Disclaimer: I do not own any of the novels or films mentioned within nor do I own the chunk of text quoted from a novel.

Chapter 5

264. She has a weakness for British period dramas. (Killian couldn't see the attraction in watching Pride and Prejudice or Jane Eyre or North and South but Emma loved them…)

Killian knocked apprehensively on the door to Emma and Henry's apartment. It was quite late and he wouldn't even be knocking if he hadn't left his key inside. It had been yet another long day of searching for the Dairy Queen and Killian had spent the majority of it with Charming. They were getting along much better now that Charming actually realised that Killian's feelings for Emma were true and that he wasn't just playing her along but still, for a sort-of-reformed-but-still-total-pirate-just-not-evil-or-particularly-villanous that much goodness at a time was wearying.

The door eventually partially swung open and a bleary eyed Henry peered up at the pirate.

"Henry, lad? Are you not usually abed by this hour?" Killian said confused. Emma was the major night owl. She could be up until the early hours of the morning and then sleep for a scant few and wake as bright and bushy-tailed as ever. Of course some mornings she was a complete bear, she did love her sleep and her lie-ins but if one of the Swans was going to be awake this late it would usually be Emma.

"I would be…" Henry began but was interrupted by a massive yawn that had Killian worrying the boy's jaw might unhinge itself. "But…"

Henry pulled the door open wider and allowed the pirate to step in before pointing at the living area. The sight that greeted Killian was not one he ever thought he would see. Emma and Regina were curled up next to each other on the sofa and both were crying whilst watching the magic box with the moving pictures.

The Evil Queen and the Saviour were leaning their heads together and a couple of thick blankets were piled up over their knees. A glass of wine was in Regina's hand and Killian saw the mug of hot cocoa in Emma's but he doubted it was cinnamon tonight, probably brandy. Elsa too was there but the Snow Queen was sat a little ways off in a comfy seat of her own and a myriad of snowflakes were dancing around her as she cried. She had no blanket but Orson was sat at her feet and the Snow Queen had taken her shoes off and buried her feet in the dog's fur.

All three women were crying, sniffling or wiping at their cheeks as they watched the…

"What is the magic box called again?" Hook asked Henry softly and Henry rolled his eyes before answering tiredly.

"A TV. They're watching a British period drama. It's called Pride and Prejudice and for some reason girls and women love it. Mary Margaret was here earlier while they were watching Sense and Sensibility before she began sobbing and called David to come and pick her and Neal up. I would be asleep but they keep running out of tissues or drinks and they're all too far gone to be of any help to each other. Even Elsa's been affected by Mr Darcy."

Dramatic music played on the screen and all three women let out mournful wails and sobs before plucking tissues from the boxes near their hands. It seemed Henry had been keeping all three women from descending into sobbing masses.

"You've done well lad. Any idea what has caused such a bonding?" Killian said as he guided the boy up the stairs to his bed.

Henry was so tired that his eyes were barely remaining open as they ascended the stairs and when they reached the boy's room he flumped down on the bed and began to sway from side to side. Killian shook his head before crouching down and pulling the boy's slippers off and then guiding him into bed.

"Mum was upset about what Emma did you know, bringing back Marian but they've sort of forgiven each other and Elsa was upset about Anna still being gone but then they were all hopeful and excited. So they decided to have a meeting about how to find the other Snow Queen, the bad one you know? But then it descended into a British period drama marathon."

Killian pulled the blankets up to the lad's chin and turned abruptly as the door to his room creaked open and Orson padded in, his large paws heavy and loud on the floor. The dog waited a second before leaping up onto Henry's bed and taking up the majority of the other side of the mattress. Henry rolled onto his side and instinctively wound a hand into the hellhound's fur.

"Sleep well lad. I'll take over Queen and Saviour watch!" Killian said lightly and was happy to see that Henry finally allowed sleep to take him.

"Keep an eye on the lad for me Orson?" Killian asked and Orson blinked before closing his own eyes and leaning into the warmth of Henry's body.

Killian left the boy and dog on the bed and turned the light off and shut the door gently before turning to the stairs and taking a deep breath. Crying women were not his strongest area of expertise. Well, unless they were crying with pleasure but Killian was pretty sure none of the women seated in the living room were feeling that pleasured.

Finally descending the stairs Hook saw all his confessions confirmed. All three women were openly crying now as the people on the screen sat in front of a lake and talked about their day. Killian felt his eyebrows rising as the man pressed kisses to his wife and murmured her name repeatedly between each.

The screen faded to black before titles and names began to flash on the screen. Killian made to move forward before Regina let out an unearthly wail and began talking.

"I want to have my Mr Darcy! But he's already bloody married to a – forest wench!" Regina hiccupped before reaching out to the coffee table and grabbing a small glass filled with a red liquid with an apple slice slotted on the side and downing it in one.

She slammed the glass down and both Emma and Elsa cheered. Elsa picked up her own curiously shaped glass filled with a white liquid and dotted with blue crystals and took a swig before she too joined into the womanly conversation.

"I know Anna loves me, even if I cannot remember what happened or why she would put me in the urn. But sometimes I wonder if I'll ever have what she has."

Emma sipped her hot cocoa and licked the cream moustache that formed on her upper lip.

"What do you mean Elsa?"

