Hey my loves, here is the second last chapter of this little guy. I want to thank you all for your feedback! Sorry this chapter took a little longer to get up, I've been away this past week. Final chapter will be up soon :)
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Feel Again
Five
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She still can't put it all together. Her heart is racing, her breath caught somewhere in her throat and it just makes no sense that they got out of there. She rests her hands on her knees, hunching over to try and recover before she faces the impossibility that is in front of her. Despite the dire circumstances they've just run from and despite finally having her son back with her, she can't help but feel a pleasant rush of heat spark between her legs when she raises her eyes and sees two Killian's looking back at her.
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Hook continues to make his deal with Pan as Emma watches on from her tree prison. She knows now that he wants her to escape somehow, but she really just isn't sure how she's supposed to sneak right past them. There's a knock to her right against the wooden barrier and her eyes dart to the wall, "Hello?"
The lyrical voice of Tinker Belle answers her, "Emma. We have to escape."
To her surprise the fairy actually sounds scared, "Hook is helping. It'll be okay."
She doesn't really know where this blind faith in the pirate has come from, but she just knows he'd never do anything without putting her best interests first. The thought warms her, makes her heart feel that thing she keeps feeling wherever Hook seems to be involved.
"Oh Emma, that is precisely the reason we need to get out."
She frowns, not understanding Tink's concern for Hook, but feeling a twinge of jealousy at something she obviously isn't recognising, "If they go away I can get us out."
As though listening, the pirate holds out a hand, pointing a little way down the track at where they know Henry is. Pan follows, throwing a glance at the tree prison, but not seeming to suspect anything.
"How can you do that?" Tink asks.
Emma takes a deep breath, conjuring a warmth through her body. "Magic," she whispers.
She closes her eyes, finding her focus. Henry. Happy and at home. In their home. Storybrooke. She sees his smile, sees his feet running along the ground in front of her, chasing down the next lead in their latest operation. She sees happiness and feels the warmth within her grow, tingling out through her fingertips, through her toes.
A gasp escapes her as the image in her mind shifts though, changing from something innocent and happy, to something passionate and intense. In her mind's eye, she rolls her hips into Hook's, moaning his name and sighing against his lips. She wants more, wants to feel his skin on her skin, wants to cry out and let go, but they're hiding from the rest of the camp and they have to part. She feels the spark in her chest at the separation, feels it move through her entire body.
And when she opens her eyes, the walls once surrounding herself and the fairy are gone. Dissolved into thin air.
Emma breathes out, stepping into the Neverland jungle. There is too much at stake to allow her focus to shift to the things she obviously wants to do with the pirate. Right now she only needs to get her son back.
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Hook rests his head between his knees, breathing in agonising breaths, "Tell me again, Crocodile, why it couldn't be your already detached shadow that does this particular chore?"
Rumplestiltskin looks down at the pirate with little sympathy. He hadn't been asking for the rest of the group to find him when they had all stumbled upon each other, trying to decide the best way to go about rescuing Emma and Tinker Belle. It just so happened that he had the perfect plan, "Because my shadow is otherwise occupied," he says bitterly, thinking of the importance of his dagger and hoping it hasn't fallen into the wrong hands.
"How are you not in pain?" Hook asks, clutching at his chest and trying to focus his line of vision. He can see Snow and David huddling close to each other, watching him with fear in his eyes and see the silhouettes of the others around their makeshift campsite, but the edges are blurry and the amount of effort it takes to focus nearly takes his breath away.
The Dark One rolls his eyes, "Blackened heart, dearie."
That little piece of information almost has a numbing effect on the pain for just a moment. Blinding hurt is replaced by a spark of hope for a second as the implications set in. He's changing, he's no longer the villain the world has seen him as, he's becoming the hero he needs to be to save Emma.
As the pain ignites in him again, he rests his head back down and closes his eyes, hoping the shadow version of himself is doing his job and distracting Pan enough to allow Emma to get out of there with her son.
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The fairy takes the lead, navigating her way around the dark side of the camp, looking for a way to come at Pan without him realising they are stealing his most prized possession. Emma follows behind, wishing her feet fell as quietly as Tink's on the jungle floor, "What are we going to do when we get to Henry? We can't just go in without a plan."
