AN: Based off of 4x09's spoiler that Adam just released. Yes, I had to do it. ~Kate
Her parents and baby Neal are currently talking amongst themselves when she sees him enter the sheriff's office. He pauses momentarily when their eyes meet, and then he rushes forward.
"You shouldn't be here," she says to him, trying to keep her voice firm but not able to keep the smile off her face. His presence calms her, like it does now, though it should be frightening her. "You know what's going to happen."
"Aye." He gives her a nod, dropping his eyes and then reluctantly meeting hers again. "It's just – I needed to see you."
"Well, here I am," she smiles as she takes a step closer to him. "You've seen me. Now go, before the curse gets here and you want to destroy me."
"I don't find that amusing, love." He glares at her. Even as he hooks a thumb into a loop of her jeans and tugs her closer. "Not even a little bit."
"My parents are here, you know."
"I don't plan to ravish you on one of these desks, Emma," he says quietly, and seriously, before looking over her shoulder and at Mary Margaret and David. "I need to apologize for anything I've said or done that's hurt you in the past, or anything I will say or do tonight when this curse hits."
"Hey, where is all this coming from?" she asks gently. Something is wrong, something is upsetting him more than this curse. It's unnerving them all but she doubts it would affect Killian this much. "I know whatever happens, you won't mean it. But I doubt it will because Elsa and I are working to stop it before it sets foot in Storybrooke, okay? You're gonna be fine."
He closes his eyes with a sigh and a sad smile. "I'll hold you to that, love."
"You doubting me, pirate?" she teases and he opens his eyes and shakes his head.
"Never." He wraps an arm around her waist, neither of them caring that they're being watched. "Emma, I –"
"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me goodbye," she whispers with a frown. "Not fair, considering you spent all this time pursuing me…you finally get me and now you're gonna drop me?"
He laughs at that, a short, pained laugh before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "No, my love, I'd dread the outcome of that choice. Besides, there are many things I'd wish I could simply drop, never to see or hear or deal with again, but you, Emma Swan, are never and have never been one of them."
"You speak a mean before-battle speech there, Killian." Her eyes burn and her throat feels tighter than normal, though she doesn't know why. She only recognizes that something feels wrong. "Are you gonna hide out until we can save you guys?"
Another nod as she watches the muscles of his jaw tick. "Something like that."
"Alright, well, I'll see you…" her voice breaks and a tear slips down her cheek, "I'll see you after this is all over, right?" She strokes each side of his face with her hands, feeling the stirrings of panic bubble inside of her when he doesn't respond right away. "Killian."
"I should go, Emma."
He begins to bull away but she steps forward, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to his. Tears fall more quickly now and she can her mother's gasp and her father's clearing of his throat but she doesn't remove her lips from Killian's. No, she'll keep his lips locked on hers until he pulls away.
And then to her immense dismay, he does.
"Goodbye, love."
The feeling that something is horribly wrong intensifies as he turns around and walks away from her.
AN: Thanks for reading, & please review! ~Kate
