Author's note: Thanks again so much to those of you who have encouraged me as I'm writing this story. I honestly can't thank you enough.

Chapter `14: The Whole Truth

The memory of the farewell party would be something Hook and Emma would carry with them for the rest of their lives. It wasn't as lavish as the ball they'd attended in the Enchanted Forest. This kingdom simply didn't have the riches of Charming's adoptive father or King Midas, but what they lacked in riches, they made up for in their own ways. Candles were perched all over the stone walls, and various local flowers of every conceivable color made the huge stone room come alive. People from all over town came to the castle, filling the air with optimism and excitement. Hook and Emma danced, spending the evening being celebrated as heroes for deeds they hadn't even performed yet. They secretly celebrated their own good news, sharing private moments even when surrounded by an entire town.

As the hour grew late, people began to go home, most of them offering their thanks and well wishes before leaving. Hook and Emma were sharing one last dance, committing the perfection of a night they shared as a couple to memory, when two of the soldiers danced up next to them. One of the soldiers politely asked if he could cut in, gently taking Emma's hand as the other soldier, one of the women who'd obviously revered Hook, danced with her hero.

Hook was trying to be a gentleman, but he wanted nothing more than to enjoy one more dance with the woman he loved and spend one last night together in this place. The night had been romantic and special, but the next day, they were going home to be reunited with family. "Captain, Sir?" the woman, Maya, said, "there is something I need to tell you before you go."

Emma was dancing with the young man who'd cut in. He was kind and witty, occupying his charge with light conversation and a few laughs. She was enjoying the moment, and looked at Killian to see if he was having a good time too. She watched his face. She now felt like she knew all of his expressions well, and what had been a tired smile suddenly became stiff and stoic as he listened.

"What's going on?" Emma asked the solider in her arms.

"Nothing to be alarmed about, miss," he answered calmly. "We may have some information that you and the Captain will find interesting."

"What information?" Emma demanded as she saw Hook and the other soldier casually dancing their way closer.

They traded off partners again, and, as Hook forced a smile at Emma, she said through gritted teeth, "What in the hell is going on?"

He brushed his lips against her temple as he held her closer, whispering, "I will tell you, love, but you must be patient. We need to be cautious about being overheard."

He pulled back to gauge her reaction and she said, stiffly, "Fine."

Once they danced toward the edge of the room, away from the rest of the crowd, Hook said, "It seems one of my men, or rather, one of my women, has decided to break her silence."

"She told you about the shadow?" Emma asked, purposefully masking her excitement to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

"Indeed. After this dance. I think it's time for us to politely excuse ourselves."

The next hour as they tried to gracefully leave the party seemed like an eternity. Emma didn't feel like being cautious, she wanted to run out of there and get the answers she needed, but she did what she had to do. When they finally got back to their room, the soldiers were waiting there. "Will someone tell me what's going on here?" Emma asked as soon as she saw them.

"There's a talisman," Hook whispered to her. "The shadow draws some of his power from it. If we can retrieve this talisman, we'll have a clear advantage."

Maya explained, "A few of our group left nearly two weeks ago to retrieve the object. We'll meet them at the rendezvous point tonight and give you the talisman to take home with you tomorrow so we don't arouse any suspicions."

"Let's go," Emma said immediately.

Hook, confused by the sudden willingness of this pair of soldiers, asked, "Why the last minute change of heart? I've been asking for weeks, and no one has seen fit to give me even the slightest bit of information. Why now?"

The soldier fixed her gaze right in Hook's eyes and said, "We are under very strict orders. This wasn't an easy decision, but all in our group have finally agreed. It's the proper thing to do."

"You're no longer worried about changing the future?" he pressed, still not convinced.

"Of course I am, sir. This small group of soldiers is willing to commit treason in order to assist you. By waiting until the last minute, hopefully you won't do or say anything that might make it clear to others that we have broken the decree made by the queen that demanded our silence. I didn't want to put any of us at risk."

