It's early morning when she's awoken by Killian crawling over her to get out of bed.

"Killian," She whispers with a creaking voice, forcing herself to wake up, but she is unable to open her eyes. Drowsiness still taking the upper hand of her.

"It's okay, sleep some more," Killian presses a kiss against her forehead, his lips soft and gentle, but only for a moment. He then pulls back, followed by a door opening and closing again. It seems only minutes later when the door opens once more and she's awoken, this time she manages to open her eyes, seeing Killian entering the room, drying his hair with a towel. Feeling a little light in her head she manages to pull herself out of bed, perhaps a little too quick. She clutches her stomach as she falls down on the wooden floor.

"Emma?" He drops his towel and quickly runs over towards her, kneeling down next to her, his hands trying to get a hold of her face, forcing her to look at him. She eyes him with a smell smile.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," Emma answers, "I got out of bed too quickly, it'll pass."

"You don't just fall on the floor like that. Are you feverish?" Killian asks as he raises his hand to her forehead.

"Killian, I'm fine," she takes his hand away, "Do not worry," Emma presses a kiss against the palm of his hand. He nods but remains unconvinced and helps her on her feet. She looks at him, realising she'll have to lie better than that, because if he were to worry about her every second of the day, it would ruin their rescue mission. Emma then smiles as genuinely as possible, kissing his lips briefly.

"I'm going to take a bath, I'll see you in a few."

"Will you be all right?"

"Yes," She simply answers, walking out. But she herself isn't so sure, something feels off.

She walks out of the small bathroom, her damp hair pulled in a tight bun, and her body crammed in a dress that seemed to fit perfectly fine yesterday night, and now it feels a size too small. She finds Killian walking around on deck, giving orders to his crew members. Her fingers brush over his arms to demand his attention.

"Do you have any chocolate aboard?" He frowns and laughs softly.

"I thought you didn't like chocolate?" Killian says as he nods at someone who then disappears below deck.

"Yeah well... I feel like eating chocolate."

"Are you sure you're all right?" He teases and steals a quick kiss. "Can you go back to the cabin now love? I'll explain you the plan in a moment. I just have to give them some orders and tasks first." Emma nods, but something in his voice betrays that he doesn't really have a plan. She walked back inside his cabin, sitting on the bed. She looks around the room, her eyes resting on the nightstand, opening the drawer slowly. Inside few papers and a piece of cloth, her fingers reach for the soft fabric, it falls open and she realises it's the handkerchief she had given him the day he left, seven years ago. It smells of old, with a hint of her own scent; like he hadn't want to wash it because her smell would vanish. She folds the handkerchief and returns it to its original spot, then taking the papers out. They have various scribbles on it, and one of them is a letter; directed to her.

Dear Emma, the words have been crossed out, on another line he started again; Emma, Gods this is hard, I don't even know how to address you anymore. Perhaps Princess would be better. It doesn't matter, I may not even send you this letter at all. I'm writing you because I have no one left. My father died today, he was killed on the mission your father sent me on. I am angry, yet I am sad.

Emma, I miss you. I miss my best friend, I miss my love, I miss my beautiful princess. I wish I could tell you this in person, but I won't, not ever.

The paragraph is crossed out, he scratched them so hard the pencil sank through the paper and ripped it. When the words start again on another line his handwriting is unsteady, like his hand was shaking.

I made the decision to not return to the Kingdom. For two reasons, one, I'm too angry at this moment My father's men have sworn to me, and I don't want to bring them in more danger by other quests your parents will send me on to keep me away from you. Two, this reason entirely selfishly, I cannot watch you be with another man than me. I cannot watch you marry Thomas, and then slowly fall in love with him eventually once you have given up on us ever being together. Knowing that I couldn't keep true to my promise of marrying you. His handwriting grew steadier, the pencil pressed into the paper; he clearly got angrier with each word.

"Emma?" Killian is standing at the door, closing it behind him, she had been so caught up in her thoughts, imagining him writing the letter angry and heartbroken, that she hadn't even heard him come in. Emma jerked her head up following him with her eyes as he walked closer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's all right," He sits down next to her, and hands her a piece of chocolate. "I wrote multiple letters to you actually, all never sent of course. They became some sort of journal, until I had given up on the chance of being with you, and I eventually quit writing them; never thinking you'd be sitting here next to me." Emma gives him a small smile before returning her eyes to the paper, he had written multiple paragraphs before ending the letter with I love you and I'm sorry.

"So what's the plan?" She questions as she lays the letter back in the drawer, stuffing the chocolate in her mouth. It's strange; true that she never liked chocolate, but this tasted like heaven.

"I don't have one. We just go in and attack." Emma snorts as he speaks. "Don't laugh love, Peter Pan has the advantage on his island, when he wants it to be dark it'll become dark. When he wants the island to change, it will change. The island is unpredictable, if we make a plan it will just turn against us. Time moves differently here. If we plan to attack during day he'll just make it dark forever. If I'm honest, I think he already messed with the time. I get the impression we've been here for longer than we think," Killian then gets up, opening a closet door. "Are you still good with a sword?"

"Yes," Emma replies, getting up slowly.

