This is the longest day in this countdown. It gets really angsty now, so you've been warned! But there's also a taste of Captain Cobra, and some beautiful fluff to make up for all the angst!

4:41pm - 3 days before Christmas

Killian was at the docks staring out at the sea thinking whether he'd be able to find any job in Storybrooke which would involve captaining a boat of some sort or at least- his talking phone started to ring. He took it from his pocket and he was about to answer it with a "Missing me already, Swan?" when he saw a number he didn't recognize flashing in the screen.

"Ahoy?"

"Killian, it's Henry."

"Oh. How can I help you, lad?"

"What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I don't have any particular plans in mind if that's what you mean. Why do you ask?"

"Because my teacher just told us she can't come to school tomorrow, which means I'm free for pretty much the whole day!"

"Alright, that's good news I suppose. But I fail to see what that has to do with me."

"That has a lot to do with you because I was thinking... maybe we could go find my mum a Christmas present together?"

Killian felt his chest tightening with emotion. He loves Henry for having so much of his mother's impulsive, courageous nature, but also for having a lot of Baelfire's strong personality to him as well.

Deep inside he wishes that one day the boy will allow him be the family he was never able to be for Bae, though he dares not hoping for so much. Henry's spiteful words to him when he was under the Snow Queen's curse didn't really hurt Killian at the time. He knew it was only the spell talking, but that didn't mean the thought of Henry actually not wanting this dirty pirate to be with his mother didn't haunt him whenever he recalled that moment.

(I like you even less now that you and my mum are... together)

Killian knew that as much as he loved Emma with every old, weathered fibre in his being, he would force himself to step away should Henry truly wish that. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he was to be the reason for another family's distress.

Which is why the fact that boy had invited him to spend the night over and watch those moving pictures with him and Emma meant so much for him. He would never forget it as it was the first night the three of them spent together, huddled on the sofa sharing a blanket, Henry sitting between him and his Swan, stealing glances at Killian's face when the boy thought he was too focused on the film to notice.

"Well that depends. Are willing to fill me in with more details about the Christmas traditions of this realm? I don't know much other than people exchange gifts and eat absurd amounts of food on a certain day."

Henry laughed. "That's all you need to know, really. But yeah, I'll tell you all about it!"

"Then of course, I'd be most delighted to join you in the quest for the perfect present." Killian said with his accent much stronger than usual and a tone of mock solemnity that made Henry's boyish laughter reverberate in his ears - something he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing for both the boy and his mother.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, lad."

"Awesome! See you, Killian."

Killian hung up with a smile on his face, which only grew wider when he looked at his phone and realised it was almost 5pm. Emma must be getting ready to leave work, he thought. He got up from the bench and hurried to Granny's hoping he'd have time to grab some grilled cheese sandwiches to take out and meet Emma at the station before she leaves.

He reaches the station just in time to find her locking the doors and exiting the building.

"Swan. Don't make a man eat alone." He says raising a Granny's takeaway bag in his hand and shooting her one of his devilishly handsome smiles.

Emma takes the bag and opens it to peek at the contents. She looks up at him with a crooked smile, and gives him a quick kiss. "You know I can't resist grilled cheese. Shouldn't we go back inside? They said it was going to snow around this time and you're not wearing nearly enough layers to keep warm."

"I told you you don't have to worry about me, love. I'd worry about you being cold were you not wearing this interesting hat," he flicked the pom pom at the top of her beanie with his fingers, "but, seeing as you've got that plus meself to keep you warm, I'd say we're ready to go."

She scrunched her nose and stuck her tongue out at him, but gladly took his arm when he offered it to her before they started walking.

"And where, if I may ask, are we going exactly?"

"I'm walking you home, Swan, but I thought you'd like to make a stop at the docks to enjoy the view of the sea during the first natural snowfall of the year." Emma smiled.

"I'll definitely enjoy not having to guess at what the snow means this time." She said before kissing his cheek and taking the bag from his hand. "And I'm sorry, but I'm starving, and I'm not going to wait until we get there to devour this. Care to join me?"

