Ah, yes. A Killian-heavy chapter. And I'm not sorry for that bit of a cliffhanger, oops.

I do not own Once Upon a Time, or any of its characters. However, I adore them as if they were my own.

The following morning, Killian woke up and Emma was still in his arms. Last night had been quite the adventure… at least for her. He didn't want to think about her reaction if she woke up and saw him there so he got up, picked up his plaid shirt from the floor and buttoned it up. He tucked his boots underneath his arm and tip toed toward the door, stopping and looking back at her.

Killian sighed, the fact that they had never shared any good morning kisses with her as a married couple stung suddenly. He shot a glance at the table next to her and saw the ring he had given her in another world sitting there. He smiled because she still wore it, whether or not she knew where it came from. He turned and walked out of her room.

Just when he made it past the living room, about to grab the handle and get out of the house, Killian heard a voice behind.

"Leaving already?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, dropping his hand and slowly turning around. He hadn't expected to his should-be-mother-in-law standing there. He smiled and nodded once, trying not make the situation more awkward than it was.

"Good morning, Mary Margaret. How are you?"

"Great. Listen… when I asked you to bring her home, I didn't mean for you to sle—"

Killian cut her off, holding up a hand.

"I didn't sleep with her."

Mary Margaret raised an eyebrow as if saying "Seriously?"

"Not in the way you think, at least. I mean I did sleep with her but in… the most innocent sense of the phrase. Just the two of us, asleep, nothing more, nothing else."

"Calm down, Scott. It's okay. Can I ask why you stayed?"

He hesitated, "She said something about not leaving her. Not leaving her like Graham did. Who's Graham?"

He could see the sharp intake of breath Mary Margaret took and she motioned him to sit on the counter opposite her.

"Graham was the old sheriff. He and Emma had had a thing together. It wasn't love, at least not for him. I don't know about her, she never told me anything."

"Why?"

"Well, if you've known Emma for as long as I have, you know that she has walls. Very, very high ones. She doesn't like being emotional with others because she hates feeling vulnerable. But to you last night, when Emma said that, she was. Drunk or not, she never shares extremely personal things like that."

"Well why did he leave her?" Suddenly sounding more defensive than he was feeling. He was relieved that he no longer was around. The thought of her being with someone else was revolting to him.

Mary Margaret sighed, pushing a coffee cup to him.

"Graham died of a heart attack about a year ago. It was unexpected and what's worse, she saw it happen. She saw him die. And I think that's part of the reason why she's so guarded."

All Killian could do was nod and clench his right fist. Emma had been through too much during their cursed time apart and she didn't deserve it, any of it. No one did. And there was only one person to blame: Regina. He wanted answers from her, explaining why she did this to them all. Mary Margaret's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Why did I tell you all of this? Emma should've told you," she placed her hands on her face, shaking her head.

"We'll keep this as a secret between the two of us, then. And I'll act like I haven't heard it before when she tells me of it. Promise."

Mary Margaret smiled and patted his hand, nodding slowly.

"You're lucky I like you and I want to trust you."

Just then, Emma staggered down the stairs, wearing a tank top, sweatpants… and his jacket. He bit his lower lip, trying not to smile.

"Hey beautiful!" he blurted out.

Emma froze and looked at him, running a hand through her hair.

"Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Well, love, that's my jacket you're wearing. And I brought you home after dancing and drinking last night. And… I stayed."

"Why?"

"Because you told me to."

She knocked over the closed cinnamon container, in shock. She turned quickly to face him.

"I did what?"

He smirked at her.

"You. Told. Me. To." Then he pressed the whipped cream can on her nose and she rolled her eyes. Emma took her finger and scraped it off her nose, licking it off her finger. Killian raised an eyebrow at her, clearly impressed.

"You did. Something about not wanting to be alone, apparently." Mary Margaret chimed in, eyeing Killian to help the situation.

"Oh. Well… thanks."

"No problem whatsoever, love. By the way, that jacket looks very good on you."

Emma looked down at herself, smacking her palm to her forehead. Of course he'd mention that.

"Thanks again. Don't you have anywhere else to be?"

"Emma…" Mary Margaret shot her a look, acting like her un-cursed motherly self, as he remembered it. Emma shrugged.

"I was just asking! Not kicking him out or anything."

"Well, kicking me out or not, no I don't since Gold hasn't really called me in to work and it's also a Saturday." He laughed loudly at her expression of realization.

