Have I told you all how much I love you? Thanks for the response to Chapter One :)

I'm going to preface this with an assurance that I'm a CS shipper through and through. And hope you enjoy!

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Broken Parts

Two

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After Killian had noticed how close to the docks they were, he left Emma for the helm again and she ducked back below deck to wake everyone up and get them prepared to leave the ship.

And once the anchor was down and they were ushered off board by the crowd gathered in Storybrooke it was near impossible to have a moment alone to just process everything that was going on in her mind. Because one moment she was blissfully happy and starting to feel something for a fairytale pirate and then the next she had been confronted with the very real notion that the man she had once loved wasn't as dead as he had seemed only weeks before.

Feelings swirl in her gut, confusing her and making her almost grateful for all the distractions. But deep down, past the excitement of seeing her son reunited with his father and the exceedingly amazing food Granny had made them, she feels utterly sick with the choices that lay before her.

It's late when she finally has a moment to herself, showering under deliciously warm water and shaving her legs for the first time in weeks. She's never been a real girly girl, but she indulges and uses a little of her mother's strawberry scented body wash and scrubs herself until the water stops running brown from her murky skin.

Every now and then she feels a rush of adrenaline kick in as an instinct that had begun in Neverland and she has to remind herself that Henry is safe now. He's tucked in his bed and his grandparents are safe and just downstairs too. Everyone is okay.

She breathes through it before switching the taps off and stepping out of the shower. She takes her time drying herself and pulling pyjamas on and that's why it surprises her that when she finally emerges from the bathroom and makes her way downstairs for a cup of tea there are still two men in her kitchen. Both look a little lost and uncomfortable and she remembers that Killian has just as complicated a past with Neal as she does.

She meets his eye and he quirks his head to the side, not having to ask. Emma nods, silently telling the pirate that she's okay, and watches as he bows his head graciously and walks out of the apartment.

As the door clicks shut, she immediately wishes she'd asked for him to stay. If for nothing else, just to let them both know that she has no idea what her emotions are doing and that she doesn't want to hurt either of them.

"So Hook, hey?" Neal breaks the silence, barely contained jealousy leaking into his tone.

Emma shrugs, placing the kettle on the stove, "I don't know Neal. I don't know what anything is anymore, what's reality and what's fantasy."

He reaches out to take her hand, taking her statement as blame on his part, "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner."

She watches him carefully, trying to understand how his mind works, "That's not…that's not what's bothering me." Squeezing his hand and letting go, she reaches up to one of the cupboards to pull down a mug, "In fact nothing is bothering me as such. I'm just confused. You were dead, Neal. You were gone and now you're here and I don't know how to feel about that."

"You told me you loved me. We could start there?"

She spins around at that, resisting the urge to hold up her hands in protest. She's not even sure why she feels so defensive about the whole situation. "Some part of me is always going to love you. It seems to be the one thing I get for certain in this lifetime. I love the part of you who gave me Henry."

He catches her wrist as she begins to pace the length of the kitchen, "Open up to it, Emma. We were so good. We could have done so much more, had so much more time together. Every moment since I was shot has been spent trying to get back to you. I regret walking away every single day."

He steps in closer to her and her breath hitches, her eyes searching his. The honesty of his words nearly knocks her back it's so powerful. But despite his current genuine behaviour she knows that people can justly believe what they are saying to be true and still screw you over, "I just don't…"

And what he does next is completely desperate, but it's the only way he can think to get her to never finish that sentence, to never cut him out, to give him that one last chance. He kisses her.

It takes a moment for Emma to work out his rhythm, but once it's there and set she finds herself melting into the familiarity of his lips on hers.

He's more gentle with her than Killian, careful even, as though every move is a potential mistake. She knows she shouldn't compare, but the thoughts are in her mind before she can stop herself. He rocks his hips against hers and she lets go a little, pushing back into him, giving him this chance. Their caresses soon grow more confident and Emma feels the nagging voices in the back of her head, the ones reminding her of a certain pirate, dim slightly as she gives way to the pent up desires in her body.

No matter what the circumstances, she had thought for the past couple of months that Neal was gone and that she'd never get a chance at any form of closure with him. Her teenage self had been screaming out for answers, yelling words of love to a man she had moved on from the moment she learnt of his deception.

And now, in this moment of heat, she is finally getting her answers. And she isn't sure she wants them.

He spins her around, pressing her back into the kitchen counter, running hands up and down her sides when the loud whistling kettle pierces the air.

She pulls back from him, as gasp escaping her as she tries to hush the noise before her parents and son wake up.

Neal reaches for her again, but the mood had definitely dissipated, "Maybe you should go," Emma offers quietly.

She sees the disappointment in his eyes as he moves away from her and she knows she's just confused him even more than she could have if she'd tried.

"I'm sorry," she whispers, knowing it's not enough because those words were never enough for her.

He bows his head as he steps out the door and for the first time Emma actually sees his remorse at his actions from the past.

But it's eleven years too late.

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