She took the first grilled cheese out of the paper bad and held it before his mouth. Killian chuckled and took a bite before taking it in his hand. She took the other sandwich and they walked to the docks in silence with only the comfortable sound of their munching filling the chilly air.

They got to the docks and instead of turning right and entering Emma's street, they went straight on to sit on a bench by the water.

By the time they sat down the snow had started to fall in soft flakes that were sprinkled all over Killian's dark hair, making Emma want to run her hands through its silky softness more than ever - which she did, just because she could. As she did so she was sitting with a leg folded beneath her and with her front facing Killian, who then noticed she had some bread crumbles on her chin.

"You've got a little something here, darling." He gently grabbed her chin and wiped it with his thumb, as well as the corner of her mouth.

Emma could not stifle her giggle as she smiled and looked into his forget-me-not blue eyes, which seemed to have morphed into an icy hue with the current weather; and, at that little moment, she felt like the world was completely frozen apart from the snowflakes swirling around them, enveloping the two of them in their little cloud of something so true, and so tangible yet invisible, that it was almost like there was some sort of magic between them.

"Is everything gone now?" She asked, green still locked on blue. "No, I believe there is still some left here, and here..." Emma closed her eyes as he kissed both corners of her lips. "Here..." He kissed her cheek. "Here..." He booped her nose with his index finger before kissing it, too. "And here..." And then he crashed his lips to hers, his hand cupping her cheek at first, before moving to her hair while his hooked arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to him so that she was sitting on his lap.

Emma's hands were pulling at the hairs on the back of his neck, then feeling the lean muscles of his back before she brought one hand up to his chest and the other one to his face. She pulled away and touched their foreheads together breathing heavily as she felt the steady (though very accelerated) thump-thump of his heartbeat through her fingers.

She was using it to calm herself down, and Killian knew their kiss wasn't the only thing that had caused her agitation - it was chiefly the recent events where the crocodile had nearly crushed his heart into dust that were behind the storm brewing in her mind. He placed his hand above hers and opened his eyes to find hers red rimmed, with a small tear that had taken shape there but had not yet tumbled over.

"Emma... it's here, it's all yours, love, and it's not going anywhere, I promise you that." He pressed their hands firmer against his chest.

She took a sharp intake of breath, and held it in for a few moments before letting it out and nodding.

"I know, and I'll make sure you keep that promise."

She took another deep breath and held her hand over Killian's chest, hovering just above where she believed his heart was. She looked up to find him smiling softly at her as if he had a pretty good idea of what she intended on doing.

"Can I?" The frown clouding her features showed him how nervous she was feeling. He kissed her, a soft but firm press of his lips against hers that communicated the unspoken you can do this, I trust you.

"Go ahead, love."

Emma squeezed her eyes shut and focused her thoughts on how she felt when Gold froze her at the clock tower and she thought she'd have to watch Killian having his heart crushed in front of her. When she felt her hand starting to shake she directed her thoughts to how his kiss felt different, stronger, how it just felt right after she had punched his heart back into him. She thought of how she only wanted to be able to kiss him like that forever, with his heart confirming its presence by beating fiercely against her own chest. She could immediately feel her magic blooming from beneath her breastbone, spreading all over her body and prickling at the tip of her fingers.

She moved her hand forward and pressed her flat palm against his chest. Emma whispered the words protect what's mine and felt a sudden whoosh, a surge of white light emanating from her hand right into his chest.

She opened her eyes and saw a golden glow gradually fading from the spot where her hand still touched his skin and saw Killian marvelling at her with a proud smile on his lips. He looked as though he was happier about the fact that she had successfully conjured a spell out of nothing but her instincts than the fact that his heart was now safe. Which the idiot probably was.

"Thank you, Swan. You are bloody wonderful." He said and gave her a chaste but firm kiss on the lips.

"Now there's only one more thing I have to do." She said, her face falling a little and showing him a sad smile when she looked up at him again.

"What is it, love?" He tried to suppress the panic threatening to creep into his mind as he started to worry that maybe protecting his heart was some sort of final gesture before she left him, because maybe she was still mad at him for not telling her of his deal with Rumplestiltskin and for nearly dying. Maybe she didn't want to be in this relationship with him anymore.