Hook nodded, but still seemed hesitant. He crossed his arms and stepped closer, "That only further begs the question…why risk so much? Why risk your future and the penalties of treason to help us when you already know that we'll eventually defeat this shadow and help to break your curse?"

"We've all pledged our loyalty to you," Maya answered.

"Can I talk to you alone for a second?" Emma asked Hook.

She and Hook stepped away and he whispered, "What does your superpower tell you?"

"She's hiding something. Definitely."

"That was my assessment as well."

"Well…what do you want to do?"

He paused for a moment, looking around the room as he considered their options. Emma truly seemed to be treating him as an equal in all of the decisions. The two were becoming a cohesive team. He finally replied, "We've already tampered with the timeline. While we're here, might as well ensure our success. Your thoughts?"

She nodded, pensively, "Yea. We need to be ready to face this thing. Let's do it."

A short while after gathering meager supplies, the couple, led by Maya, crept through the escape tunnels beneath the castle to go retrieve the talisman. They hurried through the dense vegetation for nearly two hours before they finally stopped. In a cave near the ocean, they met up with the rest of the group of soldiers who'd decided to help.

The group was huddled around a small fire, looking up at their heroes with hopeful eyes as they waited for the scouts who'd gone ahead to retrieve the talisman.

Hook and Emma sat on the ground, and she leaned against him with his arm draped over her shoulder. She was beyond tired, the hormones of early pregnancy amplifying the exhaustion in her limbs. Although she missed the comfort of their room in the castle, it felt good to be on a mission again. It was almost like being back to normal. Hook was absently rubbing Emma's arm, staring down at the woman he was beyond in love with and marveling at the feeling of actually being in love when that love was not tainted by circumstance.

A disturbance just outside the cave caught everyone's attention. Two soldiers had gone to take the talisman, and only one had returned. This young man, shaking, pale and consumed by fear, sadly recounted the loss of his partner on the journey, and confessed that he had been unable to bring back the prize. The mood in the camp became despondent and full of mourning.

Hook and Emma left the cave to walk and discuss the situation. Emma found a low branch and jumped up to it, grabbing ahold and doing a few pull-ups. "Readying yourself for a fight?" he asked a bit amusedly while he recalled their past.

"Yup," she tensely said as her reserves were focused on her exercise.

He stood directly in front and below her, nearly touching her as he watched. "You should be careful."

"I am being careful," she said as she continued to exercise.

When she started to tire, he wrapped his arms around her hips and held her still. "You shouldn't overdo it, Swan."

She looked down at him, not at all happily and said, "I'm going to be ready for this fight. The only thing that's changed is that I have a bigger family to fight for. Now let go. Please."

Hook let go of her legs but still stayed close so he could help her down if she needed it. "You aren't the only person interested in protecting someone," he dejectedly answered.

Feeling guilty, she lowered herself, hanging from the branch until she was just above his eye level. She kissed his forehead and replied, "I know that. This whole thing just makes me nervous."

"Me too," he replied, looking up at her.

She did another pull-up, and when she lowered down, she kissed his head again, and repeated the process twice more until he smiled at her. "Wanna give me a hand?" she asked, even though he knew she didn't need it.

He wrapped his arms around her again, helping her down, and she slid along his body until her feet were safely back on the ground. Her arms wound around his neck and their lips slowly met as they shared a deep, passionate kiss.

"I love you so much," she confessed, kissing him one more time. Her confession was a little tearful and earnest, which made her feel exposed, so she deflected immediately, kissing him and running her tongue along his lip before saying, "Who would have thought I'd already miss the taste of rum."

"Pirate," he accused with a smirk, and as he prepared to say something else, they heard voices coming closer.

A few of the soldiers were arguing, and clearly did not see their heroes nearby.

"We have to tell them, Marcel," Maya stated. "If we can't give them the talisman, we at least need to warn them so they can be ready."

"We can't take that chance," Marcel, the soldier who had danced with Emma, countered.

"They need to know what's at risk."

