Epilogue

Emma Swan twisted the engagement ring around her finger, counting every lap the diamond band rotated around it, a habit she'd picked back up a year and a half ago when she had first gotten engaged.

What used to be a telltale sign that she was anxious, but now was just a ghost of a habit she can't seem to let go.

And even if she did feel anxious, was it an uneasy anxious? No, a happy anxious definitely.

She never thought she'd be here again, white gown on, flower bouquet sitting ready on a nearby table just waiting to be picked up.

Anxiously waiting to get married, again.

This time, however, it felt right. This time she knew that as she counted every lap the ring made around her finger, that she wasn't anxious because she was unsure if marrying Killian was the right thing to do. The only reason she was anxious was because she wanted to get through with it and be his partner forever and that's more than she'll ever be able to say when it came down to her first marriage.

Emma doesn't think that she'll ever forget when Killian proposed to her. It was only six months after they had gotten back together. It certainly wasn't the most romantic gesture or most thought out proposal; it was messy and rushed, and imperfect just like them.

They were spending Labor Day weekend in Storybrooke with Mary Margaret, David, and little Neal who was now over a year old and a bloody demon, according to Killian. At first, Emma thought Killian was exaggerating, the kid was only fifteen months old, how bad could he be? After that night, Emma agreed with him completely, knowing full well that if she didn't love the kid as much as she did, she'd want nothing to do with him. That Saturday, Emma (much to Killian's dismay) had agreed that they'd watch over Neal while David and Mary Margaret had their much-needed alone time sailing on Mag's parent's boat. The day ended with two migraines, 500 calories burned by running around the house after the kid, spaghetti sauce on Emma's new white blouse, and an uncertain amount of play dough and glitter glue in each other's hair.

"It's done. He's asleep." Emma had said exhausted as she sat back down on the porch, setting down the baby monitor next to her and making sure the volume was at its highest (not that you'd need the monitor, according to Killian, Neal's lungs had sufficient range for them to hear if he was distressed).

"Finally." He smiled at her, handing her a beer can from the cooler and pressing his up to the bruise that was raised on his forehead (Neal's doing, of course).

"How does that feel?" Emma had asked.

"Like a toddler kicked me in the face while I changed his diaper." He replied, chuckling wryly.

"We're terrible at this." Emma conceded, laughing with him.

"I consider it practice for when we have a lad as feisty as you are." Killian told her, wincing slightly as he pressed the can closer to his bruise.

"I have faith that our kid would be better behaved than our godson." Emma countered, lying back on her elbows only to notice the stains on her shirt. "This was my favorite shirt." She continued, "well, not my favorite but it had potential." She added.

"Emma," Killian started but he drifted off, letting her name hang loosely in the air.

"What?" she asked absentmindedly while looking out at the dusk-lit pier.

"Marry me." She almost doesn't hear the question. Partly because Killian said it so low it's a miracle she heard him at all and partly because that was the last thing she expected him to say.

"What?" her head whipped around so fast she almost felt dizzy. Did he really ask her what she thought he was asking her?

"You heard me, Swan. But I'll oblige you by asking you again." He grinned. "Will you marry me?" He was asking her what she thought he was asking her.

"Shouldn't you be doing some grand gesture right now?" She replied, grinning widely at him. Of course, she was going to accept.

"I did have it all planned out. Candle lit dinner on a sailboat, just us two, we'd release lanterns, and end the night watching fireworks while a plane wrote down the question in the sky." He had added sarcastically.

"I don't think right now is the time to be sarcastic, Killian. I haven't given you an answer." Emma responded, wiping the slick hair that had stuck to her forehead off her face. In all seriousness, she'll always be at a loss why he decided to ask her when she looked like this.

"Emma, say you'll marry me."

"Why?" she teased him, loving the effect that waiting for an answer had on me. He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hands.

"Because I want this forever. I want to be kicked by a toddler in the face, I want you with spaghetti sauce stains on your shirt, I want lazy summer weekends, and coming home to each other every night. As long as I get to spend every day with my best friend, I'll take whatever life throws at me. So long as I'm with you, Em." He finished with an expectant smile, digging in his pocket for a small velvet box and handed it to her. Emma opened it and saw the prettiest ring she'd ever seen, prettier than her first, smaller yes but worth so much more in meaning. She felt tears stinging the back of her eyes, threatening to pool in her rims and fall down her cheeks.

"You want everything with me?" She asked him thickly, looking back up at his hopeful face.

"Yes." He said seriously, no trace of mirth anywhere.

"Then yes, Killian. I'll marry you."

Emma looks at herself in the mirror one more time, smoothing down her dress, before Mary Margaret comes in and tells her it's time. This time around, Emma and Killian had opted for a smaller ceremony in the docks behind Mary Margaret's parent's estate, the place where it all began a second time. Emma had decided to walk down the aisle alone. It might seem silly to others, but the fact that she had to start all over after Walsh really resonated with her. In the past couple of years she had to learn what it was like to feel content with being alone, and she found out that regaining one's independence is no easy feat. She was threatened by the person that had vowed to take care of her till death do they part and that crumbled down quicker than anything else. She made mistakes and learned from them and now, as she stares out into the crowd the only person she can see is Killian.

Killian, whose gleaming smile is brightening the whole estate. He's giving her the look that he reserves only for her, the look of blissful incandescent happiness that you can only give the person who means the world to you. He has always been the person that has known loss the way that she has known loss and with that understanding came the knowledge that she wasn't just walking down the aisle to her future husband. She was walking towards her future, a future with the person who has grown with her and without her, and somehow with each other's help, found their way home in each other.