Chapter 5

Emma woke up to see Killian gazing down at her, his knuckles brushing lightly over the curve of her cheek and an adoring smile on his face. But even with the soft expression, he looked exhausted, as if he had gone yet another night without sleep.

She knew he hadn't slept the day before - Henry's new toy ship was proof of that - but after a journey to and from the palace, she would have expected him to sleep easily beside her. But there were still dark rings around his eyes, his eyes slightly dulled with fatigue, and Emma couldn't understand why.

"Were you watching me all night?" she mumbled tiredly, raising a hand and trying to smooth away the evidence of his weariness. "Because I'd prefer it if you got some sleep."

"I was thinking." he replied, turning his head to nuzzle towards her hand. "But I was looking at you at the same time. You're too beautiful not to look at."

"Charmer." she said, a smile curving her lips despite her worry. "But really, Killian, why? What were you thinking about?"

"After everything you said to me," He began hesitantly, and Emma bit her lip. She had apologised for that, but she should have known that an apology wouldn't be enough to stop him thinking about it, especially when she knew how much he already doubted himself, despite her efforts to impress upon him what he meant to her. "I needed you to know everything before deciding you truly want this."

"I know I want this." she insisted, tilting her head so she could brush a kiss across his lips. "You know I want this. What I said, the other day, I was upset, I didn't mean it. I love you."

"But you need to know the truth." he said quietly, shifting so he could wrap an arm around her and hold her close, as if he was worried she was going to leave. "Because I haven't told you what I did after I left you."

"You haven't had the time to tell me." Emma reminded him, but his anxiety and earnestness was making her worried. "You haven't lied to me, have you?"

"No." He answered quickly, but Emma knew he wasn't lying. He wanted to reassure her, had spoken so quickly in order to leave no time for any doubt to form in her mind, but he still looked uneasy, and she knew he had something more to say, something less comforting. "But I have failed you."

"Killian, no." It was Emma's turn to answer hurriedly, desperate not to let Killian believe that what she had told him the night before had been true. She truly did understand why he had been late, her father's words had made her far more understanding of why Killian had believed her dead, and she didn't care anymore that it had taken longer than he promised, because they had still found each other and he was still helping her. There was no way he had failed her. He had never failed her, not since the day they met. "You haven't. I shouldn't have ever told you that you did. But I was hurting, and I think I felt that because it was my fault Pinocchio died, that meant I didn't deserve to have you comforting me and telling me everything was going to be alright. But you didn't fail me."

Killian swallowed and shook his head, and Emma wished he would listen to her. He could be as stubborn as her sometimes, and she just wished he wouldn't listen so much to the voice in his head telling him he was worthless, when he was so much more. "I did. I don't deserve you, Emma. I tried to be a good man, not just when you're around. I never wanted you to have the responsibility of making sure I did the right thing. But I failed. After I left you, I went to Jefferson, to help him find his daughter, and he boarded my ship again and we travelled back towards your kingdom and planned how we would find her. I thought it was the right thing to do, but the instant I heard you were dead, the moment I started doubting, I left him. I stranded him at the docks and I would have done anything to get back here and get to you, to find out the truth. Until I heard more rumours and it began to sound even more likely that when I returned to your docks - I couldn't cope with the guilt if I found I had left you only to lose you. I wanted revenge, Emma. I wanted something I could focus on, someone I could blame so it wasn't my fault you'd died. The instant I truly thought you were gone, I became the man I had always been, the one focused on vengeance." His hand finally slid away from her cheek to lie by his side, his fist clenched and his jaw tight. "I'm not a good man, Emma, and I can only succeed when you're with me."

"Vengeance?" It shouldn't have been the first thing she said, she should have been more concerned by everything else, but she remembered how much of a hold revenge had had on him when they first met. She never wanted to see that darkness in his eyes again, and she hadn't, not since that day in Sherwood where he found her again, where he had the chance to take his revenge and refused to take it. "On who?"

