Liam pulled his car up to the small sheriff's station on Main St., parking it next to a beat-up yellow Beetle.
"I'm assuming that's Emma's car," he said.
"Yea," Killian replied quietly as he rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans.
The car was silent for awhile and he could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, his nerves beginning to take over his body. He hoped that when he got in there, he would find the right words for what he needed to say to her. Right now, however, there was nothing. When he needed words the most, his brain's vocabulary could only come up with the fewest possible.
"I can come with you if you want," Liam offered tentatively.
"No," Killian replied quickly before lowering his voice. "No. I'll be OK."
Liam simply nodded as he watched his brother unbuckle his belt and climb out of the car. "Can you just stay here while I go in?" Killian asked him. "I may need a getaway car or something if things go sideways."
"A getaway if you kiss the sheriff and you don't break a spell?" Liam asked sarcastically before giving his brother a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll be here," he said earnestly.
Killian gave him a slight nod and slammed the car door. He turned and stared at the front door of the sheriff's station before taking what felt like the longest walk in his life. If you can just put one foot in front of the other, you can put one word together with another, he thought.
Killian opened the door, the quiet station buzzing in his ears. Perhaps he had misjudged the time or maybe he had hyped himself up only to realize that the sheriff wasn't even there. But at the end of the long hallway, he found Emma alone in her office, sitting behind her desk doing paperwork.
"I'll be with you in just a second," she said without looking up from her desk. He just continued to stand there, too nervous to move or speak as he watched her sign off on a report with a flourish of her hand. Emma closed the folder and turned to see who her guest was, her smile suddenly expanding when she realized it was him.
"Killian," she said, walking over to wrap her arms around his neck. He responded by gently hugging her back, too afraid to do anything more. "I didn't expect you to get here until later."
He quickly pulled away from Emma, giving her a slight smile and nervously scratching behind his ear. "Yea, I wanted to get up her a little quicker I guess," he said quietly.
"So did you find it OK?" she asked.
"Um, yea," he answered. "Your directions were a big help."
She smiled at him. "Good. Yea, I was a little worried with the whole 'can't find it on a map' thing."
Killian just nodded and stared at her, not sure how to approach her exactly. And of course being Emma Swan, she picked up on his apprehension. "So what's up, Jones?"
Killian took a deep breath, summoning up his courage. "We need to talk," he replied seriously.
Emma raised an eyebrow in his direction before giving him an awkward smile. She slowly took a few steps back and sat down on the edge of the desk behind her. "I've found when a man says that, I'm rarely in for a pleasant conversation."
Killian gave her a weak smile. "I just um …" Ugh. He should've come in with a plan. He should've had some sort of idea of what he was going to say. And instead, he couldn't say anything.
"You just um what?" Emma asked.
He looked out the window of the station and saw his brother standing outside, staring at the front door of the building, waiting for some sign or some hope from his little brother. Killian turned back towards Emma, a look of anticipation on her face. Her green eyes sparkled, her lips were slightly parted, and her pull over him at that moment was something he couldn't resist any longer.
"I'm in love with you," he blurted out.
Emma stared at him, too stunned to move for a moment. Her mouth moved silently, unable to initially speak the words she wanted, before she finally found her voice. "You're in love with me?" she asked quietly.
Killian's courage was starting to disappear and he could barely nod his head in response to her question. Then she slowly stood up and walked towards him, reaching for his hand. But instead of grabbing it, he instinctively recoiled and stuffed them in the pockets of his jeans. She looked up and he could see the hesitation and hurt in her eyes. It was practically permeating her whole body as she took a step back from him, rubbing her hand as if she had burned it on a hot stove.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't … I don't mean to push you away."
"And yet you are," she replied bitterly. "I don't understand what exactly is going on here, Jones."
Killian took a deep breath, regaining his courage to tell her everything. "I want to kiss you so badly right now, I really do," he confessed. "I just need to say something to you first."
She gave him a confused look. "Like what?"
"The curse is real."
She looked at him, searching his face to see if this was some sort of trick. He wouldn't blame her for thinking he was crazy or was making some kind of joke. If it wasn't for the letter Liam had in his apartment, Killian himself wasn't sure he would be here saying this to her. But that letter was real. Henry's story was real.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, refusing to take her eyes off of him.
"I think Henry is right," he said quickly. "I think Captain Hook is my father and he's a cursed fisherman down at the docks who just doesn't remember who he truly is."
Emma stared at him and then let out a nervous laugh. "You're lying," she said incredulously. "This is some sort of a joke."
"I'm not joking, Emma," he replied earnestly before running a hand through his hair. "Here, use your super power on me. Look at me and tell me I'm lying."
She stared at him as if she was hoping to see some crack in this facade. "You really believe it's true," she replied.
He took a step closer to her and inhaled deeply, summoning whatever courage he could from within himself. "I've wanted to kiss you since the day I left here so I'm finally going to do that now if that's OK." She gave him one simple nod. "But I want you to know that I'm doing this because I want to, curse or no curse." He stared at her, hoping she could see that he meant every word he said. "You know that isn't a lie, don't you?"
Emma looked at him intently before her features started to soften. Killian couldn't hold himself back anymore - the look from her was all he needed. He felt like he couldn't even control his feet as he walked quickly to her. "Emma," he whispered, cupping her head in his hands and looking into her green eyes.
