I am still slightly stunned with the positive response I got to this story and I can't thank you enough for that. It was a bumpy ride, but we're almost to the happy ending, just the epilogue left for tomorrow.
Emma sits on the porch swing Killian had finally installed last weekend after about two hours of cursing and grunting and refusing to let her call her dad for help. She didn't push because she understands Killian's fierce need to be independent and prove to himself that he can do everything even if it takes him longer than it would if he still had two hands, and she's proud of him for not giving up and succeeding in the end.
"It's nice to know that after all the trouble I'd gone through to set up this bloody thing, there's no room on it for me", Killian says from the doorway and Emma rolls her eyes, gathering Daisy into her lap and making way for him to sit.
"You're such a drama queen", Emma tells him fondly, leaning against him when he puts his arm around her shoulders and searching for his hand so that she can entwine their fingers.
"You love me regardless", he says and she kisses his neck, murmuring her agreement even though she still can't manage to get the words pass her lips.
It should be easy telling him that she loves him because she feels it with every fiber of her being, but every time she tries, she remembers that it was the last thing she had told Neal before the crash and then it feels like she's choking on the words.
Killian is infinitely patient and she's grateful for that, but it's been weeks since he had said the words and she cannot deny that the weight of what she can't get past her lips feels like a burden that's getting heavier every passing day.
Her fingers encounter the tattoo on his hand and she suddenly knows the perfect way to show him what she can't express verbally.
"Let's go away", Killian says abruptly and Emma blinks in surprise, absentmindedly pushing Daisy's nose away when she tries to nudge them apart and settle between them.
"Away where?"
"For my birthday next weekend", he explains and Emma can't help remembering their last trip and Killian's fear of flying.
"That's not fair!" Emma exclaims in mock outrage and holds his chin between her thumb and index finger. "Now I can't say I don't want to go."
"Of course you can. If you don't want to go, we don't go", Killian tells her and she shakes her head, grinning widely and telling him that she would very much like to go away with him. Even if we take the car?"
"Last time you took the plane for me, so I think I can manage the car for you", Emma says and realizes that she's not even a little bit scared. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise", Killian tells her and kisses her before she can tell him that she's not good at being patient, and before long Daisy is banished from the porch swing as Killian distracts Emma further so she doesn't ask any more questions.
In the days that come Killian resists all Emma's attempts to uncover their destination but she finds immense pleasure in the fact that he doesn't know that she's got a secret of her own too.
On Thursday they pack their bags and Killian puts them in the back of his truck along with Daisy's food because Elsa and Will are on their honeymoon and Emma's apartment is too small for Emma's parents and a lively dog, but neither Emma nor Killian mind that Daisy is coming along on their romantic getaway.
They are supposed to leave on Friday as soon as Emma can get off work, so Killian doesn't question her when she texts him instead of showing up at Granny's during her lunch break, and she feels only slightly guilty for telling him that she's got some things at work that she needs to catch on.
It's true that she's a little behind, but she can catch up quickly, and she's actually meeting her father, who drives her to the closest tattoo parlor with minimal amount of questioning her determination to get another tattoo.
"Your mother will kill me when I tell her where we've been today", David says as they wait at a stop-light and Emma smiles to herself because she had never imagined that someday she would have a father, much less one so easily wrapped around her finger.
"Then don't tell her."
"We don't have secrets between us", David says and chuckles to himself when he tells her that Mary Margaret would somehow figure it out anyway.
"Tell her that I'm a grown woman capable of making my own decisions", Emma says and asks him again if he thinks that the flower she had printed out looks good.
"Your mother knows that, and yes, it looks beautiful."
Emma feels butterflies in her stomach and quite a lot of apprehension but the tattoo artist puts her at ease and traces the flower on her skin with a pen first so that she can get the idea of what it will look like, and half an hour later Emma comes out with a bandage taped to her shoulder blade and a bright smile despite the pain she had just endured.
"Killian better appreciate his birthday present of he'll have me to answer to", David says on their way back to City Hall and Emma tells him that she's sure he will.
There's nobody who can appreciate a flower tattoo with a deeper meaning more than Killian Jones.
Killian waits for Emma on the steps of the City Hall with Daisy sitting next to him, but all her manners go through the proverbial window as soon as Emma comes out of the building; she takes off at a dead run, barking happily and nudging Emma's legs until she gives in and crouches to pet her.
"You missed me very much, didn't you?" Emma coos and Killian smiles to himself when it occurs to him that although Daisy is supposedly his dog, it's obvious that she considers Emma her mistress.
"We always miss you, love", Killian tells her and pulls her to her feet when she holds out her hand, then proceeds to give her a thorough kiss.
"Easy, tiger", Emma murmurs against his lips and drops from her tiptoes, folds her cane and puts it into her pocket as she tells him to get a move on if he doesn't want them to be stuck in traffic for the next hour. "How long is the drive, anyway?"
"Nice try", Killian says and starts descending the steps with Emma holding onto his arm.
"Oh come on. It's not like I have a map of the United States memorized in my head."
