A/N: Corrected with for grammar mistakes. This is probably the hardest chapter to write, so I will be interested in your reviews. Of all the relationships on the show, Killian and Milah have the longest running relationship, around seven to ten years, depending on how old you think Neal/Baelfire is when she leaves. I imagine them meeting would be difficult for the both of them. Please review!

Her husband was busy at the wheel, so she went to the tavern to intermix with others. When sailors were in town, they had money to spend, which included mending of clothes, ordering of cloth and so on. The weaver, and the tailor were already pressuring him to hurry with the work so they could meet their deadlines, so it fell to her that day to see if there was any mending to do from the tavern's guests. The wife of the barkeeper/innkeeper was a generous woman, who had known Milah since birth. As she had gotten on in age, she could no longer do all the mending herself, and allowed Milah and her husband to make a few extra coins or earn meals at the tavern in exchange for finishing the mending.

"Fancy a pint, love?" A man clad in leather with the bluest eyes she had ever seen, leaned into her. She had not noticed his approach. He was very handsome in an intoxicating way. She felt the stare. And then saw his mouth quirk. Oh, he knew what he was doing.

"You have me confused for a vulgar woman." She said curtly, and turned around.

"Believe me, love, I would never mistake you for being common."

After three hundred years, the problems she had had in life seemed a lot smaller than they had been at the time. For example, why did she not take Bae with her when she wanted to leave? That might have been the catalyst for her husband to finally leave town and for their family to start over. Or why did she not have the strength to refuse his proposal to begin with? She could have sought her own fortune. Yet, she would not trade the happiness and family she found with her lover for any recompense. He had empowered her, worshipped her, and guided her to find independence. And she had loved him for it.

She would recognize that ship anywhere. After all, she had been doomed for a century to haunt it for over a century. But now it was here in Storybrooke. She could not muster up the courage to hope if he was there. She had heard whisperings from the others what had happened to her beloved since they had been cruelly and abruptly parted. She walked quickly towards it. Dodging the territories of the different sections of town, she hastened her pace, just like she had the first time. And she saw him. His back was to her, and he was at the helm. Just like in the beginning.

"You came." He breathed, as she got on deck.

"Did you doubt I would?" She kissed him, and excitement danced in her abdomen.

"Not even for moment. Put your things in my quarters. The men will finish loading and then-"

"We'll be off?"

He clicked his heels, took her hand and kissed it as he bowed. "Milady, your adventures begin."

"Hello, Killian." She mustered to have a voice strong enough that he could hear her. He straightened and then turned around slowly. He looked hardly older than she had last seen him. Perhaps a little closer to her age, but still had the vigor of youth. She ached as she saw the loss of his left hand. This is what her husband had done to him after her heart had been crushed to ash.

"Milah" He breathed. His eyes roamed her figure. Not with the roguish twinkle in his eyes that had always made her breath catch, but with a disbelieving look. Here was the man who had loved her more deeply than she had thought possible for almost a decade. Their romance was passionate, and love ran deep. Yet, the rushing warmth and undeniable attraction she once felt for him had abated greatly over the centuries. And now she had many more questions.

"It has been a long time, Killian." She says softly, gathering her courage to come walk closer to him. He still smelled of the sea, and her memory was overwhelmed with memories of their years together. And the anguish of what the whispers she had heard about him after her death. And his history with Bae.

"You look just as I remember." He said, but uncertainty was in his eyes. She had seen that look before. When she would wake up from her nightmares, crying, because she had lost her son. As he tried to comfort her, she would see the fear that she would leave him to go back for her son. She chuckled, at his words, however. "Death does keep you from aging."

"What if you tire of me one day? What if you seek someone closer to your own age? Someone you could marry? A woman that could bear more children?" She said, looking wistfully into the mirror. The crows feet under her eyes, and the hollowness revealed that she no longer had the roundness of youth.

"Milah, darling, this is ridiculous. I love you. How could I tire of the fiercest woman I know? The one who has the passion to match mine, and the thirst of adventure? I don't want some timid young wife. As for marrying, are we not married in all but name? Besides, you are beautiful." He wrapped his arms around her waist, while looking at her through the mirror, his voice lowering seductively. "I could not find another woman who is so easy on the eyes, wondrous to touch, and delectable to taste."

"As for children, we will go back for your son, Milah. Say the word, and we will go fetch him."

At a loss again for what to say, she gestures to the bench that overlooks the ocean. "Shall we sit?"

"Aye."