"It doesn't matter now. Not when I'm holding you." He muttered, and Emma thought he sounded almost desperate, pulling her even closer. Emma let him, her fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt. "I promise I'll tell you later. My need for vengeance may have been a mistake, but what I did because of it may be useful to us now. At the moment, I just need you to know that I don't think I can ever be the good man you deserve, but I hope you can still love me anyway."

"Of course I can still love you. You're not the man you think you are, Killian. I don't know what you think a good man is. Maybe someone who is always making the right choices and doing the right thing naturally. And in all the time I've known you, you've had to make tough choices. And maybe you need to think about what you're doing, but in the end, you've always done the right thing. And it might not come easily to you, but you try and you want to change and I think doing that, well, that makes you a good enough man for me."

"Emma, I -"

She didn't want to give him a chance to question what she said, so she kissed him before he could finish speaking, sighing into him when she felt his hand tangle in her hair and hold her close. "I think the only thing that everyone deserves is happiness, and we make each other happy, don't we?"

"You make me happier than I could have ever thought possible." He breathed, his forehead resting against hers and his expression awestruck.

"And if you ever doubt yourself again, you don't need to go and try to be better. Just talk to me. This is it. I'm never going to want to stop being with you, so if you forget what type of man you are, tell me and I'll remind you that you're brilliant. Because you really are wonderful, Killian, even if you'd rather think that you're a monster. So this week, maybe not today, but sometime, you'll tell me everything you did in the past month and you won't leave anything out, because I'll love you no matter what and nothing will change that, and I'll tell you the same."

Even though Henry and her father were now on board, it was just as easy to fall into a routine as it had been during her first voyage on the Jolly Roger. Following another night where Henry wanted to sleep with his mother, Killian staying so that the three of them were huddled together when they woke in the morning, the pirate had brought breakfast to their room. Although Henry had yet to sleep in their room again, he had taken to showing up every morning and crawling into bed next to them, bringing breakfast that the three of them would share, the domesticity something Emma had dreamed of but could barely believe was actually happening

Killian would then head up to the deck, Henry accompanying him, and he would teach the boy how to man the helm and tie the sails and other things Emma wasn't well-versed in but knew Henry enjoyed. Emma would spend time with either Jukes or her father, learning new recipes or helping memorise old plans of Regina's castle.

Jukes, David, Henry and Emma would then share a quick lunch, Killian always too busy to join them as he had taken on Skylights' jobs in addition to his own, and then she would finally go to her pirate's side, where she would watch Henry scurry around deck, doing odd jobs or she would join Killian at the helm. Sometimes, she would just wrap her arms around his waist, rest her head between his shoulder blades, and other times, he would pull her in front of him and kiss her in front of the entire crew before taking her hands to the spokes of the wheel and steering with her.

Of course, there were hours when nothing could distract her from thoughts of her mother, or of Pinocchio and Graham and others who might have died since they left the kingdom. Killian would somehow always know, showing up wherever she was and bundling her in his arms, holding her and murmuring words of comfort until she felt better and willing to return to the light of the deck.

And there were moments when even her father had had too much of planning and preparing, and he would join them in the sun, teach Henry sword fighting until Henry complained his arms were tired and he needed food.

Everyone would eat on deck, the entire crew together, and Emma was finally starting to get to know all of them. Mullins had a fondness for telling brutal stories of battles they had endured, fought in the past, Emma having to shush him before the stories became too gruesome and Henry was bound to have nightmares, and Starkey always asked for seconds and then thirds of whatever meal Jukes had made.

When the crew eventually grew too rowdy, Emma would take Henry back to the Captain's cabin, and even if she insisted that Killian should stay with the crew, he would accompany both of them below deck. Once Henry was tucked in and given a kiss on the forehead, Killian would lead Emma back to their room.