Emma got up from his lap and stood, looking at him solemnly and taking a deep breath before turning around and taking two steps towards the edge of the pier.

She reached behind her neck and opened the clasp of her necklace, taking off Neal's keychain and holding it firmly in a fist. Emma was so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't ever hear Killian's footsteps approaching her - she only felt his warm hand on her shoulder, smoothing down her arm until he took her left hand in his and stood by her side. Killian looked out at the sea and they both stayed like that for a few moments before he turned to face her.

"Emma... you know don't have to..." He couldn't bring himself to finish what he was going to say. He knew how much Neal meant for Emma, knew how she would always have a special place in her heart for the man who was her first love and the father of her son. Killian himself felt a strong, fatherly affection for Baelfire, as well as a debt to the boy who had his family destroyed partly because of him, both of which made him respect his memory too much to say speak up at that moment.

"But I have to, Killian. I need to do this. Not just for you, or us. I need to do this for myself." She took another deep breath and turned away from the water to look deep into his eyes as she pronounced her next words.

"I've been wearing this all these years as a reminder not to trust anyone again, and now I think I've finally learned I was wrong in doing that. Yes, it helped me to protect myself from people who could have hurt me, but it also kept out people I wanted to trust, people I wanted to let in. I first learned that when I found my family here. But, it was still hard for me to accept them even after I broke the curse, even after they told me they never wanted to abandon me in the first place." Her voice started to break.

She looked down at her fist and closed her eyes, finally allowing the tears she'd been holding back to run thick down her cheeks. Killian let go of her hand to gently wipe them away and place a kiss to her forehead before cupping her face. She leaned into his touch, bringing her left hand up to cover his and feeling herself ready to look him in the eyes again.

"But I also learned that my parents were not the only ones I was shutting out with all the walls I used to have around me. You know that better than anyone." He gave her a watery smile of his own, his emotions also starting to take him over with her words.

"I think it's about bloody time I listened to this advice someone gave me a while ago and try something new called trust." He huffed out a laugh at her endearing attempt to mock his accent, though a single traitorous tear escaped his eye and rolled down his cheek. She sniffed a little and gave him a brave smile, finding in his loving eyes the strength she needed to do what she knew she must.

Emma turned and took another step until she was standing on the very edge of the pier. She stretched out her arm and took a sharp intake of breath. She opened her fist and let the key chain fall from the palm of her hand and sink into the water.

Suddenly she felt like a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders - the weight of all the disappointments she'd been carrying with her in Neal's token to remind herself of the countless reasons why she had her walls miles up.

She felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her from behind and she let her head fall back in Killian's shoulder as she looked up to the sky - the snow was still falling lightly and she enjoyed feeling the cold snowflakes refreshing her skin while Killian's kisses to her temple warmed her from within. She turned around to face him and look into his eyes.

"Thank you for not giving up on me, Killian."

"My love, I believe I couldn't have even if I wanted to." he said, tilting his head and giving her a lopsided smile. "I don't think I told you this before, but during the year we spent apart, when I tried to make myself forget your memories and go back to my old life, I'd look up to the sky and find Cygnus there to remind me that I had to find you no matter the cost."

"Cygnus?"

"Aye, love. It's a constellation I grew particularly fond of during that time. It has the form of a Swan." He told her with a soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Emma was now definitely sure she'd done the right thing by letting go of Neal's keychain. She held his face with both hands and ran her thumb along that scar she loved on his right cheek before giving him a kiss that told him all she couldn't quite put into words yet.

He pulled away after a few moments and bumped their noses together affectionately. Emma opened her eyes to find his too-blue ones smiling at her, and she thought that moment couldn't get any more perfect. She almost felt sorry that she had something important to ask him which might ruin it if he didn't react well to it.

"Killian, I need to ask you something." She put some distance between them to look at his expression as she asked him. "And it's okay if you say no. Just say what you honestly think, alright?"

"Have I told a lie?" He said in all seriousness, though his eyes still smiled at her and the corners of his mouth curved up softly. "What is it, love?"

