They didn't have time to stop, talk, or think. Shortly after Killian awoke along the riverside, the Lost Boys had caught up with their trail. They had been chased for hours; they had to battle their waning strength with their meager will to survive until nightfall. Killian was sure that they'd stop their manhunt when the sun retreated behind the mountains in the west, which fortunately for the two of them, they did.

They were lucky to have stumbled onto the beach, which would serve as good navigation back to the Jolly Roger. Though after the exhausting chase, there was no arguing that they both needed to rest at least for a few hours. Just a few.

The small, rippling black waves rolled back onto another before skimming along the shore line. Killian gratefully listened to the familiarity of the sea as he observed the stars above. After a moment passed, he finally turned back to Emma, "We've been led astray. The ship is anchored on the other side of the island."

"What-"

"We've no choice but to rest here for tonight. Our return to the ship will continue in the morning."

Emma looked at him nervously, considering turning back to the concealing bush of foliage they had just retreated from. "They've left us for the night; the Lost Ones. Even they know better than to lurk in the forests of Neverland while its wild is consumed in darkness. This beach is safe… you must trust me."

She flinched at his last words. Trust me. "I'll get some firewood," she mumbled back numbly.

He shook his head, "There are many fearsome beasts that awaken at nightfall. Lingering in the forest is not wise, nor would be starting a fire that would attract undesirable attention." He spoke to her hesitantly, cautiously observing her fragility. "We must endure the cold for tonight.

Her uncertain gaze fluttered to the ground, then to the waves and finally back to him. "He's a shadow," her whispered words trembled off of her tongue. "All that's left is a shadow."

Killian took a hesitant step closer to her. "Swan, hold yourself together-"

"He's a shadow," she repeated herself in disbelief. "I didn't save him. He's gone."

Killian was horrified by this new side of her. Emma's drive and her stamina, which he admired most about her, were depleted and there was nothing left besides a heart broken mother in desperate need of her son. It was a sight Killian was all too familiar with. "Emma-"

"No, no, no!" She threw up her hands to push him away before stumbling onto the sand. "He's gone! Henry is gone!" Her shrieking cries echoed into the ground as the soft shore absorbed her fallen teardrops.

"Your boy is not lost! There's still a chance that we can-"

"That's bullshit!" She snapped up to him in ravaged anger. "My parents can try to shove all of their false fucking hope on me, but not you. You're supposed to tell me the truth!"

"Have I not given my word that you can trust me? I'm not a liar, Emma!" He spat out her name like a curse, "And sentencing your son to an eternity under Pan's torture would be a fate worse than death." His angry glare lingered in hers. She gasped in another painful breath, allowing her fear to consume her anger.

"What did he do to him?" Her words came out like fearful breathes.

"I've never seen him do this before."

"Damn it Hook! Tell me what that thing did to my son!" She screamed at him as her cheeks flushed red.

"It's taken over his body. The boy you saw today was not your lad. Pan has been looking for a particular child for all the centuries I've known him. He's kidnapped many children during this quest, Baelfire being one of them. Pan's search must have concluded upon finding Henry."

She looked up at him, silent with the essence of bleak hopelessness growing in her eyes. Killian had been trying so hard to read her; to understand what she was hiding behind that thick mask of hers. Now that he has seen her in her rawest state, he regretted ever trying to test her in the first place. He couldn't bear the sight of her pain. Though he knew it would do no good, all he wanted to do was to wrap his arms around her, protect her from this misery and promise that everything would be alright. He knew the odds were against Henry. On the inside, Killian knew that there was no turning back for him. But Emma's pain was an unforeseeable agony that he couldn't endure.

He knelt down in front of her; his knees sank deep into the sand. "I promise you," he murmured softly, "I will do everything in my power to see that your boy is freed from Pan's clutches."

Before either of them could say anything more, Killian wrapped his tired arms around her and pulled her in close to his chest as she rested her head on his shoulder. The sobs came, as he knew they would. Emma gripped around his waist as she let out her frustrated cries against his neck. Embracing Emma, feeling her arms wound tightly around him, slowly brought out his own longtime suffering.

This land, these shores, surfaced the buried wounds that he still kept of her, of Milah. He remembered these familiar tides long ago; the countless nights of waiting, watching and hoping that she would walk out from the waves and return to him. Neverland endured his pain and absorbed his sadness like a formidable sponge. The three hundred years he spent in this land plagued his soul and corrupted him with its primitive wickedness, leaving him with nothing besides a dark heart and colorful moniker. The suppressed memory of that sorrow was now in the forefront of Killian's thoughts and he knew that he could no longer run away from it all.

He cringed out deep breathes into her hair as he felt the throbs well up inside of him. The long-growing suppressed tumors of hatred and pain rolled up from his chest and into his throat. His gritted teeth tightened as he achingly groaned out all of his pent up emotional agony against Emma's shoulder. Her fingers knowingly tightened around his waist, squeezing him tightly amidst her own sobs.

For the first time in a long time, they were recognizing their pain. No more hiding behind thick walls of insecurity and fear. Facing the truth of it all, they both finally understood that serenity could only come after the storm. Peace can never return until the anguish is faced. They finally saw past all of the empty optimistic faith they've been fed. Everything was not alright. But just by each other's reassuring presence and physical grip around the other, Emma and Hook now felt a new, unfamiliar feeling; that it was going to be.