They were both far too aware of her father's presence on the ship to fully give into the almost overwhelming need they had for one another, but Emma knew that with each day they were getting closer to completely letting go and finally being together. And yet, there were still times when he would be kissing her, pressed against her, one of her hands holding him close, when his hand would slide up her arm to link with hers and he would feel the metal of her ring and stiffen up, rolling off of her and letting her go. Emma knew she had to tell him that she wasn't wearing it for Graham, that the peridot ring had never been about him and her marriage to him, but about her mother, but the thought of Graham was still painful, so she'd try to tell him everything through a kiss.

And Killian would kiss her back, and take her back into his arms, but she could tell that he became more distant, his kisses suddenly less deep, restrained.

They were finally falling into the life Emma had wanted them to share, but they were more closed to each other than they had ever been.

After five days at sea, Emma walked on deck to see Killian sat on the floor, his back resting against the railing. His brow was furrowed as he gazed upwards, towards the crows nest, and he was absently sharpening his hook with a metal file, something Emma had never seen him do before and found rather amusing.

"Making yourself beautiful?" she asked, moving to take a seat beside him, leaning into his shoulder. "Because you really don't need to do that for me."

"I'm well aware that I'm already devilishly handsome, Swan." he replied, testing the point of his hook with his thumb and then sending her a smug look. "But we're entering the Queen's waters today, and I'd rather have my hook be as dangerous as possible. I've known many pirate ships that have been stopped by what she calls a navy, and I don't want to risk losing you to them."

"What she calls a navy?" Emma repeated, grinning at him when he stretched his arm over her shoulders, the newly sharpened point of his hook tracing carefully controlled, delicate circles on her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"A navy should require good form. Whatever men Regina has working for her, they don't have that." He explained dismissively, looking away from her to glance back at the crow's nest. "Now, I wanted to ask you before Smee took Henry up there, but Henry had already started climbing before I could tell him that."

"What?" She was surprised by the change of subject, hurriedly following his gaze to see her son standing in the small basket rigged to the highest mask, a thrilled look on his face as he stared out across the sea. "He climbed up there without anyone watching?"

"Don't worry." Killian soothed, although she could hear a slight note of concern in his voice. "The instant I saw him scaling the mast, I took up watch here. Smee went after him too, so as to make sure he's safe."

She clenched her jaw tightly, for a brief moment imagining Henry toppling from the lookout and falling, unimpeded, to the ground, but then she saw Smee hovering anxiously behind the boy and remembered how Killian had only looked away from Henry when she showed up, and she smiled. If Henry wanted to take a post in the crow's nest, she doubted anyone would have been able to stop him, and it was far better that he had the crew, who were growing increasingly fond of their eager young shipmate, looking out for him instead of sneaking up there, alone.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on him." she muttered, cuddling closer to Killian as she watched her son shout nonsense words to Smee, hand above his eyes as he looked in all directions. She felt Killian brush a light kiss to her hair, but she knew that he was as focused on her son as she was.

If they could have this, be this affectionate on deck as they watched over Henry together, she didn't understand why she had the strange feeling that despite the fact that they were closer than ever, spending each night in a warm embrace and murmuring words of love when no one could hear them, there was something holding them further apart than they had ever been.

And then she was nearly blinded by the gleam of her ring catching the sunlight, and she knew what it was.

There were too many things that were hard to talk about, so they had simply kept it to themselves. On her first journey with him, when he had demanded information about her in exchange for his help, she had told him everything, even when it was difficult, and he had responded in kind.

They had let each other in, his demands only made to pretend that they hadn't found a confidant in one another. That they wanted to know each other.

And now they knew how strongly they felt, that this felt like true love, they were keeping things in. Talking about Graham would be no more difficult than when she admitted what Baelfire had done, and yet it was now that she was refusing to talk and explain the truth.

Both of them were stubborn, but Emma was willing to try and fix it. Because it was him, and she didn't want them to feel like this anymore because neither of them were willing to speak first.

She knew, from last time, that if she told him something difficult, he would respond with a story of his own.