"But at what cost? If one life needs to be sacrificed to restore our people, so be it. It's one life that will benefit many, many lives. It's a small price to pay."

Maya sighed, something obviously weighing heavily on her conscience, "If Emma or the Captain knew one of their own would have to die, they'd never—"

Maya was interrupted when Hook rushed up to Marcel and quickly pushed him against a huge tree trunk, firmly holding him there. With a menacing smile that was amplified by his anger, Killian lifted his hook and traced the point along the throbbing artery in the soldier's neck. "Don't move," Hook ordered. "You have ten seconds to tell me exactly who you're planning to sacrifice…or I'm going to dig my hook into your neck, mate."

Emma was practically floored by Hook's sudden actions as she rarely saw him so enraged.

Maya came closer and said, "Give me a moment and—"

"Ten seconds. One," Hook loudly interrupted as he began to count.

"It's complicated, sir," Maya continued.

"Two."

"Sometimes it's best not to know too much."

"Three."

"Let me confer with my associates and—" Maya nervously began.

"Four, five," Hook interrupted in quick succession, adding, "Sorry, I got excited there. I haven't had cause to bleed out a man for a while, and I kind of miss it. Six!"

"Your son," Marcel said, looking at Emma, straining his neck to avoid the point of the hook. "Your son is taken. I'm sorry. It's a small price—"

Hook pushed the soldier more tightly against the tree, and, assuming that the man had been talking to Emma, he said, "You can't have Henry. I don't care how many lives it may save or how many people stand to benefit, the boy is not currency for you to spend."

"Not Henry," the soldier whispered as he closed his eyes.

Hook's grip loosened slightly as his eyes questioned, and Maya said, "Please, sir, let him go. I'll tell you everything."

"I'll let go as soon as I'm done getting answers," Hook commented, narrowing his eyes and refusing to look away from his captive.

Maya stood next to the men and said, nervously, "In our original prophecy, you didn't have one baby, you had twins. A boy and a girl."

"What?" Emma asked, stunned.

"What happened to the lad in your original prophecy?" Hook asked.

"The children are incredibly powerful," Maya confessed. "While you carry them, all of that power is centered in you, Emma. Such concentrated energy can't go unnoticed for long. Your combined power drew attention from people with very impure motives. That was the original reason why the shadow sought you out. He wanted your children. He wanted to use them to become more powerful. In your original timeline, you didn't know he was coming. He came one night just a few days after they were born to take them from you. He managed to take your son, to consume his soul. Before he could take your daughter, you discovered him and he vanished. You both went on a quest to destroy the shadow so you could protect your daughter and avenge the loss of your son. The Captain did succeed in destroying the shadow. But sadly, nothing could be done to bring back your son."

"You didn't think that was important information to share?" Emma yelled, clearly shaken.

"We didn't want to tell you too much."

"Raina, Odalee, everyone…was just going to let him die?" Hook indignantly asked.

"That's why we wanted to give you the talisman," Maya replied. "We thought that maybe if you were prepared for the shadow's arrival and had the talisman, you'd be able to save your son."

Killian pressed his hook against Marcel's neck just a little more and asked, at first softly, but becoming gradually louder until he was yelling, "Is there anything else I need to know? Any more secrets? Anyone else who has to die?"

Marcel shook his head, "No, sir, I swear it. There's nothing else."

Hook let go, stepping back away from Marcel before he calmly asked Maya, "Why did you decide to help us?"

"I lost a son," Maya admitted. "I live with that every day. No one should suffer as I have. I was trying to help you. We were all trying to help you and at the same time, we didn't want to take away our people's chance to go home. I had hoped to give you the talisman tonight and the rest would be up to you, but at least you'd have a chance against the shadow. But I'm not sure if the talisman can be retrieved. Those men were two of our best, and they were unable to obtain it."

"We'll get it ourselves," Emma said, still stunned from the news.

"But you're expected to return to your home tomorrow. We'll never get the talisman and be back in time for your departure," Maya replied.