"Would you like to spend Christmas with me, my parents and Henry? And Regina, I think, if she actually shows up." She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and searched his face for any signs of hesitation, doubt, or anything negative really, but she found none of it there.

Killian smiled from ear to ear and brought his hand to her neck to pull her into another kiss, a quick one, but which made her eyelids instantly flutter closed and sent a jolt of warmth down her spine that made her curl her toes nonetheless.

"I'm assuming that's a yes?" She asked breathlessly.

"I've no clue what that Christmas you mentioned is, but given how everyone's talking about it all the time - including the man in a fancy suit your father always watches in the talking tv box - I'd assume it's an honour to be invited to an event of that importance."

Emma chuckled at his always quite perceptive self. "Well, yeah, but remember it's nothing fancy. It's just dinner in a crammed apartment, really."

"Love, it's always my pleasure to spend time with you and your family. I would certainly go even if the sodding crocodile was there, too." Emma shuddered at the mention of the man who almost took Killian away from here.

"It's a good thing he won't be anywhere close to us. I still haven't punched him square in the face for what he did to you. If he-"

"Shh, don't say it, love." He silenced her wrapping his arms around her and letting her burrow her face in his neck. She inhaled that scent of the sea and Killian that seemed to exhale from his pores and pressed her hand to his chest, letting his smell and the rhythm of his heartbeat calm her down.

"I promised you won't ever lose me, and now you've made sure the only one who can take hold of my heart is you. There's nothing to worry about anymore, darling."

She let his words soothe her for a moment before lifting her head from his shoulder and kissing him - she felt him smiling against her lips and she had the feeling that no matter what villains threatened them next, nothing would ever come between them. He promised her she wouldn't lose him, and she knew he would never tell her a lie.

"I suppose you should go now, love. Henry is probably wondering what's taking you so long to get home from the station."

Emma suddenly remembered she hadn't even left dinner ready for Henry, and the kid was always hungry, which meant that he was probably annoyed after waiting for so long now.

"Damn it, you're right. I need to go home. Are you spending the night with us again?" She asked with an inviting smile.

"I'd love to, Swan, but I have an important appointment early in the morning that I cannot miss. If I were to stay over we both know it would be too hard for me to leave you in bed before you have to go to work."

"Hm okay. What's this important thing you have to get to anyway?" Her eyebrows slightly frowning into an expression that looked a bit like... jealousy? No, he couldn't be that lucky to make his Swan jealous as well as curious about his secret doings.

"I can't tell you, love. For now it suffices that you know I really can't miss it."

The frown on her face deepened and, mind you, it was jealousy indeed what was written all over Emma Swan's face.

"What? Why can't you tell me what it is? Killian..." Her warning tone told him she had quickly jumped from jealousy of his appointment possibly involving another female to genuine worry in case he had gotten into trouble again.

"It's nothing you should be worried about, I assure you. And not just because you've now given my heart the ultimate protection it needed. It's alright, Swan."

Apparently she was content with that answer given the glimmer in her eyes when she beamed at him in response.

She'd never been more beautiful to him than at that very moment, when she was surrounded by snowflakes that fell softly in her golden hair and smiling at him, happy just to know that he was safe. But then again, that same thought kept crossing his mind again and again whenever they had a quiet moment together, and he knew it was because somehow he managed to love her a little bit more with each day that passed.

Killian looked at her with unutterable adoration in his eyes and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers sliding along her jaw line and stopping at her chin. He gently tipped her face up and leaned in, lightly tracing her lips with his thumb before kissing her passionately. He fastened one arm around her waist and bent down to place his other one below her knees and lift her up into his arms.

He was carrying her down the street, his lips never leaving hers until she pulled away, looking at him slightly confused.

"What are you doing?"

"What sort of gentleman would I be if I didn't drop my lady at her door before saying goodbye for the night? And besides, if I'm not going to spend tonight by your side, I fully intend on making the most out of the few moments we have left, love."

Emma flashed him a crooked smile and he wiggled his eyebrows in response. "That sounds good to me."

He shifted his grip on her making her bounce from his arms a little and she giggled - a sound he deeply cherished whenever she allowed herself to be a giggly person around him. And then he resumed kissing her.

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