"Killian?" she muttered, glancing around to see all the crew were busy and not paying any attention to the Captain and her. "I didn't talk about Graham before because it hurt."

"I know it did."

"But it shouldn't have stopped me. I want to be able to talk to you about it and I hate that I haven't." she admitted. "I think, waiting to tell you has made it into a bigger thing than it is. I just… when I came back home, and no one remembered Henry, a lot of things were said that made me regret ever coming back at all. But Graham, he understood. Even if he didn't remember the truth, he accepted Henry and he accepted me. And I told him I didn't want to marry him because I loved you, but then Regina killed hundreds, and I had to do something. I hadn't known him long, Killian, but he was a friend. And he died because I wouldn't leave, because I had to ask him just one more question."

She buried her face in his shoulder, finding comfort in the movement of his chest as he breathed. Killian remained silent, but she felt his hand take hers, his finger running lightly across the ring.

"You would have married him then. For your kingdom." He said quietly, and she knew that her reluctance to talk about her wedding had bothered him more than her silent grief. Killian understood grief, but maybe he didn't understand that. He was ruled by love, and she struggled to imagine he would ever agree to something like a marriage if it was with someone other than the woman he loved. "You would have stood in front of an audience and promised to love him?"

"I suppose." she answered carefully, feeling him tense underneath her. "But it would have been a show and everyone would have known. The marriage wouldn't mean anything. It never did. I accepted, long ago, that I would never be married. I only agreed to marry Graham because I truly believed it would finally bring peace."

She felt Killian nod, his chin hitting the top of her head with each movement, and she was afraid to look up and see that he doubted her words. "Never?" he said eventually, his voice hoarse. "Do you still think that? That you'll never be married? Never is a long time."

Emma had to see him when he said that, tilting her head so she could see what he was thinking, reading disappointment and uncertainty in his eyes. She knew what he wanted her to say, that she had met him and her mind had changed, that marriage had become a possibility, but she hadn't thought that.

She hadn't lived fully until she loved him, but she hadn't had the chance to even consider actually marrying him, what with searching for the other person she needed, her son, and then returning without him to her castle. And then Emma thought of Graham, who she hadn't loved, but had been kind and understanding, who had taken her hand months before and given her a ring, one she had long since lost, because he thought she deserved something real and he wanted to try his hardest to give that to her, and she shook her head. "I'll never get married. I don't want to." She said firmly, determinedly ignoring how Killian's hold loosened around her shoulders. "I've nearly been married two times, and all it's brought me is tragedy."

"What about third time lucky?" Killian whispered, so quiet she almost couldn't hear it, and she remembered saying the same thing to him in Oz, when he said he'd lost both of his chances at happiness, and she stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was going to say it again so she could hear it properly.

If he was going to ask again.

But he didn't. He said nothing more for a few minutes, his unreadable gaze locked on Henry, and then he shrugged and pulled her towards him again. "Have you ever heard of a pirate getting married, Swan? You needn't worry about a proposal from me." he stated determinedly, bending his head to slide his lips over hers and kissing her until they heard Henry shouting at them in disgust.

She wasn't sure if that was the response she wanted.

She didn't know what she wanted.

"This ring," she said breathlessly, ignoring his smug smile when he noticed the state his kiss had put her in. "It's not an engagement ring. It's not from Graham. It's from my mother. It's the last thing she gave to me. She wanted me to know that even if I wasn't marrying for love, there would always be people who loved me. And I don't want to take it off until we've found her and she's with us again."

The following morning, Emma was in the Captain's cabin with her father, Killian's old drawings of Regina's castle spread across the desk. David seemed to know the images off by heart, able to describe a vast amount of routes into the building without needing to look at the map, but they still had little idea about what to do once they reached the Queen herself.

David would have killed Regina, if not for the fact that he was doubtful that the woman's death would be what Snow wanted. Snow had saved the Queen's life before, and she may prefer to have the Queen punished in a way that didn't result in the end of her life.

