The Enchanted Forest. The beanstalk. Storybrooke. Neverland. Storybrooke again. And now New York.
All of this talk about her being the Savior, curses and fairytale characters and magical realms; it all seemed crazy. But not even once had her lie detector gone off. No. Killian Jones was telling the absolute truth, and that scared the hell out of her because of what it meant.
This man had fought everyday for a year to find her. He had gone against impossible odds, and yet her he was, sitting in front of her, his brilliant blue eyes begging her to believe him. He had even tried True Love's Kiss because of his utter faith in what they had shared together.
No one had ever believed in her like that. Except for Henry.
"So my life with Henry has been a lie?" she asked, because that was the most difficult truth to swallow. She had been happy after 17 years of pain. She'd had her son, and a good life, and to find out that was all a lie, was heartbreaking. It was confirmation of the belief that she'd had as a little girl, the belief that she was a lost girl that would never find her family, or have a happy ending.
Killian's eyes lit up. "You believe me?"
"If what you say is true, I've been living a lie for the past twelve years," said Emma, her voice shaking.
Killian reach for her again, and she allowed him to take her hand. The touch was comforting, even amidst the painful revelation. "I am sorry, Emma," he said, his voice soft, "I know this is hard for you, but I also know that it's better to know the painful truth than to live a life of blissful ignorance. A year ago, you said that you wanted to return to the Enchanted Forest with all of us, but it was impossible. You had to stay with Henry so he wouldn't be alone. You made the right choice, the difficult choice. But now you have a chance to be with your family, and to be with your son in the right way. You can have your happy ending."
"And what about you?" asked Emma.
"I'm not important right now, Emma. Your happiness comes first. Yours and your son's. If you ask me to, I will leave you now and never bother you again. I will find another way to protect your family, and you can stay here with your son. But if you choose to trust me, I will do everything in my power to help you break this new curse, to reunite you with the family you were always meant to have. You deserve to be loved, Emma. You deserve to have a happy ending. The choice is yours." Killian's voice was rough and raw by the time he finished.
Emma could tell that giving her a choice to be without him was painful. Still, he was doing it. He was putting her happiness first. He was putting everything out in the open and still allowing her to choose what was best for her.
No one had done that for her. Not her parents, or Neal, or anyone in the foster system.
And it was this fact that made her believe him.
"I believe you," she finally whispered.
With those three simple words it all came back to her. She saw everything that had really happened over the past 12 years.
Giving up Henry. Becoming a bail bondsperson. Henry finding her on her 28th birthday, going to Storybrooke, breaking the curse, finding her family and then finding Killian Jones.
The man who had given up everything for her.
"Hook. " she said.
His smile could have lit the entire city of New York. "Emma, my beautiful, bloody brilliant Emma Swan."
"You found me," she said, moving to sit beside him on the sofa.
"Does that surprise you?" he asked with a grin.
"No," she said, smiling back at him. "You kept your promise. You came back for me. No one's ever done that for me."
"I will always fight for you, Emma, and for your happiness."
Emma felt tears in the corners of her eyes. Then, before she could second-guess herself, she pulled her to him and kissed him like her life depended on it. All of the pain of living without each other for a year was poured into the kiss. Everything that they felt for each other came to the surface. The details of her past became crystal clear, and with it came hope for the future, and hope for a happy ending with him, Henry, and her family. When they pulled apart she truly was Emma Swan again. Lost Girl. Mother. Savior.
"Let's wake up Henry and get our family back," she said, kissing him lightly again.
The words were simple, but the meaning was powerful. Killian 'Hook' Jones had brought back the real Emma Swan and in that one single moment she had made her choice. They were going to do this together. They were going to find their happy ending together.
"I will follow you to the ends of the earth, my love," he said.
Emma knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he meant it.
"Good," she said.