The sat on the bench, angled towards each other, alternating between looking out at the horizon, and briefly glancing at each other. A thousand emotions and thoughts coursed through her. She had imagined their reunion in so many ways, but now she was at a lost. She concentrated on the easiest thing first. His hand. His hand was gone. Hesitantly she reached out for the hook. "Did he do this to you?"

There was a tick in his jaw. "Aye, love."

"Bae was captured by Pan's shadow, fell into the ocean, and our crew rescued him?"

"Aye"

"And he lived with you for sometime?"

"Aye. Several weeks." She noted the evenness in his voice, the note he had when he was gauging an opponent.

"You offered for him to live with you." It was a question. It was a statement. Her son had told her as much. Baelfire had said he lived with Killian for several weeks, but ultimately decided to leave, and then was captured by Pan. He hadn't met her eyes while telling that story, and she sensed there was more to it.

"Aye"

"But he was captured by Pan."

Killian stood up and went to the water's edge. "Is that what he told you?" He asked, quietly. "Is that was Baelfire told you?"

"He didn't mention the details. But why wouldn't you rescue him? He is my son. You were going to be his real father." She felt anger simmer and hot tears prick her eyes. "Had I been captured by Pan, you would have died trying to save me."

She saw Killian inhale deeply, square his shoulders, and turn around. "It was my fault, Milah. I handed him over." His voice was raw with emotion. "Your son didn't wish to live with me any longer, Pan was looking for him…and I saw a profit."

Milah wished for her sword. She was trembling, but with rage or sadness, she did not know. "How dare you."

"Darling, I was wrong. I was so consumed with darkness after your death, and Pan had promised information on how to kill the Dark One in trade for Baelfire. Bae had found the sketching of you that you had made me years before. He accused me of your murder, which only played into my own guilt over your death. His father had told him that a pirate had killed his mother. He didn't want to stay with me." He choked on his own words, his whole frame portraying the brokenness inside, whispering out. "I was a villain. I lost my way after your death."

They never had disputes in front of the crew. Killian did not want the crew to see the division between them. But in their quarters, they would hash out their disagreements.

"Going through the heart of the storm is suicide, Killian."

"Its a war ship, Milah. It belongs to him. The man who is responsible for my brother's death."

"There will be others! You would sacrifice the lives of your crew and your life for the vengeance?"

"They knew what they were signing on for when they joined! Some have been with me since the beginning. They know!" He was practically spitting in his face. She didn't back down, she got back into his face.

"You are too hot headed! See sense!"

At the same time they pulled their swords, and the clash of metal on metal awoke their senses, both breathing heavily, and Milah's mood changed instantly. "I usually prefer more enjoyable activities, when you have me on my back." Killian let a smirk escape him. "A truce, then, my love?"

The story stumbled out. And her anger abated. She listened to how he cheated death. How he spent almost three hundred years letting vengeance dictate his every move. How he had met her husband again. How he almost killed her husband's true love (an inconceivable idea to her). How he met Baelfire again and his actions to try to repair their relationship. How he loved Baelfire's son, Henry. And how he hoped Henry loved him. How before his death, he had started to make amends to Baelfire by being the father Henry needed.

"You love Henry's mother." She was conscious that Killian's arms were around her, and he was absent-mindedly stroking her hair like they had done a thousand times before. And how right it felt. The words stung, but not as much as she thought they would. The caress stopped, and she felt his chest rise and him inhale deeply.

"Aye. She is-was-my true love." Milah sat up and faced him, keeping her face neutral. He kept going. "At first, I was horrified that I would dishonor your memory that way. But Emma, she-"

"It's okay, Killian. Centuries have passed. For the both of us." She took his hand, and smiled. "You aren't the hot-headed pirate that asked me to runaway, anymore. You are a patient and loving hero. Your heart would also change. I'm just sorry that I dragged you into such a long enduring mess."

He let go her hand, and pulled up her chin so she could not look away. "Milah, I will cherish those seven years we had together, forever. You were my first love. The balm to my brother's passing. And maybe, living those long years was a way to make good on my promise to take care of our family. And I'm the one who is sorry. Sorry, I did not defend you more in face of the Crocodile. I'm not sorry that you left your husband, but I wish we had done it differently. And maybe our fates would have been different."

She was crying. And she knew it. But she had also outgrown holding grudges and hating those who had wronged her. All she wanted to remember was the love they shared. She leaned in and kissed him gently. She pulled him close, and whispered. "It's alright. I forgive you."

She saw the man who takes people away coming, but she didn't want to drag out their good-bye any longer. "Good-bye, Killian." She looked into those beautiful eyes one more time, got up. And walked away.

There was only one person left to wait for.