But both he and Emma were certain that a meeting with Regina was unlikely to end in anything other than a fight, and Regina would definitely be attempting to kill them.

With the magic she possessed, even incapacitating her would be difficult.

"I may have a suggestion on how to take down the Evil Queen." Emma hadn't heard Killian enter, turning around in surprise when he spoke up. He was leaning against the doorframe, and despite his bold proclamation, she could see he was nervous about something. "If you don't mind, Your Majesty, I'd prefer to tell Emma alone."

David gaped at him and then shook his head. "No. This is my wife we're looking for, and I'm not going to let you plan her rescue without me." He insisted. "If there's something you know, you will tell all of us."

Killian exhaled heavily, and Emma realised that it wasn't just a plan he wanted to talk about. She'd told him about Graham, and the wedding, and now he was responding. He was going to tell her about his month away from her side, a month during which he must have discovered something that would be useful to them now.

"Dad." she whispered, drawing her father's angry glare away from the pirate. "I promise you that we will tell you everything you need to know. But this isn't just about Regina. Can you please give us some time? I'm sure Henry would enjoy a sword fight or two."

David seemed indecisive for a moment and then he turned back to Killian with a stern expression. "I'll give you fifteen minutes. Then I want to know everything."

"You'll know everything you need to know." Emma repeated, pushing her father past Killian and out into the hallway before taking the pirate's hand in hers and tugging him into the room. "Now, Killian, what is it?" He didn't sit down, just stood and looked down at her and so Emma stepped closer, her hands sliding up his arms to rest on his shoulders. "You can tell me."

"I already told you that I abandoned Jefferson but it's not the worst thing I did. When I truly believed you were gone," He paused, looking up at the ceiling and swallowing. "I may have made a deal with the Dark One."

"What? Another deal?" She exclaimed, dread settling over her as she thought of Killian being forced to do terrible things on the Dark One's orders. "What for?"

"You know that I became suspicious of Regina's involvement in your death, and I wanted revenge. I wanted her to pay for taking you from me." he admitted in a low whisper, turning his head away when Emma tried to reach out and cup his cheek in her hand. "Surely it doesn't surprise you. I sought vengeance for Milah for centuries, of course I would want the same for you."

"Why would you do that? Why would you go to him?"

"I tried to be better. To not give in and attempt to kill her." Killian still wasn't looking at her, but he let her step closer and wrap her arms around him, head resting against his heart. "But I wanted to destroy her, to take something from her, even if it wasn't her life, and I thought that if I had the Dark One's help, I wouldn't fail at that."

"What was the deal, Killian? What did he make you do?"

"Nothing." Emma felt herself relax, her fingers grasping at the leather of his vest and holding him even tighter. She didn't understand why Rumplestiltskin seemed to have been surprisingly magnanimous, but she was very thankful he had. "I promised him that if he helped me with Regina, then I would break into her tower once again and free someone I know he wants back. I told you, months ago, that I'd worked for Regina before. She found me in this tower, trying to get information from the prisoner and I saw her lock the door with a blood seal, something to stop anyone ever breaking in again. I understand that asking you to do this is risky, especially with your mother's heart at risk, but if we get the opportunity to take even a tiny amount of Regina's blood, we can get into that cell and we can get that woman. We have her, then we just have to say the Dark One's name three times and he will come. And he will help."

"Risky? You broke into that tower thirty years ago!" she said, her mind still racing as she tried to process everything he had just told her. "Do you have any guarantee that this prisoner is even still alive? That she's still there? What would happen if we wasted time getting the Evil Queen's blood and finding this cell only to find out that we have nothing to tell the Dark One?"

"If she's not there, then Regina's finally had her killed." Killian stated. "We summon Rumplestiltskin anyway, because if he finds out what Regina did, there'll be nothing that can stop him from killing her."

"And if she is? Will we be summoning him just to kill the Queen?"