He pulled her to him, his lips pressing hard against hers, but nothing happened. Killian thought maybe he messed all of this up and this was a mistake. Maybe she actually didn't feel the same way or thought he was crazy for believing in the curse. But then her lips moved tentatively under his before she finally gave in and reciprocated his kiss, matching the passion he had poured into it.
And then he felt it.
It was as if she had shocked him with a force radiating out from her. He pulled back quickly, trying to get his bearings as he put his hands on his knees. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't see, he felt completely dazed. Then his mind started to reel with memories of another life that used to be his. He saw a young Liam and a forest and a green flash of light. He saw his father, his father's ship, his father's crew.
"Killian?" Emma's voice seemed distant but slowly came back into focus. "Killian, come back to me," she whispered.
He inhaled deeply as if he was coming up for air after diving deep into the water. Emma was on her knees next to him, a reassuring hand on his back as she stared at him for some sign he heard her. He looked up to see he was back in the sheriff's station, but it was different. He was different.
Killian couldn't help it. He began to laugh louder and more joyously than he ever had before. "Swan!" he yelled, pulling her up from the floor and off her feet as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. "You're brilliant, Swan. You're bloody brilliant."
She harshly pushed him away, forcing him to set her down on the ground with a look of confusion on her face. "What are you doing?" she asked incredulously. "What is going on?"
He gave her the biggest smile he had ever given anyone and leaned close to her ear. "You broke the curse, Swan," he whispered tenderly. "You're our savior."
He pulled his face away from her to see her incredulously staring at him. He reached up to fix her hair, tenderly tucking her golden locks behind her ear as she continued to stare at him. Then her gaze quickly broke from him as they heard the sound of the door to the sheriff's station opening violently.
"Brother!" Liam yelled frantically. "Killian, where are you?"
"In here," he said, yelling over his shoulder without taking his eyes off of Emma.
He could hear Liam's exuberant laughter behind him before his brother came to stand beside him. "Is this Emma?" he asked, swinging his arm around his brother's shoulders.
"It is," Killian replied without letting go of her hand.
Killian turned to see a huge smile form on Liam's face. "You're bloody brilliant, Emma," he said with astonishment before leaning over to gently give her a chaste kiss on her cheek.
"I heard," she said, her voice still dripping with shock. Apparently, even after breaking the curse, she still wasn't fully ready to accept what had just happened even though the Jones brothers were well aware of what she had done. "So what am I supposed to do now?"
Killian took a deep breath, concern beginning to creep over him. "First, we have to get Henry and move him to safety, especially considering his other mother is evil," he replied.
"Wait, what?" Emma asked. "I mean, Henry thought Regina was the Evil Queen but -"
"She is the Evil Queen, Swan."
"Seriously?" Emma replied incredulously.
Liam moved closer to them, worry spreading across his face. "Wait, how did the Evil Queen get her hands on my nephew?"
"She's his adoptive mother," Killian said before turning back to the sheriff.
"Bloody buggering hell!" Liam exclaimed.
"Where is he now, Swan?"
"School," she replied. "I can get him."
"We can both go," he replied.
She gave him a tight smile. "You have somewhere else to be."
Killian looked at her as his heart began to beat faster in his chest. He was torn about what to do next - go get his son and make sure he's safe, or go with his brother to find the father they had lost so many years ago. He was grateful Emma saw his conflict and made the decision for him.
"Listen to me, Killian," she said, pulling herself closer to him. "Henry and I, we were never really cursed, at least according to him. He and I have to sort out a few things that you don't."
"I can help you, Swan."
"I appreciate the effort, Jones, I really do," she said, putting her hand on his chest. "But you and your brother have someone else to see first."
He smiled down at her. He found it so amazing that she had just broken the curse by kissing him and still seemed so in control. And yet, if he had been a baby when the curse came, if he didn't have any memories of the Enchanted Forest, perhaps he would be calm like Emma. Instead he felt like a crazed version of himself who needed Emma to ground him and bring him back to whatever reality he was currently living in.
"Now let's get going, OK?" she said.
Killian nodded in reply and finally started to move towards the front door of the sheriff's station, his brother and his apparent true love beside him. Killian still worried about his son and thought about pushing his way into Emma's police cruiser, but he looked at her and knew she was strong and tough and nothing would happen to Henry with her in charge. Besides, he had a pirate to find.
Killian opened the door of the station as the three of them rushed out. "Let me know when you get Henry - and don't hesitate to call if you need help, OK?"
Emma nodded. "So where are you headed?"
"We'll be over at the docks trying to find our father," he said.
"Sounds like a plan."
Killian leaned over and whispered in her ear. "We'll meet up later and this time, I will find you." He gave her a wink, then placed one more kiss on her forehead. "And make sure you tell Henry he was right."
"I will," she said quietly, giving him a slight smile. She quickly climbing into her car and drove off with the sirens blaring - one of the perks for being sheriff.
The brothers watched her leave before looking out on the warm fall day in Maine. It was as if the world looked completely different than it had when they arrived even though the trees and sun and water were still the same.
"You ready?" Killian asked excitedly.
"Lead the way this time, brother!"