A/N: Another huge thank you to my beta, steph-the-fangirl-925, who not only helps me so well with this story, but creates wonderful videos for inspiration on YouTube (check her out at Just4FunVids925). Also, a humongous thank you to everyone who has been favorited and following this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the major characters to this story, as they belong to the franchise of Once Upon A Time. Some dialogue from this chapter was taken from the show and adapted to fit in the story parameters.

Chapter 18:

The next morning, Robin set off to track down two people, Matthew and Killian. Robin had never seen Matthew King upset up to this point, ever. Yet, the reaction Robin received when the younger man was told that Emma wouldn't be able to join him bordered on being over the edge. The seminarian glared at Robin before he stormed out of the room. "We'll see. You watch, she'll go out with me yet."

Robin felt tingles run down his spine at the man's words. So, when a hand settled on his shoulder he jumped. Turning, he found Killian standing beside him.

"What was that about?" Killian asked indicating the man who had just left the kitchen.

"Emma," Robin said with a sigh, wishing he could just dismiss the other man's threat but feeling if he did something may happen that he might regret.

Killian crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing. "He threatened Emma?"

Robin shook his head. "No, he threatened me in regards to Emma. She was supposed to meet him for coffee and maybe lunch and I just told him she wouldn't be coming. I thought it would be fine, however, he seemed to take offense to my interference despite the fact that I was the one who convinced Emma to go in the first place."

"Tell her not to go near him. After that outburst, I don't trust him." Killian followed Robin back down the hallway toward the bedrooms. "How is Emma? I haven't seen her for days."

Robin turned and took in the man who had quickly become a friend. "Not so good. She had a huge argument with her parents. A friend of hers was hurt but I'm pretty sure he's okay now." Robin paused so he could watch Killian's face closely. "And she's thinking of returning to Storybrooke."

"She can't. I mean, she can, but…"

"I know you have feelings for her. However, things are getting pretty bad at home and you are supposed to return soon. As it is, she might not have a choice."

"Of course I don't have feelings for her. That would be insane. I'm a priest. I can't fall in love."

"Funny," Robin teased. "I mentioned nothing about love. I have feelings for Emma but I don't care for her in any way except as a friend." Robin patted Killian on the back. "You're human first. Male second and a priest third. And, well, hate to break it to you, but I believe you are already on your way to being in love with her despite your protests otherwise."

"If what the two of you lead me to believe is true, I was supposed to have already been in love with her, in this life that I can't remember." Robin opened his mouth to speak but Killian held up a hand to stop him. "It wasn't a question."

Killian removed his cleric's collar and undid the top two buttons of his shirt. Robin watched as Killian pulled out two chains. One had a simple cross. The other held the pirate charms Killian wore every day in Storybrooke.

"Did she give you that?" Robin asked pointing to the second necklace.

"No. Remember the demon I told you about?" Robin nodded. "Somehow it was able to remove it from Emma and give it to me. Taunting me with the life I can't remember."

"Except in brief snippets." Robin remembered several conversations where Killian had told him about his returning memories.

"Aye." Killian shoved the necklaces back inside his shirt and straightened his clothes, returning the white collar. "From this I've concluded that I'm the man that Emma came here to search for."

"Because she loves you. Though I guess I should have let her tell you that first."

"No matter. Right now you just need to promise me to keep her safe. Matthew isn't the only one threatening harm to Emma."

Robin's spine straightened as if someone had removed the bones and replaced it with an iron bar. "Who else?"

"The demon I have been dealing with. It seems to believe if it harms her it will harm me." Killian rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I hate to admit it but it would be right. I can't let anything hurt her, even me."

Robin's eyes strayed to Emma's door. "Wait here. I need to at least tell her that her meeting was cancelled for today and then maybe we can work out something so that we can take turns watching over her."

"Why even tell her we are doing it?"

Robin laughed. "You really don't remember anything do you? Emma isn't a woman that allows you to do something like that behind her back."

Knocking on Emma's door, Robin waited. And waited. And waited.

"Is she even there?" Killian asked as he approached and knocked on the door as well.

After another minute of no one answering, Robin twisted the knob. It wasn't locked, so he opened the door. There was no Emma to be found. Pulling out his phone, Robin dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail.

Robin approached the ensuite bathroom and leaned an ear to the door. No sounds came from within even after he knocked and called her name. "Damn it. She's gone and her phone is either off or dead."

"Where was she supposed to meet Matthew?"

"At a local café. I guess I'll go there and wait until she shows up."

"No, I will," Killian declared.

"Don't you have class?" Robin turned and looked at his friend questioningly.