"He told me he had a way to rid this land of her without her dying." He finally embraced her back, his cheek warm against hers, a relieved sigh escaping him. She supposed he had expected her to let him go, to get angry when she heard of what he had tried to do, and maybe she should. But they had wasted time already being angry at each other, and she'd promised him that nothing would change how she felt about him, so she didn't see the point in any furious questions or irritated silences. "I wanted revenge, certainly, but I didn't want her dead. I didn't want my memory of you to be tarnished by a murder committed in your name. And I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want you to look at me and know that I never changed, that I'm still the vengeful pirate that you disliked before."

"I never disliked you." Emma said in confusion, wondering what he was talking about. "Never."

"You tried so hard to make me better, to stop me from taking my revenge on Rumplestiltskin." he explained, but Emma was still unsure what he meant. "And you must have thought you had succeeded when I let him live, when I chose you. But I'm still the same man you met before. The one you wanted to be different."

"I never wanted you to be different." Emma protested, her voice hoarse. She felt a confused jumble of emotions at his statements, taken aback that he could believe she had thought this all along. But maybe such thoughts were the reason he kept underestimating his own worth, if he truly thought she had been trying to fix him all this time. "Ever. I tried so hard to stop you taking revenge because I didn't want to lose you. Because I already loved you. How can you even think that I wanted to change you? I didn't want you to give up on your revenge because it was what I wanted. I just wanted you to know that you did have something to live for, that if it was what you wanted, you could be with me and we could be something together. And you did know that, didn't you?"

Killian didn't say anything, turning his head slightly so he could press quick, light kisses to her cheek, down to her jaw and then more slowly down her neck, the kisses becoming harder, messier as he trailed them down to her shoulder, Emma's hands clutching his vest so she could hold herself up.

And she wanted to let her eyes close and then tug at his hair until he raised his head and allowed her to slant her lips over his, to stumble backwards until the back of her knees met the bed and she was falling onto it, but she didn't.

Because she wanted them to talk, to know everything so that things would be easy again, instead of sharing empty words and desperate kisses. And this was the only thing they had left to discuss, so she wasn't going to let Killian distract her.

Except before she could pull back and ask him again, her father stepped back into the room.

"I thought you were talking about a plan?" he hissed, rushing over to them and tugging them apart. "Not this. I don't ever want to see this."

"We were." Killian said slowly, but he was only looking at Emma. "Sorry about that, mate. I didn't particularly want you seeing that either."

David grimaced, but said nothing else when Emma disentangled herself from Killian and headed back to the desk. She started to explain, not wanting to get into detail with her father about why Killian knew about such a prisoner, but then she felt Killian's strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her gently back towards him, David apparently too engrossed in the maps to notice.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I did know that." he whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "I always knew that. But sometimes I look at you and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have found you, and I'm just waiting for something to go wrong. I still feel like one day you're going to wake up and realise that there is a part of me you don't love, and then I'll lose you."

Emma didn't look at him, worried her father would suddenly turn around and force his way into the conversation, that he could hear everything Killian had just said, but he was now muttering to himself and drawing out routes with his finger.

"I don't doubt what you feel for me." Killian continued, seemingly undeterred by David's presence, although his voice was almost inaudible. "But I find it difficult to believe that I'm actually worthy of this and that I'm not going to lose it. I've lost everyone I loved, Emma, and after what I've done, I wouldn't be surprised if I was destined to lose you too."

She didn't even glance back at David, leading Killian out into the corridor so she could say what she needed to without her father as an audience. "I don't know about the future, Killian. I don't know if you'll lose me or I'll lose you or if we'll just be destined to keep finding each other for the rest of our lives, but that's why we shouldn't waste the moments we have together now."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know. That we should stop thinking of the future and what might happen between us and all the ways we could lose each, and actually just enjoy each day and the fact that we are together and that we haven't lost each other yet?"