"Can you use magic to get us there?" Hook asked Emma.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Emma warned. "If we don't know exactly where we're going, we may not like where we end up. It could be a trap. Plus I can't envision a place I've never been."

"Then we'll make the journey on foot and strategize our attack."

"And then find another way home once we have what we need," Emma added.

"Where do we find this talisman?" Hook asked, turning his attention to Maya.

"This is a basic map," Maya explained. "It's not much, but we can leave in the morning if you still want to get it."

"Of course we want to get it," he answered.

Emma stepped closer to Hook, entwining her arm through his. "Then we'll see you in the morning," Emma said to the group.

Maya began, "Where are you going until—" and then she stopped when Emma and Hook disappeared in a swirl of white.

"I'm glad that actually worked," Emma said as she and Hook appeared in the cabin of the Jolly Roger. As soon as she made sure he was with her, she turned and cast a protection spell over the ship. He sat on the edge of his bunk, immediately dropping his head into his hands as he had a moment where he could finally let his guard down. "I can get us back to their camp in the morning. At least now we know what they were hiding," Emma said.

She leaned against the desk and waited for him to speak, but it seemed obvious he needed a few minutes to deal with everything that he'd heard. When he finally looked up at her, clenching his jaw to steel his resolve, once again calm and completely in control, he said, "Hopefully that was the last surprise. I must apologize for my earlier display of brutality. When that soldier spoke of a sacrifice…well, I reacted as I always would have. Perhaps not the greatest display for a future father—"

"You have nothing to apologize for," Emma interrupted. "I've told you before, we're all at our best when we bring ourselves to any fight. And we needed you to get that information. You did that. Besides, I can't think of anything more paternal than protecting your family."

Hook stood and began pacing, his momentary burst of distress dismissed. After all, this was how he dealt with things like this. He channeled all of the worry, sadness, anger and frustration into his next course of action. "We need a plan."

"Here's the map," Emma said. "But I say we meet up with them tomorrow. We could probably use the help."

"Do you trust them?"

"They aren't bad people. I think they just want to protect their families. I'm trying to think of it from their perspective."

Hook shook his head, and said definitively, "I know you. You'd never sacrifice another child or put them at risk in order to save your own. You'd find another way."

Emma half-smiled and shrugged, "I'd certainly try."

Hook thought for a few seconds and then asked, "Do you really think there are twins? Things have changed…timing, circumstances…every moment we're here, there's a greater chance that something will change."

"I heard the heartbeat. It almost sounded like it was in stereo, which could be two hearts beating at exactly the same time, which would, under normal circumstances, be weird, but this is definitely not normal. Or it could have been just one heart that sounded loud and amplified."

"Can you attempt to hear it again?"

"I didn't do that…that was Odalee."

"It seems as if you're quite powerful now though."

"I can try," she answered.

Emma closed her eyes, focusing her thoughts inward and trying to seek out the thud she'd heard before. When it didn't work, she dropped her head in disappointment. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, love. Besides, whether it's one child or two, I want that talisman. That shadow won't be taking any of them."

He leaned against the desk next to her and she gently teased, "What happened to the guy who was so committed to not changing the future? Weren't you the one who said if someone is supposed to die, then they have to die?"

Hook looked like he was seriously considering an answer and teased back, "Well, I suspect you can find him hanging out with that woman who used to run away from her feelings and kept devilishly handsome gentlemen at arm's length as a way to protect herself."

Emma laughed quietly and retorted, "What losers. What do you think they're doing right now?"

"Them? They're busy not changing the future and refusing to fall in love…so they're safer, perhaps, but also more miserable and alone. Sometimes, one has to know when change is in order."

"Seriously though…do you worry about it? Are you worried we're changing things we shouldn't be changing?"

"We've lost too much already…people we've loved, my brother, for most of your life you didn't have your parents…you lost the first ten years of Henry's life. We're done losing things, Swan. If it's possible to save the boy, I'm going to bloody well do anything within my power to do so."