"Doesn't matter. You go look for her. I'll wait at the café. When one of us finds her, we'll text the other one. I'm not leaving Emma alone without any knowledge that there is something and someone after her."

"Fine," Robin agreed. "Let's go. The sooner one of us finds Emma the better."

CSCSCSCSCS

Emma was annoyed which was why she was roaming around Rome on foot again with no purpose in mind. Her morning started with another phone call from her parents. They got in around midnight their time and called her after a frustrating search for the author.

"We couldn't find him, Emma," Snow told her.

"You have to remember something about the author. Some way to find him," Emma replied. "Now think."

"We told you everything we know," her father informed her.

"Are you sure about that because secrets keep coming out?" Emma cringed at her own words. She had never been this angry with her parents expect during her childhood when she was pissed off that they abandoned her on the side of a highway.

"Okay, you're still upset," Snow noted.

"Yes, I'm still upset," Emma ground out. "You were the ones who always told me there is a right way, a heroic way. And what you did to Maleficient's child…"

"It was our only option to make sure you grew up good," David interjected.

"I'm sorry," Emma told them earnestly, "but if it was me, I would not have hurt a defenseless person."

"And that right there," Snow told her. "That goodness is exactly why we did what we did. It was worth it."

Emma clenched the phone so tightly she was afraid she was going to break it when a knock sounded on the door to her parents' loft. Apparently it was Regina because Emma heard her greet her parents.

"Regina, what's going on? Why aren't you at home?" Snow asked.

"I had to get out of there. Especially after what I discovered." Regina sounded mad, sad and deflated all at the same time which was completely out of character for her.

"What happened?" Emma asked.

"Oh! Hi, Emma. Is Robin with you?"

Emma looked around her room which was still dark despite the sliver of light fighting back the shadows of night. Daybreak had already begun. "No. It's still really early here."

"Good, because what I have to say he shouldn't have to hear yet. At least not until I figure out what to do."

"Regina, you're worrying us," Snow told her.

"I discovered this evening, accidently, that Marion isn't exactly who she says she is."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Emma asked. Of course Marion was Marion. Who else could she possibly be? Emma and Hook had brought her back from the past. It wasn't like Marion had powers to just change who she was.

"Zelena. My sister, Zelena, is posing as Marion."

"How is that possible?" Snow and Emma asked at the same time.

"It seems she has some sort of charmed necklace. I saw her change. I was coming home earlier than expected and Zelena was at the window to Marion's room. My first instinct was to run to save Marion, but then she changed. I hid in my bushes and watched her carry on as if nothing had happened. But right before she changed, she twirled this necklace that I have seen her wear."

"Should I tell Robin?" Emma wanted to know because she had grown close to the man during their time in Rome but at the same time she hated to be the one to break it to him, especially being so far from home and not being able to deal with the consequences.

"No," Regina said. "I'll tell him. I just have to decide how. This would be so much easier if he was here."

"We'll come home," Emma announced.

"No. I have to figure this out. Maybe I can come up with something so he doesn't have to find out," Regina told her.

"Zelena is living in your house." Leave it to Emma's father to state the obvious.

"I know," Regina lamented.

Emma had hung up and hadn't been able to go back to sleep despite the fact that she had slept very little throughout the night. She was set to meet Matthew later and Emma hoped that she didn't fall asleep in the middle of it. At least coffee was on the menu, so the caffeine should help. Taking a shower and getting dressed for the day, Emma turned off her phone to save battery. Then she decided instead of taking a chance that she might run into Robin and blurt out everything that happened she would head out and take a walk to grab some breakfast. Other than her meeting around lunch, she had no plans for the day.

By the time Emma was supposed to meet Matthew King, her feet hurt and she was in desperate need of caffeine. Looking around she didn't see her date but she did spot Killian. She stood there for a minute studying him.

He was fiddling with his phone, a cup of coffee already in front of him. His dark hair, usually so tidy of late, was disheveled. It was as if he had run his hands through it countless times. His blue eyes seemed sad, almost disappointed. But as much as she hated to admit it he looked good in his clerics. It didn't hurt that they were black, his color of choice anyway. Though if she was honest with herself she kind of missed the red brocade vest his past self had worn.

Approaching him, she smiled. "Killian, what are you doing here?"

Killian's eyes shot up. She was here. For the first time in hours it felt like he could breathe without it hurting. He searched her for any signs of injury but she seemed fine. In fact she was smiling at him, which made more than just his eyes happy to see her. Rising, he pulled out a chair for her to sit and once she had he retook his own chair, quickly typing out a message to Robin she had been found. "I figured since your date had been cancelled, I'd meet you in his stead."