"You have a pretty impressive memory", Killian says and opens the car door for her, waiting until she puts her seatbelt on before he lets Daisy curl on her lap.
"Not that impressive", Emma says and pulls him down for another kiss, then gives him the most unfair pout that makes it difficult to resist her, but somehow he manages and jogs around the car, slipping into the driver's seat and carefully easing into traffic.
"Just relax and enjoy the ride, love", he tells her and Emma gives him the eyebrow, her fingers wrapping around his wrist and her body shifting sideways so that she's leaning against her seat with her shoulder and facing him.
"Watch the road, hotshot, and maybe I will", she says and he wants to kick himself for such a poor choice of words.
"You know what I meant", he tells her and he can see her nodding out of the corner of his eye; he had never told her that he makes it a point not to look at her when he's driving because he doesn't want to take any chances with her in the car.
One devastating traffic accident in her life was more than enough.
"At least tell me if we get there before or after midnight", Emma asks and he finally gives in, telling her that they should reach their destination around 11 p.m.
"But we stop for dinner in a few hours so it's not all driving", he hastens to add and Emma's grip on his arm loosens a little, her free hand rubbing Daisy's back in a motion that probably soothes Emma more than the dog.
Killian turns on the radio because he knows the music helps Emma relax and he drives in relative silence until they reach the restaurant Killian had chosen because they have an outdoor patio which means that they don't have to leave Daisy in the truck.
After a delicious dinner Emma asks their waitress to show her to a bathroom and Killian takes Daisy across the road so that she can do her business, and then they go back into the car for the last part of their trip.
Emma seems to feel as giddy and excited as he does and he wonders if she had somehow managed to figure out their destination, but he had sworn her parents to secrecy and nobody else knows where they are headed.
It's closer to midnight than eleven when Killian finally turns into the parking lot of a quaint little B&B that's facing the beach and Emma inhales deeply when he opens her door, her eyes widening when she realizes what she's smelling.
"The ocean", she says reverently and unbuckles her seatbelt while Killian lowers Daisy to the ground, holding her collar to keep her from running off and watching Emma's face as she climbs out of the truck. "We're close to the ocean."
"We're actually about a hundred yards away from it; it only occurred to me after we left Storybrooke that I never took you to the beach", Killian tells her and clicks Daisy's leash on, slipping it around his wrist and taking Emma's hand in his. "Do you want to take a walk before we check into the B&B?"
"I would love nothing more", Emma says and stands on tiptoes, her lips finding his cheek first, then his mouth, and she kisses him so fiercely that he groans, wishing they could go to their room first after all. "Come on."
"This way", Killian says and leads her forward, and she squeals in delight when her sandals sink into the still-warm sand despite the late hour.
The beach is deserted and Daisy keeps tugging on her leash so Killian releases her when they reach the water-line and proceeds to describe all her antics to Emma, who laughs and slips off her shoes, fearlessly walking forward until the low tide reaches her toes.
"It's cold", she exclaims but doesn't retreat and Killian quickly gets rid of his shoes and joins her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and resting his head on her shoulder. "Ouch!"
"Swan, what's wrong?" He says and pulls away, squinting at her bare legs in the weak moonlight, expecting to find a jellyfish burn.
"I'm fine", Emma reassures him and reaches for her watch, opening the lid and tracing the hands to determine what time it is.
"Are you sure?"
"Are we alone?" She asks him and he looks around in surprise, telling her that apart from Daisy, they are.
"Happy birthday, Killian", she says and kisses him, then takes a step away from him, turns around and pulls her t-shirt up and off, showing him the creamy perfection of her back and the tattoo that wasn't there just last night when he had kissed every inch of her smooth skin.
"Orange blossom", he says, easily identifying the flower on her shoulder blade, his fingers hovering above the delicately drawn initial of his first name in one of the petals.
"Do you know what it means?" Emma asks him and turns her head as if looking at him over her shoulder, breath hitching in his throat when he realizes what she's trying to tell him without actually saying it.
"It means eternal love", he says softly and kisses her shoulder, then turns her around and cups her cheek in his hand, his eyes caressing her beautiful face and their gazes locking together as she grins up at him when her fingers discover a mile wide smile that's stretching his lips.
"Do you understand?" She asks him and Killian nods, kissing her fingers and verbalizing his answer for good measure.
"I understand, my love", he tells her, and in that moment he knows without a shadow of a doubt that he's going to marry this woman someday, and he vows silently that it's going to be on a beach, if not this exact one.
Emma snuggles into his embrace and presses her nose against his neck, her hands sliding underneath his shirt and her fingertips tracing up his old tattoo, easily smoothing out his rough edges.
Killian closes his eyes, just holding her close and listening to the sound of the waves breaking against the sand, and when he inhales all he can smell is the flowery cocktail of Emma's shampoo; he decides that it's his favorite scent in the world, dearer to him than that of the most fragrant flower in his garden.
He had never loved anybody or anything more than he loves his Swan girl, and he doubts that he ever will.
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