A/N: Hey guys! Here is Chapter 12. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time, ABC or any of its characters. Just Aria and Amaya.
I woke up, my head pounding from the numerous hits it had received in the last few days. Was it days or hours? I didn't know, but I realized I wasn't alone in here. In another cage beside me, I saw Neal, waiting for me to wake up.
"Of all the people I had to get suck in a prison with," I joked, sitting up and wincing at the pain in my cheek.
"I get it." He said softly.
"Get what? My anger and bitterness towards you?" I said, feeling the pain in my wrists from the handcuffs. Dislocating my thumb with ease, I slipped my hands out, and popping it back into place with a grunt of pain.
"Gross," He chuckled.
"I don't think I have the stomach to do that a second time," I said as the handcuffs dangled from my other wrist.
"So, since we are stuck in here. What do we do?" I asked, seeing the deep hole surrounding us on all sides.
"Talking is good." He said, and I nodded.
"What about?"
"Emma, does she know I'm not dead?" He asked, hopeful.
"No. She thinks you died on the other side of that portal. It was the second time in her life she's felt helpless, and heartbroken." I said, staring him down.
"I get that you're her sister, but Emma barely mentioned you when we were dating. Why are you so angry at me?" He said softly.
"Because I feel her pain. That made up sense that twins have? It's not so made up. I thought there was another voice in my head for years, but it turned out, my body was telling me I had a sister. I carry her pain, and she carries mine. We fight, but we always come back full circle to that feeling of being whole. I wanted to feel numb and she wouldn't let me. So I refused to let her, especially after a guy broke her heart."
"Okay. I can understand that." He said, ducking his head.
"You told her you loved her before you fell. Is that true? Or just something you say when you think you're about to die?"
"Emma was the only one I ever truly loved. I only loved Tamara because I thought Emma wouldn't take me back after she broke the curse."
"Sounds cowardly to me." I bit out, and he flinched.
"I'm more my father's son than I thought." He sighed.
"Why do you trust Hook?" He asked, and I thought.
"A man that wasn't trustworthy wouldn't take the time to have a tea party with a three year old. He wouldn't take his time wooing me, nor would he resist his most basic urges because I was still mourning my husband. I thought I would never love again after Adam. He was the single greatest man I'd ever met, and I loved him. I thought the pain would consume me for years before I met someone to open up my heart to. But I found room in my heart for another, and when we get out of here, I'm going to tell him exactly how I feel about him. I love him, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him," I admitted.
"Emma called you emotionless when she did mention you. Why is that?" He asked and I sighed.
"I didn't want to find our parents. I was happy in my life. I was better off without the pain. The truth is, I was okay being an orphan." I said softly. A low rumble sounded and I noticed part of the rock near the mouth of the cave started to shift towards us.
"That's odd," I said as the rock stopped moving.
"This is Echo Cave. It will only build the bridge if you tell your darkest secret." He said, as I noticed how it stopped short on the other side.
"So, I have to tell another secret?" I said.
"You only need to tell your darkest secret," He said, as I realized what I said.
"I was okay being an orphan, but Emma wasn't. And now I have a family. I didn't feel the pain that Emma did though. It was easier not to feel, than to believe they were out there." I said, as I heard footsteps outside the cave. I gripped the wooden bars tighter as I saw four figures emerge from the mouth of the cave.
"Aria!" My mother and sister yelled in happiness, crying as my father held my mother back from the edge.
"Killian!" I said. Neal yelled, "Emma!"
"It's nearly 100 feet across." I heard my mother say.
"Even if we fastened some kind of rope, there is not where to tie it to. No way to swing over." My Dad said, as Emma said, "So what do we do?"
"I told you what needs to be done. Consider this the moment of truth, literally. Now, who wants to kick things off?" Killian joked.
"What? Someone tells their secret and they sprout wings?" Emma said sarcastically.
"I don't know the particulars, only know what I've been told." He said, before turning to look at me.
"How do you know it will work?" My Dad asked and I answered, "It does! I just made it work! The bridge expands over the gap."
"You told a secret?" Emma said, not looking at her past loves cage.
"It works. Please get me out of here so I can wring Pan's skinny little neck."
"Alright, I'll go. Ever since the curse broke, since we found each other, since we found our daughters, in all of that happiness, there has been something that I haven't wanted to admit. Our daughters are beautiful, smart, amazing women, whom I love very much. And of whom I could not be more proud. We have two amazing grandchildren as well," She added, before Emma looked like she wanted to say something.
"But they're all grown up, and as much as I want to pretend I'm okay with that, I'm not. We missed it David. What we have with them is unique, but it's not what I wanted." She said looking at Emma and me sadly.
"We were cheated out of everything. Their first steps, their first words, their first smiles, we missed it all." She said, holding back her tears.
"What are you saying?" My father asked, confused.
"When we get off this island, I want another go at it. I want another baby." She said, and the room shook as the bridge expanded over the gap. It was not enough though, and I saw my father's pained look, as he said, "Nothing in this world would make me happier. And I know in my heart that you would make an amazing mother."
"But it can never happen. At least not with me." He said, and my heart clenched tightly in my chest.
"What do you mean?" Mary Margaret asked.
"When Hook and I went to search for the sextant, he was really taking me to find a cure."
"A cure for what?" My mother asked angrily.
"Dreamshade."