"It was?" Emma pulled out her phone. "Crap. I forgot to turn it back on."

"Robin tried to call you but it went straight to your voicemail. I offered to wait. It isn't polite to be stood up on a date, even if you weren't aware that it was cancelled."

Emma blushed. "It wasn't a date."

Killian quirked an eyebrow and studied her. "Swan, one must never lie to a member of the clergy."

"Whew," she teased with a smile, pretending to wipe her brow in relief. "I'm safe then."

"Emma," he growled.

She cocked her head and stared at him. "You hardly ever call me that."

His jaw ticked in agitation. "I felt in this instance it was warranted."

Emma reached out and covered his hand that clenched his coffee cup. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

He tried to relax under her hand but just the feel of her wound him up tighter. "As far as apologies go, that one leaves me slightly empty, Swan."

"Probably because you know me too well," she told him with a grin.

"That's just it. I don't know you at all and I feel like I've know you my whole life."

Her laughter cheered him slightly until he heard her words. "Well, that's physically impossible. You may have retained your youthful glow but I certainly would not have."

Killian glowered at her. As much as he was relieved to see her safe and sound, he was still irritated by the fact that she agree to meet with Matthew to begin with. And when she made fun of his age, it made him bristle. He still hadn't wrapped his mind around the fact that he was supposed to be several centuries old, no matter how many times Emma or Robin tried to explain it.

Emma flinched when Killian not only drug his hand out from under hers but hid it under the table. The sudden loss of contact made her feel empty inside. "Killian?"

"Father Killian," he almost growled making Emma move a little further away from him as he stood abruptly. She already knew from his tone that she had begun to annoy him with her teasing, but when he had to add in his cleric's title, she knew she had gone past his limits.

She rose as he turned to leave. With one last glare at her from the door, he stormed out of the café. Damn it. She had been teasing him as if he was his old self because for a minute there that's how it almost felt. Like he was the Killian who had pushed and prodded her until she fell in love with his overbearing pirate self. Now it seemed, he reverted back clear into the box of pious priestly Killian.

Emma raced after him. When she finally caught up she grabbed his arm. He glared down at her offending fingers but she refused to let go. "Killian, please listen to me."

"As you wish." He shrugged off her hand and crossed his arms.

Emma motioned toward a semi-secluded alleyway nearby. He nodded and she followed him past the flowers the vendor had set up so they could talk in private. "What's going on?"

She tried to pretend his harsh voice didn't hurt. "We need to talk."

"So, talk."

"You're not making this very easy."

He shrugged.

Emma walked up to him and rubbed her palm over his cheek. "You'd feel better if you just gave into it."

Killian shook his head. Did she really just say that? "What?"

"I said, I'd feel better if you weren't being so stubborn." She gave him a confused look.

"I'm not being stubborn. I'm being practical."

"You're protecting yourself."

He gave her a sideways glance. "From who?"

"From yourself."

"No, I'm trying to protect you from me." He stepped around her. "You should stay away from me for your own safety. You don't understand who and what I deal with."

Emma grabbed his arm. "Then tell me."

"I want to so badly," he whispered only loud enough for her to hear.

"Then why don't you?" She came around and faced him.

"Because I'm not sure you could handle it."

Emma wanted to laugh. If this conversation wasn't so serious she might have. "I think I can."

This time it was him who initiated the fierce kiss. His right hand tangled in her hair as his left encircled her waist. However the kiss ended just as quickly as the first and left them both as breathless.

Killian's hand swept his mouth as he stepped away. "Maybe I have this wrong. I don't think I can handle it."

His capitulation, his need to back down, to honor the vows she was pretty sure he had never taken, made her want to scream. For the first time in her adult life she wanted to stomp her feet and throw a tantrum a three year old would envy.

"Damn you, Killian. Why can't you let go?"

He raised his eyebrow and gave her a wicked smile. "I've been nothing but damned since the moment I saw you."

"Fine." Emma turned to leave. She was having enough issues with her parents, she didn't want to fight with Killian too.

"You're just going to leave?"

Not bothering to look back, Emma answered, "Yes."

"Well, this time I'm the one who isn't done talking," Killian told her in a commanding voice.

Before Emma knew what was happening Killian scooped her up in his arms and carried her further down the alleyway. Emma kicked at him. "Put me down."

"No, love. Not this time."

Inside a barred up doorway he put her down and blocked her from leaving with his body. "We still need to discuss this fascination you suddenly have for men wearing black shirts and white collars."

She watched his hand indicate his cleric's collar. Her eyes narrowed as she looked back up at his bright blue eyes. "Are you jealous because I was meeting Matthew?"