Hook and Pan become visible up ahead, and to their left, a silent Henry looks between them, concern written across his features.
"I think in this case, Emma, we may have to."
Her eyes widen, fear running through her. This is it. This is the chance they've been looking for. She unsheathes Neal's cutlass, the metallic sound causing Pan to look around.
And then it all happens too fast.
They're on her in a second, the Lost Boys and their weapons. She swings the cutlass through the air, fending them off with strong strikes. She knows she has no chance if this comes down to accuracy, but by sheer force, she can beat them.
She vaguely notices Hook and Pan duelling to the right of her, their swords clashing again and again. And she's dimly aware that they seem to be moving further away from Henry, Hook's long strides guiding them into the surrounding jungle.
If she could just get a clean shot in at each of the Lost Boys attacking her, she could grab Henry and run. She can see him now, crouched down behind a log, a sword in hand, ready to fight, but also scared. So, so scared.
And then just as sure as she can see him, in the next moment his is gone and Tink is yelling her name, "Emma! Come on, we've got to get out of here!"
"Where's Henry? We can't!" She shields her head from a swinging sword, a cry escaping her. She knows she can't do this much longer.
"I've got him. Go!"
But Emma can't see him. This is a trick. Pan's shadow taking the form of the fairy.
She growls as a new wave of anger washes over her, she needs to get her son back. That's it. Why can't she be allowed that? Why can't she see Henry?
"Emma, stop thinking like that." It's Hook who speaks this time. How could he know what she was thinking? "You need to believe in Tink."
Her eyes meet his through the fight and she sees only sincerity and concern.
"Look," he nods his head upwards and she finally catches sight of her son suspended in a green cloud of pixie dust. And when she looks back at Tink, she sees her in a whole different light.
She can see a fairy.
"Tink?"
She smiles back, "Emma, run!"
And she does, breaking through the Lost Boys with ease now that the belief that her son will be okay is running rampant within her. She runs past the fairy who taps her shoulder and sends her hurtling into the air with Henry. "Mom!" he exclaims, reaching out to hold her hand.
She wants to hug him, to never let him go, but they still need to run, she knows they're not safe yet. Tinker Belle joins them above the treetops, propelling them forward and back towards the rest of their group. But Emma halts for a moment, "Where's Hook?"
She notices Tink's face fall and feels them drop a few inches in the air, "Emma, he's…"
Her eyes widen in fear, "No."
She shakes her head, "He's alive. But that wasn't him down there. That was his shadow."
Emma frowns, "How is that possible. Wouldn't that kill him?"
It's crazy; she has Henry back, but all she wants to do is fly back down into that camp and save the pirate too. Tinker Belle grabs her hand, "He'll be right along. Come now."
There's a mixture of emotions in the fairy's voice and Emma doesn't know what to believe. She can feel their altitude falling slowly and knows that she has to find hope somewhere within her if they have any hope of getting out of there alive. "Okay," she whispers, hoping with all her heart that Killian is behind them.
Shadow or not, she's beginning to see that her life can't be complete without him.
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She stares up at the two men in front of her, perfectly identical, and her heart leaps. Later she'll blame it on the adrenaline rush, but for now she's more than content to jump into Killian's arms, hugging him close to her. "Thank you," she whispers, her lips close to his ear sending tingles through his still aching body.
He clutches at her hands as she pulls back, "There was no other choice." He runs a hand smoothly up her arm, to her neck, brushing his thumb over the barely there bruise he had inflicted upon her only days ago. And she knows what he's saying with that gesture, she knows what he's implying.
And suddenly she can't wait to get back to the ship, to be away from all these people around them.
Neal clears his throat behind her, holding out the star map as Tinker Belle uses her newly re-found magic to light it up. They watch as it illuminates the sky, lighting a path home. Henry huddles into her side, making her smile as she swings an arm around his shoulders.
Hook's fingers grasp hers, his doppelganger fading back into his shadowy form and leading the way towards the Jolly Roger.
As they step after it, each of them turns back to the island one last time. This is a place where time stands still, and they are ready now to move forward.
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