"Great," Killian turns around, throwing her a sword, something he had done many times when they were younger, it ends handle first in her palm.

"That could have ended really badly," Emma mutters, looking at the sword.

"It could, but it didn't," he grins, "Come on, let's see if there's a better outfit for you." Killian offers her his arm - an offer she gladly takes - and they walk to what was supposed to be her room. It is strange how he is visibly worrying over finding his friends, but yet he seems to be enjoying every split second with her. Inside the room he lets go of her and looks through the clothes in the wardrobe. There seem to be a majority of dresses, but also a few pants and vests. "Here, this should fit," he hands her a red vest and a pair of trousers, "I'll wait for you outside," he says as he leaves the room. She then dresses herself, finding some sort of struggle trying to tie the cord around her cleavage.

"Killian?" She mutters, sticking her head through the door. He turns around, "Can I ask you something?" Emma asks upon dragging him inside. He raises an eyebrow, clearly amused with seeing her in pants. "Does my bosom looks bigger to you?" Killian sucks in his lower lip, trying to hold back his laughter. "Don't laugh!" Emma hisses, "It's a serious question. I could barely fit in my dress last morning. As I was dressing in this outfit, I found it was my chest that was the problem, it's bigger than yesterday." Killian rubs his hand through his face and takes an unabashed look.

"It does seem a little bigger," he tries to make his response sound serious, "But it could also be the vest. Must we do this now, love? We're going ashore in a few and if you're going to have me keep looking at your marvellous bosom I will not want to leave."

"Idiot," She mutters, stealing a quick kiss before walking outside with him.

After they arrived on the beach Killian gathers his men to remind them that Peter Pan is a dangerous person, that is island can be deceitful and that they must get Ariel and Wendy at all costs. He looks at his crew, dividing them in half, sending one group east and another west. Until Emma and two other men of his are left alone with Killian on the shore.

"Why are you keeping us here?" The tallest of the two asks.

"Because we're no longer alone," Killian answers, drawing his sword. Emma follows his example, wanting to stand next to him, but he raises his arm, keeping her back. What happens next happens so fast that Emma barely realises what's happening until it was halfway through. From the bushes behind the shore a fair share of boys and men had come from. Ten at most; either way outnumbering them. She had warded them off, maiming them but never killing. They were just boys, but these boys seemed to have no problem with injuring or even killing; this fact she learned upon tripping over one of the bodies of the men Killian kept on the shore. Terror hit her like a brick, quickly crawling back on her feet trying to find Killian in the fighting mess.

"Emma, behind you," Killian's voice sounds, she turns around, raising her sword; warding herself from the man behind her. In that moment she seemed to have forgotten everything she was ever taught about sword fighting and just slashed her sword around - her thoughts with Killian, after not being able to see if he was all right. Even after slashing around her sword just like that, Emma was close to winning but only until her name is being called again, this time by another voice, a boyish voice, but doesn't look up until the voice yells stop again, followed by "or it will be the end of him," she jerks her head up, seeing Killian with a knife against his throat. Warning her had nearly cost him his head. The voice couldn't have belonged to the man, it sounded like the voice of a boy.

"Drop your sword," the disembodied voice says, slowly she does as told. "Come here," the voice becomes tied to a body. "Hello, Emma," a familiar young boy says.

"I've seen you before, haven't I?"

"Yes," He answers calmly, right at this moment, he sounds innocent and harmless. But that's a lie and she knows it. "I came to your room for an invite."

"You help him at first and now you try to kill him?" Emma questions, frowning a little.

"You're mistaken, I didn't really need the invite. Not for him at least. I was there to see my… Friend. I made sure Killian got the invite though, because that did make things easier."

"Made what easier?"

"Putting an end to him," the boy replies smiling, his eyebrows raised.

"Why would you try to kill him?"

"Revenge. I've waited for so long but never found the right moment, and then I found out his weakness. With a little help," he points behind him. A tall figure steps from the bushes. Thomas.

"Emma," he smiles. "Welcome to Neverland."

"Well now I'm confused," Emma mutters as she is brought down to her knees by one of the boys. Unlike Killian who has a knife against his throat, she is only guarded by a boy who has a sword at ready. Yet he looks like he will not use it, no matter what she does.

"Both of us," the boy starts, "have benefit from him dying," he points at Killian, "I will have my revenge and Thomas will have his wife." Emma snorts.

"You really think I will marry you when you kill him?" Emma spits.

"And take your baby," Thomas nods.

"My baby?" Emma frowns, whereupon Thomas starts laughing.

"Peter, she doesn't know?" The boy laughs as well.

"Turns out she still didn't realise it yet, even after I sped up time a little, and gave her some visible signs."

"Emma, sweetheart," as usual Thomas spits the word out like poison. "You're pregnant with Killian's baby." Emma looks next to her, Killian looks every bit as confused as she is. Thomas kneels in front of her, "she will be exceptionally beautiful, like her mother but with her father's hair and her name will be -"

"Stop," Emma quickly says, "Don't tell me."

"Very well, but sweetheart, but you will never meet her anyway, because Peter here will offer you a choice and you will choose him, not her."