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Matthew is a friend. It was just coffee."

He crossed his arms and glared at her. "I would ask what we are but I'm afraid I might receive the same answer."

Did he want a different one? Killian was confusing the hell out of her. First he storms out of the café and she has to force him to talk to her, then they argued, then they kissed, then they were arguing again. What the hell?

"From your expression, I can tell I'm right."

"Killian, I don't know what you want me to say."

"I don't want to be your friend, Emma."

"What do you want?" Emma asked breathlessly.

He stepped forward and Emma edged back. The wood nailing the door shut behind her bit into her back.

"I don't know." Emma felt his breath on her cheek and she closed her eyes until she heard his next words. "What I want has nothing to do with this."

At first Emma thought he was referring to the two of them until she saw him rip the white collar from around his neck. He jammed the strip of fabric inside the pocket of his pants. He inched forward some more as he unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. Emma's eyes were drawn to the patch of skin now visible like a lifeline. This was no longer priestly Killian. This was Captain Killian "Hook" Jones in full takeover mode.

It thrilled and scared her. Emma had only encountered this man a handful of times at best. And when he was supposedly at his worst, back when they had been dropped in the past, he had been drunk. No, this man before her was a fully sober pirate who had every intention of marauding. And she was the object to be plundered and pillaged.

His arms shot out, making her flinch. They trapped her in place as he leaned on the door behind her.

"Touch me," he commanded. He released one arm and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt so she could have access to his skin.

Instead of pressing her hands to his heated skin, as they both desperately wanted, she pulled his shirt from his pants. He glanced down at her handiwork and smirked as he caught her gaze. "I told you to touch me."

Her lips trembled and her hand shook but she reached out and placed her hand over his heart. Killian sucked in a breath. If she hadn't known better she would have thought she hurt him. He leaned in and pressed harder on her hand.

It was Emma's turn to take a deep shaky breath, which caught in her throat at his next command. "Kiss me."

Her eyes caught and held his for a brief instant before she leaned in to press her lips over his exposed nipple. Emma could tell Killian's knees almost buckled under him but he held strong.

Dreaded pirate Captain Hook had almost come undone by a simple kiss. What would happen if she became a little more adventurous? Biting back her smile she ran her nails down his chest. His flesh rippled beneath her fingers.

Placing her left arm around his waist, she still left her right covering his heart, Emma licked the pebbled nipple before nipping at it. Before she could process what happened, she was slammed back against the door and he was pressed full against her, one of his legs firmly between her own. His mouth in full control of her own in a punishing kiss.

He grabbed her waist and undulated his hips into hers. Emma had never felt the need to orgasm so quickly in her life. Her hand came up and wrapped in his hair. Instead his head pulled back and he grabbed her hand away and held it above her head.

"No. I make the demands, you follow them. And I don't recall telling you to touch me right now."

Emma wiggled her fingers that were still trapped between their bodies. "I already am."

He growled against her ear. "Don't push."

"Maybe I want to."

"You don't know what you're asking for, Emma." His voice sounded pained, as if his control was about to snap.

She tried to see his face but it was pressed into her neck, his tongue tracing a burning path down to her collarbone. Emma wiggled against his thigh, trying to quench the ache at her core. Killian's fingers trailed down into her pants.

"God. You're so wet, Emma." His hand swept into her underwear and fingered her sex. "Mm. You feel so slick and hot. I can't wait to bury myself into you."

Emma's eyes slid closed as she rocked against his hand as his fingers entered her. "Killian."

"Come for me, Your Highness."

Emma blinked hard. If he had said princess or love, she might have ignored it. But he said Your Highness as if he suddenly realized who she was. The only other time he had called her that was at the ball for her father's engagement to King Midas's daughter. Her hand trapped between them pushed him back. His hand became untangled from her sex. "Damn it, Killian. Do you remember?"

Now it was his turn to blink. "Remember what?"

"Me. You. Everything." She searched his face for any signs that he may have begun to remember all that he lost.

He seemed to suddenly take in both of their states of dishevel. Killian stepped back completely releasing her. With a glare in her direction, he spat, "You are the devil."

"No, I'm not."

Killian stared at her accusingly as he rebuttoned his shirt. "Stay away from me."

Emma tried and failed not to cry as he raced from the alleyway. Her back slid down the door and she wrapped her arms around her knees. She may have been practically homeless before but she had never indulged in public sex. Anyone could have come by. Yet, it was the closest she ever had to getting the old Killian back. And she had to ruin it. She had to make it stop, because both of them would have come to regret it if she hadn't. However, regret would have been a small price to pay if she could have finally had the man she loved back.