Killian seemed deep in thought for a few minutes, and then a wide grin spread across his face. "Now that does sound like a good idea." he agreed, leaning forward to bruise her lips with a hard, quick kiss. "But I would recommend the occasional planning. I doubt your father will be happy now that he's alone in there with no one to talk to."

"And no more secrets." she decided, grinning when the pirate nodded. "I don't like it when we don't talk properly."

They had talked. When the day was over, they had curled up in their bed and spoken about anything they could think of. Killian had told her about his adventures with Jefferson, not only in the past month but in the years before they met, when the two men were in Neverland, and Emma had spoken of the last few weeks, of days where she'd managed to get away from the palace to be with Henry and sometimes Baelfire. Emma found it wonderful to be able to talk to someone about her mixed feelings towards the situation she had been in, someone who tried to understand how happy she was that Henry was bonding with her father but how difficult she found it to spend time with the man who had hurt her, even if they on better terms than they had been before.

And eventually, they fell asleep.

They'd both been woken up by Smee knocking on the door, insisting Killian was needed on deck, and despite a few grumbles, Killian had released her from his embrace and left the warmth of their bed. Emma had taken his pillow, curling up to it and ignoring his chuckle, falling back into a light slumber once he left their cabin.

Even when she woke again, she felt no need to get out of bed. It felt strange, this journey, but Emma loved how she could spend time in what was becoming her home even as they travelled closer and closer to Regina's palace and her mother's heart.

She had the time to languish, arching her back and stretching across the bed, a pleased sigh escaping her when she saw the mark Killian had left on her hipbone, when they'd had enough of talking, and he'd taken it upon himself to brand her with drugging kisses. She remembered, in glorious detail, the way she'd let her hands roam all over him, taken him in her hand, stroked him until he shuddered, Emma muffling his hoarse cry with a kiss.

Emma sighed, burrowing deeper, facedown, into the small pile of pillows. She hadn't thought she could want someone as much as she wanted Killian, each touch searing as if it was setting her aflame, and she wanted to go on deck and steal him away, bring him back to their room so they could finally burn together.

But she wasn't going to do that, not when they were surrounded by her family and Killian's crew, and Killian was steering them through the Evil Queen's waters.

And as if he'd heard her wishes, the door opened, Emma twisting to see who it was, and Killian stood before her, the ajar door allowing the sound of a commotion to enter the room, though she paid it no attention. She smirked coyly at him, turning around fully so she could beckon him over, the sheet pooling at her jips. His eyes widened, and he reached behind him for the door, taking three clumsy attempts to hook the handle before pulling it shut.

"Bloody hell, Emma." he breathed, his stare travelling from her face, to her breasts, to the bruise on her hip, and then he shook his head. "As much as I hate to say this, you need to get dressed."

She frowned at him, finally taking him in and seeing the sword dangling from his hand and the frantic look in his eyes. "What is it?"

"Henry, he-" He stopped, watching her clamber across the bed towards him as she began to panic, and then carefully reached out with his hook to hold her in place. "He's fine, I worded that badly. Henry was up in the crow's nest with Smee and he saw them."

"Saw them?" she repeated, taking the sword from Killian and settling it beside her on the bed before getting up to search for her clothes. "Saw who?"

"Regina's navy." He pulled a shirt out from the drawers and tossed it to her, Emma pulling it over her head and then trying to return to her hunt for trousers. Killian grabbed her before she could, tugging her towards him for a kiss, as though he was taking the opportunity to do so while they still had the time, Emma curling her fingers into his vest and holding him to her. She kept her grip on him even when the kiss broke, his forehead resting against hers. "They're coming."

Here you go! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, and you feel like reviewing, that would be appreciated!

Thank you BlackDragon733 for betaing. I'd also like to thank everyone who favourited this or put it on their story alert! I'd also like to thank chickwiththebluehair, kontheo, buffybabe42, mela16, erienne2, fox24, LadaHathaway, Scared Swan, emmas-prince, that-first-glance-feeling and the-art-of-escape for reviewing!