this now."
As Emma finished speaking, the door to Milah's room opened and she came out, not giving Killian another chance to say anything. "I'm ready."
"Let's go," Emma said, not looking at him again.
Milah looked around, searching for something and then she looked at Emma and asked, "Ruby?"
"She had to go back to the diner after she talked to Whale," Emma explained. "She said she would talk to you later. Just the two of you."
"Oh," Milah said, nodding in understanding at Emma.
"Let's go," Emma said once again, and started to walk towards the exit of the hospital without another word. Milah looked confused at Killian and he just shook his head and lowering his eyes, starting to walk after Emma.
The three of them exited the hospital and jumped into the bug. No one talked on the way to the docks, but it wasn't like any of them knew what to say anyway. Killian was still thinking about how to make Emma understand that what she heard was really nothing to worry about. He was shocked yes, and yes, it was true that he had wished for Milah to be alive back in the Enchanted Forest. But that was back then and he got over it, eventually. What they had found out from the dreamcatcher and what Killian had said didn't mean that his feelings for Emma had changed in any way. No, his feelings for Emma became bigger with each day that passed and he had to find a way to make her understand that. To make her understand that she was the reason so many things had changed in his life, changed for the better. She was the reason he opened his heart again and started to love her so intensely.
When they arrived at the docks, Emma parked the car and they all got out and started looking for Emma's parents. When they finally saw David and Mary Margaret on the wooden pier, they started to walk towards them. While they got closer, Killian saw that Regina was with David and Mary Margaret as well, but there was also someone else talking to them. David had his back to Emma, Killian, and Milah, blocking most of the view, but Killian could see the form of another man behind David.
As they got closer to the others, Killian started to recognized the man. It was the god that brought Milah back to life. Nereus, Killian remembered his name. How was that even possible? And why was he here? Killian looked at Emma who was looking at her parents talking to the king and he could see that she was just as surprised as he was. Then Killian looked at Milah. Her face was somewhere between shock and unbelieving.
When they arrived closer to the others, David turned to look at them, offering a better look at the man that was still behind him.
"You're here!" Mary Margaret jumped in front of them.
"Yeah," Emma said. "What happened?" Emma asked Mary Margaret and Killian could see that she was trying really hard not to stare at the king.
"This happened," Regina answered, pointing to the man.
"My name is Nereus," he presented himself, his deep and hard voice making it obvious that he wasn't just another normal person.
"You brought me back to life," Milah said before anyone else could start talking.
"It's good to see you again, my dear Milah," Nereus answered Milah with a smile.
"I have questions," Milah said, ignoring the smile on the king's face.
"I am sure you all have questions," Nereus said looking from Milah to everyone else. "I am sorry for the answers Doris gave you," he said looking back at Milah once again. "Or should I say the lack of answers she gave you?"
Killian saw Milah roll her eyes and then she started to talk again. "What happened to me?"
Nereus looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't find out?"
"I did. Doris told me that I'm no longer a Nereid."
Nereus nodded, "You are not one anymore," he confirmed.
"Why?" she asked with a grave voice.
Nereus simply raised his shoulders and answered, "I decided to let you go."
"You told me you couldn't let me go because I didn't find Killian."
Nereus looked at Killian and then at Milah again, "I see you found him now."
"What was my job?" Milah asked him.
"To help your sailor," Nereus said, pointing to Killian.
"With what?" Killian snapped at Nereus, starting to lose his patience.
"She was supposed to help you find your happiness. And you did that," Nereus said, taking a quick look at Emma, a look so quick that Killian would have missed it if he hadn't been studying the king's moves. "But! You found your happiness without her help."
At Nereus' words Killian looked at Emma not expecting to catch her looking at him too. He smiled at Emma and saw her raising the corners of her mouth as well but then just as quickly she let them down, avoiding his eyes again and Killian remembered what had happened at the hospital. He still had to take care of that problem.
"But that's not all," Nereus continued, making Killian look at him again. "While you indeed found your happiness in the form of your True Love," the man said looking from Killian to Milah, "you also found a new level of happiness when you saw Milah alive."
Killian opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it again when he realized he didn't really know what to say to that. He looked around him and everyone had different expressions on their faces. Milah was looking at the king with narrowed eyes, Mary Margaret and David were looking at each other confused while Regina was looking at Killian with a smug expression as if she knew something he didn't.