"Now now, spoilers, Tomas," the boy laughs, "Well then in case you didn't make the link yet, I'm Peter. Peter Pan." Thomas stands back up, making place for the boy, but not before giving her another pitiful look, as if wanting to say 'oh Emma if only you had chosen me'. "I would have offered you the choice," Peter starts to explain, "between his life or yours, but then I realised; you're not stupid, Emma, you know that if you chose your life I would kill him anyway," He sits down in front of her, his legs crossed. "Thomas just spoiled my second plan. And I will be as kind-hearted to tell you the final plan, because while coming up with this plan, I realised that I don't necessarily have to murder your beloved Killian to kill him. This plan will kill him from the inside out and I don't even have to do anything. I simply have to tell you."

"Well then get on with it, share your master plan," Killian hisses, clearly having had more than enough of Peter's games. Peter, who is now smirking, nods once.

"I will let you go, off Neverland, just like that," He smiles, never taking his eyes off Killian, so that he could witness Killian's surprise as he spoke the words. "You will have your child together, raise her together. And then, at a certain age, I will come for her, and there will be nothing you can do about it." Emma gets up from her knees, quicker than she had ever moved before, and locks her fingers around Peter's throat, he falls down with his back in the sand, the princess on top of him, trying to choke him. But the boy laughs and holds his hand up towards Thomas, who made movements to get her off him. "You can't kill me, Emma," He laughs, "And you know what, you can't keep your daughter locked up either, because she'll think you hate her, but already you both love your unborn daughter so much..." He trails off as Emma lets go of his throat.

"Why would you do this to me?" She whispers. Peter sits up, Emma unwillingly in his lap.

"I already explained, dear," he runs his hand through her hair, a gesture that furies Killian even more than anything Peter had said before. But Emma is so hurt by the thought of losing her daughter even before she was born that she let him, and that, too, angers Killian. He wishes he could run up to him, but the knife held against his throat is so tightly pressed into his skin, that it's no longer imaginary blood running down his neck, but real blood. Emma takes a deep breath and gets up, she had never looked so steady. But Killian knew well enough that she was broken.

"So you'll let us go now?" She questions firmly. Peter Pan nods, giving the man holding Killian a sign to let him go. Emma walks over to him, helping him on his feet. Her steady hands tear off a strip of Killian's shirt, holding the fabric against his cut. "Are you okay?" She asks, her voice sounding as if she were to approach a shy animal. Careful, soft, safe.

"Yes, you?" Emma nods once, starting to make her way to the boat.

"You forget someone," A voice stops them. When Emma turns around she sees the redhead being thrown on the sand, but she no longer has her tail. Instead she has a pair of legs, as uncovered as the rest of her body.

"Killian, your coat," Emma whispers, which he is already taking off, with the coat in her hands, Emma runs towards her. "Are you all right?" Emma whispers, laying the coat around the redhead's petite body.

"I think so," she answers leaning on Emma to get on her shaky legs. Killian has already started to make his way to the boat, pushing it into the water. The girl stops walking right before the waterline. But before Emma can ask about it, Killian has already turned around, sweeping the girl off her feet, carrying her into the boat.

"Emma, are you coming?" Killian questions, placing the girl in the boat, careful, like he doesn't want to get any water on her.

"Yes, just a moment," Emma answers, turning back around. Pan is smiling at her, he probably already knows what she's about to ask. He probably knows everything, but maybe he's just being polite, letting her speak up first.

"Your prisoners," Emma starts, "I want them." The boy raises his eyebrows, showing amusement.

"All of them?"

"How many do you have?!" She yells, forming her hands into fists. Not ready to punch him, but to keep them from shaking in anger.

"A lot," Pan smiles smugly. "Very well, Emma, you can have two, that's all, I already gave you the mermaid."

"I want Wendy," Emma answers, "And Eric." Pan nods, signing a few of his boys to get them.

"Emma, I'm bringing her to the ship, then. I'll be back in a moment."

"Yes, Killian, don't worry she'll be safe with me," Peter grins stepping closer, Emma draws her sword and swings it behind her without looking. A warning hit, but she nicked him in his cheek, that much was clear.

"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me." Emma hisses. He sighs and wipes the blood away.

"You're lucky I am not after you but after your boyfriend," Peter stands next to her, watching Killian bring Ariel to his ship.

"How much did you speed up time?" Emma questions, ignoring his threats.

"Last night was, in your time, around two months long," he replies. Emma nods, clearing her throat while looking behind her. The majority of Killian's men come from the forest, two unfamiliar faces along with them. A girl and a man. Wendy and Eric probably.

No one speaks in the boats. It's silent apart from the waves and Peter's boys laughing and talking. Once aboard she finds Killian, he's preparing to set sail, his thoughts miles away, his face broken. He gives one more look to the shore, seeing Peter Pan wave at the ship.

"See you soon, Killian!" He laughs but Killian turns away from him, not deeming him worthy of another second of his attention.

AN: I apologise for the long wait. I got distracted by so many things - other fics mainly. I had ideas for three other fics. One of them I already posted. And another Lieutenant Duckling I might post some time around the end of this one.

Thank you for your patience and reviews.