"Okay was I so out of it that I can't even recall it was Friday night last night?"

"Swan, you asked me to dance and let me tell you, you're a great dancer. And when you want to, you drink like an Irishman, believe me."

She groaned, hiding her face with her arms, resting them against the countertop. Killian reached over to touch her arm and he felt the jolt of electricity he always felt whenever they touched. Emma must've felt it too because her head jerked up. They stared at each other intensely for a moment and he could've sworn he saw her eyes flicker, again, with some kind of recognition of him: the real him.

Killian leaned in closer, rubbing circles on her upper arm where he had touched her and he sighed.

"Wanna go out sometime?" he whispered to her.

"Like on a proper sober date?"

He quietly chuckled, "Yes, love, on a proper sober date. Come on what do you say?"

Emma's eyes widened, almost panicked. No one had asked her out, not since Graham. So, why Scott? Why now? Had he really had that much fun with her the night before or was he just asking for more to see how much he could string her along and then leave her in the dust like everyone else did?

"I'd like that," she blurted out before she could refuse. Deep down, Emma knew why she had yes. When she was alone, she felt like there was storm all around her, all the time. Thunder, lightning, howling winds, the works. But whenever Scott was with her, it seemed like his presence kept that never-ending storm at bay. As if he was the eye of the hurricane.

"Meet me at the pier at 7 tonight. Keep the jacket till then, lass," he winked at her. Emma tried to hold back a smile but she snorted instead.

"I promise."

"And when you promise something, do you never ever break that promise?"

"Lucky guess, babe." Did she just call him babe? Shit.

Killian's heart skipped a beat because she was starting to remember. He didn't know how or when, whether it would be sooner than later, but he just knew she would remember again. That "babe" was just the start of it.

"Well I have to get going then. See you tonight, Swan!"

"Alright, Knight," she chuckled. "It rhymed."

He laughed as he put his boots on, rolling his eyes at her and waving as he walked out the door. Mary Margaret immediately turned off the television from where she was sitting and shot a glance at Emma.

"Did he ask you out?"

"No. He asked me in."

Mary Margaret groaned as Emma giggled.

"Yeah he did, actually. He just said to meet him at the pier at 7 tonight and to wear the jacket."

"Well that's interesting. You know what this means?"

"What?"

"I'm going to go pick out your outfit"

"Mary Margaret! I'm not a little girl! I can do that mys—"

Her friend put up a hand to stop her, shaking her head.

"Emma, trust me."

"Fine. But no dresses! Not tonight!"

"I told you to trust me, my goodness. Now give me the jacket so I can see the whole thing come together."

Mary Margaret got up from the couch and went upstairs. Emma sighed, leaning her head back. In the last twenty-four hours, she had gotten drunk, danced with, slept with, and agreed to go on a date with Scott. Maybe it was time to open up a little more. Maybe.

Killian went into Regina's office, knowing she'd be there and wanted to get some answers. He flung the door open and she turned to him, clearly not expecting his visit.

"Killian. What a surprise."

"Shut up, Regina, and answer me this," he leaned on her desk, staring her down. Where he had gotten the sudden burst of confidence, he didn't know.

"Why did you curse us all?"

Regina laughed, mirthlessly. It was a cruel, dry melody to his ears, making him grimace.

"Because I raised Emma's mother, Snow, or as you know her Mary Margaret. She ruined my happiness. And since it was too late to destroy her happiness with 'Charming', I decided her daughter would be my victim. I'd destroy Emma's happiness, which meant ripping her away from her true love, you. By hurting her daughter, I'd hurt Snow. Everyone else just got in my way. There. You have your answers, are you satisfied?"

Killian took a deep breath, trying hard not to flip the desk he was leaning on. He had never felt this angry before.

"So what you're trying to tell me is that you ruined all of our lives because of one moment of weakness of yours? Because you were jealous of the lives they got?" He was accenting every word almost as if with poison, Regina's eyes never moving away from his.

"Regina, this is a new low. I knew you were ruthless but I didn't know you were petty. I swear that this curse will be broken and we'll all get our happy endings back. I will also make sure that you get what you deserve and that you regret everything you've done. My business with you has finished here."

His quiet rage actually frightened Regina but she didn't admit that. Instead, she stood up from her desk and smirked at his back as he was walking away from her.

"I'd like to see you try, Mr. Jones."

"That's Captain Jones to you, Your Majesty."

The door slammed behind him and that was the end of Regina's reign of fear.