Then he looked at Emma and for the second time that day, his heart sank at the look on her face. Killian knew how Nereus' words sounded to someone who didn't know what was really going on between Emma and Killian. It sounded like Milah being alive was Killian's true happy ending. But Emma knew what was going on between them! She knew they were True Love and Killian knew he loved her more than he had loved anyone in his life. But Emma also heard him saying how much he needed Milah alive and how that was all he had wished for. He had yet to tell Emma that he loved her. He knew it was too early for that, and he knew that by saying it, it was going to scare Emma.
"I can see you are all very confused," Nereus' voice stopped Killian's thoughts. Killian looked at him and Nereus continued, "and it's understandable."
"It is," Killian finally heard Emma speak.
"I am going to explain it to you all," Nereus told them. "You, Milah, were his first love. He spent years looking for a way to avenge your death, not knowing that you were alive in another realm, looking for him. Seeing you alive bought both of you happiness," Nereus explained. He moved his eyes from Milah to Killian and started to talk to him. "It brought you happiness because your first love was here, still alive and fine, and it brought Milah happiness because after all this time, she found you. Even if she didn't know that she had been looking for you. But at that time, when she found you, you had both already gotten over each other in many aspects."
Suddenly Killian was even more confused. He didn't understand much of what Nereus was saying, only that Milah being alive bought Killian happiness.
"You, Milah," Nereus started to talk again, "you learned to enjoy life as it was, to have adventure in your life. You realized that you don't specifically need to be by his side to be happy. I've been watching you all this time since you left my palace, and you rarely thought about him. You had a period in which you tried to find out why you were alive and you learned about this town and that Killian would be here, but once you knew you were not supposed to come here until a certain time, you went on with your life. You traveled and you enjoyed this life just the way you wanted to when you left Atlantis. You were happy. Meanwhile Killian, you learned to love again. You opened your heart and you fell in love and you found your True Love. You became a better man, you fought for what you wanted, and you learned to put others before yourself. Not even once had you thought about Milah and what you could've had. You went forward with your life, even if, for a while, it wasn't the right path."
"Do you mean that they had to learn how to get over each other in order to be happy?" Emma asked again.
"Yes," Nereus approved. "People only have one life, two in Milah's case, and they have to learn how to live the best life. It's not worth it to spend your life crying over someone, searching for someone that disappeared from your life or trying to avenge something, because this way you let your life fly over your head and you miss the best part of it. Living. Enjoying what life has in order for each other is important. That's why I like to give people a second chance at life."
"So you let me out of your strings because I had found out how to live my life?" Milah asked him and Killian could hear the surprise in her voice.
Nereus smiled. "You have friends Milah. You have a life. You've traveled and you have experienced the wonders of this world. In short, you are happy."
Killian looked at Milah who had a wide smile on her face upon hearing Nereus' explanation. "Thank you," Milah told the king and Killian could hear genuine happiness in her voice.
Nereus nodded at Milah and then looked at Killian with the same big smile on his face.
"You," Nereus started to speak to him. "You found your True Love and you are happy with her. I can tell that. Stay like that," Nereus encouraged him.
Killian didn't know what to say to that. He was happy yes, he was happy the day before and the day before that, but right now he wasn't happy. What happened with Emma at the hospital was still sitting hard on his heart and he was still feeling guilty.
After a while and with some more questions from Regina, Nereus left, leaving them alone with the promise of coming back to visit Milah from time to time and with an apology on his wife's behalf, on how she behaved towards Milah.
After Nereus left, Milah excused herself and told them that she would go talk to Ruby and would fill her in on what she had just found out from Nereus. Killian smiled when Milah mentioned Ruby because he could see that the two of them were very good friends and he was happy to see that after all this time, Milah finally had friends she could rely on. She told them with a smile that she would see them later at Granny's and then she left.
"Hook," Killian heard David calling his name. Killian turned around and looked at the prince with an eyebrow raised. Seeing that he got his attention, David continued to speak. "Who exactly is your True Love?" the prince asked him with narrowed eyes.
Killian swallowed hard at David's question, not knowing how it was possible to both answer that question and manage to stay alive. Killian opened his mouth to answer but Emma's and Mary Margaret's voices were heard before he could answer.
"David," Emma snapped at her father, while Mary Margaret simply said, "Charming, don't start."
David looked at them and raised his shoulders. "I'm just curious."
Killian took a quick look at Emma and saw that she was looking at him as well and then moved her eyes towards her parents.
"I do not want to hear this," Regina spoke out of the blue. "Good luck, Emma," she said, before disappearing in a fog of purple smoke. Emma was left wondering what exactly Regina knew.