"The Lost Boys, the arrow, you pushed me out of the way-"
"I wasn't fast enough. I was hit. Hook was able to find a cure, but it comes at a price. I can never leave Neverland. If I do, I'll die." He said and I sobbed.
"Daddy," I whimpered, feeling the tears flowing down my face, as the bridge completed itself. Emma drew her sword, and tentatively put a foot on the bridge. She crossed over carefully, Killian following behind her.
"Killian," I cried, as my hand found his left one.
"I'm never leaving your side again Aria. You get into too much trouble," He joked as Emma and Neal spoke about Henry. She started hacking away at his cage and Killian stopped her.
"That's not how this works." Neal said, as she knelt down to face him.
"It's okay," he said, "You can tell me anything."
"When I heard you might be here, that you might still be alive, I knew I should be happy, but I wasn't. I was terrified. I didn't understand why until now. From the moment I saw you in New York, this instant you stepped back in my life I knew, I knew I never stopped loving you. And before I even had a chance to take a breath, I lost you once more. And all that pain that I had pushed down for all those years, just came rushing back, and I didn't know if I could go through it again."
"I love you," She cried, "I probably always will."
"But my secret, is that I was hoping this was a trick. I was hoping you were dead, because it would be easier to put you behind me, than to face all the pain I went through all over again." She finished and his cage door turned to dust. He immediately wrapped her up in his arms and whispered, "It's okay. I won't leave you again."
"Killian?" I said, knowing it was his turn. He smiled at me and said, "I never thought I'd get over Milah. She was my first love. But I found something in myself when you gave me my second chance. Something that told me I could be better. And to be better, I have to prove myself by being honest."
"When Regina asked me to kill her mother for her, she tested me. She thought I should be able to face the man that abandoned me all those years ago with my brother. The man that sold me into slavery, my father."
"But to prove myself to the Queen, I had to kill him. I had to kill my own father. And I instead tried to get him a passport to leave the kingdom. But he had a son, and he named that son after my brother, as if he started his life over. He claimed it was to honor my brother, but my anger overtook me. I killed him, burned the passports I had procured and told the boy his father abandoned him." He said, as I held fast to his hand.
"To change, you need to be better. I wish to find my little brother and show him that his brother isn't whom he once was. And I want to do that, as the woman I love, helps me become a better man." Killian said with confidence and my cage door disintegrated. I threw my arms around his neck and he pulled me out. I kissed him, crying as he whispered he loved me over and over.
"I love you too," I said, looking deep into his eyes.
"Even for the monster I am?" he said, a sad look coming over his features.
"A monster would never admit they are one. They wouldn't want to change," I smiled, before we walked across the bridge carefully.
"Well, now I have two to intimidate before they leave," My Dad said, sounding sad. I hugged him tightly, crying against his shoulder.
"We are gonna find a way to save you," I said as I released him.
"You all need to focus on getting Henry back." My Dad said as we walked out of the caves.
"Thank you," Neal said to all of us.
"We found your star map, can you get us off the island?"
"Killian, we don't need a star map." I said, confused as to why he hadn't opened the satchel I gave him in Storybrooke. Lifting the top and unzipping it, I pulled out a handful of beans.
"Sneaky sis," Emma smirked, before I laughed at everyone's expressions.
"You didn't think I was going to not have a way back to you guys if we were separated?" I asked my parents. I felt the handcuff hit my thigh and silently held it out to Emma. She dug in her pocket for a key and took them, as we might need them later.
"So, how do we get to Pan? His shadow still does his bidding wherever he is." My Dad said, as I put the beans back.
"We need to get his shadow. Do you have the star map coconut?" Neal asked. Emma brought it out and handed it to him.
"How do we get his shadow with a coconut? Make Piña Coladas?" I asked sarcastically.
"We trap it. It hates flames, so we have to go where there is no light. It's in Dark Hollow," He said, as Emma sighed.
"Rainbow Cove would have been a better name."
"We'll meet back at Tink's then," My Dad said before I said, "Wow, Tinkerbell?"
"Yes, we know. She's famous back in your world," Killian said as I remembered my little girl who loved Tinkerbelle.
"Amaya probably thinks I abandoned her." I cried, feeling the pain radiating out of my chest.
"Aria, breathe love," Killian said, holding me to his chest. It took me several minutes to calm down, but by then, my parents had left for Tinkerbelle's and Neal and Emma left for Dark Hollow.
"Killian, I need to tell you about a dream I had," I said when I calmed down.
"A dream? Can't this wait until we are sailing home?" He asked, as we walked.
"No, it can't. Because I feel like it means something," I said, thinking back to the dream I had in Pan's camp.
"Tell me," He said, stopping and sitting on a log.
"I woke up to the sound of Amaya calling for me. But when I opened my eyes, you were on the pillow beside me. You said you would go get her, and when I pulled back the covers, I think I was pregnant."
"I know you aren't now, because we haven't got to the really fun stuff yet," He joked.
"Killian. You kissed my stomach and said, "Only four more months.
"What significance do you believe this holds for us?"
"I think it means that this isn't just a fling. It feels like you were meant for me." I said, stroking his cheek with my thumb.
"I would love nothing more, than to see you round with my child. But we are jumping the gun here a bit," He teased. I smiled, and said, "When we get home, I will be ready for you."
"Oh," He said, blushing and shifting in his seat.
"Well, you may have to wait for me to do some sprucing up. I've been in a jungle for the past week." I laughed as I got up and started moving in the direction my parents went.