"Well Anna has her fiancé, Kristoff. He was raised by trolls, not evil trolls," She added when Regina looked shocked and slightly concerned. "Magic stone trolls, they're very little and very wise. But Kristoff would do anything for Anna, has done anything for Anna. He climbed a mountain with her to reach me and then faced a giant snow monster and he ran all the way back to Arendelle to try and save her when my magic accidentally hurt her and then when he realised she was in trouble from another of my storms he came racing back to try and save her."

"So what exactly is it you want? A man raised by magic stone trolls?" Regina slurred as she downed another of the little red drinks and plucked the apple piece from the side and began crunching it loudly between her teeth.

"No. I want a fiancé!" Elsa declared and took a massive swig of her drink. "Or at least I'd like to know what it is to have someone like Kristoff. I love Anna dearly but I want to see what other types of love there are!"

"Love can hurt though." Emma said from her curled up little nook on the sofa. She had turned her attention back to the screen and was now flicking through different pictures looking for another film to watch. Killian found himself perking up slightly to hear what she was going to say.

"I know that." Regina attested in a subdued manner. The Evil Queen yawned and nuzzled her head on the side of the sofa. The small glass slipped from her hand and fell on the carpet.

"Even if it does hurt I'd like to find out what it feels like and why people risk everything for it! Look at Mr Darcy and Elizabeth!" Elsa declared sleepily and she cradled her glass to her stomach.

"They aren't real though." Emma said and continued pressing buttons on the zapper.

"Your parents have love and they're real." Elsa yawned and closed her eyes. "Anna and Kristoff have real love. There are loads of people here who have real love. You have it too Emma."

The Snow Queen finally lost to the tiredness and the snowflakes which had been dancing around her in the air softly disappeared completely as she fell asleep. Soon the only sounds which could be heard were the soft breaths of Emma's slumbering companions and the sound the TV was making as she whooshed through the pictures.

Killian slowly walked to the sofa and leaned over the back. He knew Emma had heard him as her hand slunk up to cup his cheek as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"You alright love?"

"Hmm." Emma said softly but offered no other reply or answer. Killian had seen her like this a couple of times before and it usually took several period dramas to pull her out of her funk. Tonight might be a little more difficult.

"Have you any of the novels these 'TV' shows are based on Swan?" Killian asked lightly his hand having wound its way to the base of her scalp and his fingertips now gently massaging the base of her skull and the back of her neck.

Emma's head fell back into Killian's palm and he peered down at her curious if slightly glazed eyes. It would appear, he thought, that she has had a bit more than just hot cocoa with brandy.

"I do." Emma said slowly and hummed in appreciation of his skilled fingertips. "Which one do you want? And for a matter of fact why do you want it?"

Killian chuckled. Swan could never just go with the flow.

"Go and brush your teeth love and get into bed. I'll join you in a minute once I've sorted out their Majesties."

To his pleasant surprise Emma didn't argue but merely unfurled from her seat on the sofa and dumped the blanket down where she had been sat. She turned the TV off before trotting into the bathroom and shutting the door.

Killian wasted no time in easing Regina's legs along the sofa until she was stretched out fully. He covered her with the blanket she had covered her lap with and placed a cushion under her head so she would not have a sore neck the following morning.

Turning to Elsa Killian was surprised to find that she had already stretched out from the comfy chair she was seated in and a block of ice had formed beneath her out-stretched legs and feet so she was now reclined and fast asleep. As the cold had never bothered her the pirate didn't cover her with a blanket but he did slip another cushion under her head and pluck the strange glass from her hands.

Once finished he made his way to Emma's bedroom and kicked off his boots and got into his sleepwear before rummaging through a box sat in the corner of the room with Swan's familiar scrawl covering one side of the brown cardboard.

Several items lay within the box but there were only a few books and Killian picked them up and read the titles; Harry Potter (seven of those), a couple of books that claimed to be "dark, romantic fiction" with pictures of chiselled men on the covers, Jane Austen's novels and one that was related but not by the original authoress and then Killian found one he had not yet endured a TV or film adaptation of.

Satisfied with his choice he returned the other books to the box and clambered into Emma's bed but piling the pillows up behind him so that he could sit partially lying down. The soft glow of the bedside lamp illuminated Swan's face as she entered her bedroom with a curious and almost tentative expression.

Killian said nothing but patted the mattress beside him and Emma slipped down beneath the blankets and wrapped an arm around Killian's stomach whilst her head lay on his shoulder. With his good hand the pirate opened the book to the first page and coughed a couple of times to clear his throat.

"What are you…" Emma's voice trailed off as she realised what her pirate was about to do for her.

Killian began to read aloud and felt with some satisfaction Emma relax onto his shoulder and snuggle her body closer to his own frame.

"Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. Chapter One. There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question."

264.2 Because she loved hearing him read so much that she bought all of her favourite period dramas in novel form and would always shyly ask if he would read them to her even though his answer was always, and always would be, yes.

***Killian&Emma***

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and following! Please let me know if there are any of the original reasons from Killian's list that you'd particularly like me to tackle next! Or any new ideas you think would be good reasons for Killian's list. I have one more I plan to write for the next chapter, one that isn't on the original list, but after that I'm pretty much open to any choice/suggestions!

Thanks to:

Aurorellin – I don't know if I'm going to venture into Emma's list. For me the ideas are all about how Killian discovered and continued to discover reasons and events that made him love Emma. I think Emma's list is more of a reflection on their relationship than their relationship's journey? If that makes sense? I might do a couple if I can think of really good things that would be on her list.

taikara100 and yaissa-chan