"So?" David asked again after Regina was gone.
Killian opened his mouth to say something to him, anything, a lie most likely, when he heard someone else speak up.
"Me." Emma answered, making everyone open their mouths in shock. On one hand, Mary Margaret and David were shocked because of what they had just heard Emma admit, but Killian on the other hand, was shocked because he couldn't believe that Emma just revealed the truth to her parents.
"Emma?" Killian asked her but instead of answering, Emma looked at him, shook her head and then continued to talk with her parents. "I am his True Love."
"And you know that after one kiss?" David asked suspiciously. Killian saw David moving his eyes back and forth from Emma to Killian a few times and every time he looked at him, Killian could see the anger in his eyes.
Emma rolled her eyes and answered him. "No. We know that from after I brought him back to life in Neverland."
"What?" both Mary Margaret and David asked at the same time.
Emma raised her hands in front of her and spoke. "I will tell you the whole story if you promise to not kill him."
David moved his eyes from Emma to Killian and looked at him with actual flames in his eyes. "That's a bit hard right now," David said between his teeth, still looking at Killian.
Mary Margaret put a hand on David's shoulder and whispered something Killian couldn't hear, when Emma spoke again. "David, I'm serious."
David let out a breath and then answered Emma. "Okay, okay, I promise not to kill him."
Mary Margaret let go of David's shoulder and started to talk to Emma. "Let's go to Granny's. You can explain everything to us there."
Emma nodded at her mother and then looked over at Killian. Killian looked back at Emma and raised an eyebrow at her. Emma nodded at him slowly enough just for him to notice and then she looked again at her parents.
"Actually, I was wondering if you could give us a few minutes?" Emma told them pointing between herself and Killian. "We will meet you at Granny's in a little bit."
Mary Margaret nodded at her and added an "okay" with a small smile.
Mary Margaret took David's hand in hers and started to pull him away from Emma and Killian. Killian watched the two of them walk away and then looked at Emma. She looked at him and started to come closer to him. Without another word, Emma took his hand in hers and started to walk in the opposite direction from her parents towards one of the benches that were facing the water. The two of them sat down and for a few minutes, neither of them said anything.
Emma POV
As Emma and Killian sat on the bench looking at the ocean, Emma wished she knew what was going on in Killian's mind. His face was turned towards the water, but she could definitely say that his mind was zoned out.
If Emma didn't know what was going on in Killian's mind in that moment, she knew for sure what was going on in hers because her mind didn't want to let go of the conversation she had overheard back at the hospital between Killian and Milah. Emma was aware of the fact that for a very long time, Killian had wished for Milah to be alive. But to be aware of it and to hear him say it were two different things. Then again, finding out that seeing Milah alive again brought even more happiness to Killian's soul was also very odd for Emma.
Over the years she had been jealous of many things: watching kids with their parents, watching the other kids from the orphanage being adopted while people ignored her, seeing a nice dress and not being able to buy it, hearing people talking about happiness and family and not being able to have any of it. Seeing people being loved and not being loved herself. She was always jealous and with time, she learned how to hold everything inside her and ignore the things that made her jealous.
But now? Now it was something else entirely. At first she didn't want to admit to anyone, especially to herself, that she had feelings for Killian, let alone being in love with him. But after spending time with him away from any major, life threatening problems, she started to be at peace with her feelings for him. Having their date and feeling loved was something new for her and that was all Killian's fault. He had broken every single wall she had around her heart. He had slipped through the small cracks and warmed her from the inside out and made her love and feel loved; not the kind of love Henry or her parents were giving her, but another kind of love. The love Emma had not thought possible for her for many years.
She asked herself, from time to time, what if the kiss back in Neverland had been wrong. What if it was something else and they had just thought it was True Love, despite Tink saying it was True Love's Kiss and even Gold stating it. She knew every time she looked at Killian, that his feelings for her were real, but Emma was so used to not being loved that for her, it was still hard to believe it.
"I can hear you thinking, love." Emma's thoughts were interrupted by Killian's voice.
She broke out of her thoughts and looked at him. He wasn't smiling but she could see that his eyes were full of different emotions.
"Sorry about that," she said.
Killian raised the corners of his mouth in something that was supposed to look like a smile, but it wasn't reflected in his eyes. "It's alright. Are you okay?" Killian asked.
"You're asking me if I am okay?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Instead of answering, Killian just shrugged his shoulders at her. "I'm okay. I'm just overwhelmed by everything we've found out in the last four hours."
"You and me, both, Emma," Killian said. "But still, that look on your face doesn't look like being overwhelmed."
"What does it look like?" Emma asked him, not surprised that he was able to read her.
"Worry?" Killian asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I'm not worried," Emma denied quickly.
"You are. Open book remember," Killian said, raising a finger in front of him. "Is this about what you overheard at the hospital?"
Emma looked away from him again. It was, in fact, about what she had heard, but at the same time, it was about so much more. If only she could gather the courage to tell him.
Killian let out a breath. "I told you it didn't mean anything, Emma."
"It's not just about that," Emma said, finally looking at him. "It's also about what Nereus said."
"About me finding happiness when I found out Milah was alive?"
"Yes."
"Emma, you have no reason to worry. Of course I was happy to see Milah alive again."
"It's not about you being happy 'cause she's alive!" Emma snapped at him.
"Then what? Help me understand," Killian begged her.
"You weren't fully happy with me! That's what Nereus told us!"
"Emma, that is not true."
Emma jumped from the bench and looked at him. "No. It feels like I wasn't enough for you to be happy."
"Emma, no," Killian said, standing up and coming to a stop in front of her. "It's not like that. I am happy with you and I would have been the happiest man alive just with you! You've helped make me become a better man since the first time we've met."
"What about Milah?"
"I am over Milah. I have been for a very long time, and the fact that she is alive doesn't change that," Killian explained. "Emma believe me, I am here for you, I am here because of you and I will never leave you, not as long as you still want me. With or without Milah, you, my love, are still my happy ending."
Emma's eyes widened when she heard the words 'happy ending'. "What?"
"Don't look so surprised, Emma," Killian said, putting a hand on her arm and pulling her closer to him. "I've loved you long before that damn True Love's Kiss."
"That's not possible," Emma said, trying to take a step back but Killian stopped her.
"It is possible. You made me a better man, Emma. You made me want to fight for something. To fight to be a better man, the man I was before, to fight for a place in this town, to fight for you, for your love," Killian said putting a finger under her chin and looking into her eyes. "Everything I did in Neverland, I did for you, because I love you."
At his words, Emma closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. His eyes were telling her that he had loved her from some time now. She knew that very well, and his actions have proved to her that he had loved her since the beginning. She was just too much of an idiot to see it and let it in. Killian had jumped in front of a poisoned arrow for her, he didn't want to give up until she and Henry were safe. With every step, every touch and every kiss he was trying to tell her that he loved her and now, he was finally saying the words out loud for the first time. He let go of every mask he wore and every wall he had, putting his heart on a table in front of her and letting her know that he loved her.
Opening her eyes again, she looked into his eyes and knew that it was time for her to let him know what she really believed. It was time for her to let him in completely. She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him closer to her. Their foreheads touched and none of them said anything for a moment. Then Emma raised her head and pressed her lips to his.
They had kissed many times, especially in the last few days, and yet, this kiss felt like their first real kiss. Their feelings for each other were laid bare between them, truly, without walls or secrets between them, without any of them holding back anything. Emma tried to put in that kiss the words she couldn't yet let out, even if she desperately wanted to tell him; to let him know that she felt how he felt, let him know that she loved him too.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair. In return, Killian's arms went around her back and pressed her closer to his chest. Their mouths were dancing with each other and Emma let out a moan against his lips. Encouraged by her moves, Killian moved his palm up on her back, to her neck and then to her cheek slowly, driving her mad with his touch. Emma opened her mouth against his, making space for his tongue, and in the next second, her mouth was flooded with a familiar taste. She let out another moan at the same time he let out a moan of his own. They were a mess, challenging each other to go deeper and deeper with each stroke of their tongues. Her fingers drifted down his neck, and placed themselves on his shoulders, making him shiver under her touch. Emma's body hummed and her heart hammered in her chest, every flick of his tongue and press of his lips making her head spin.
The sound of a ship honking in the distance made Emma aware of where they were and that anyone could see them. She broke the kiss with a gasp, Killian's lips still following hers, trying to kiss her once more. But she was faster than he was, pulling away from his lips, burying her face against his neck, and digging her nails into his shoulders. His hand trailed to her hips, while his head fell on top of hers.
They stayed like that, embracing and getting drunk on each other's smells for what felt like an eternity.
When Emma finally raised her head from his shoulders, she looked into his eyes and all the air in her lungs disappeared when she saw nothing but love in his eyes.
"I love you," Emma said, not realizing that the words had come out until she saw Killian breaking into the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face.