After breakfast, Killian joined Emma where she sat on a log. They watched in silence as Snow and Red said goodbye and the latter disappeared into the forest again. Snow then, tentatively, walked up to Charming. Killian could hear Emma's sharp intake of breath and he could not help but smile at her excitement.
"I suppose I should", Snow begun, then cleared her throat before continuing, "thank you. You saved me."
Charming smiled at her.
"Well", he said and looked away momentarily, "it seemed like the honourable thing to do."
He looked back up at Snow and smiled again, causing her to smile back.
"I'm going to the stream to get some water", the raven-haired woman then said. "I can fill your canteen, if you like?"
She nodded at the object that Charming held in his hands. He nodded and handed it to her.
"Thanks."
Snow smiled again, before hurrying off towards the nearby stream. Killian smiled as he saw Charming look after her as she disappeared; the man was definitely smitten. Everything was going according to plan.
"They're warming up to each other", Emma remarked, confirming his suspicions. "This is good. This'll work."
Killian nodded, before his gaze fell upon the woman without a name that Emma had saved from Regina.
"That may be, Swan", he sighed, "but we have another problem."
Emma's smile fell and was replaced by a stubborn frown.
"I had to save her", she said.
"Sure, you did the noble thing, but she's supposed to be dead. Her presence in the Enchanted Forest could have unforeseen consequences."
"She's just a sweet, innocent woman", Emma muttered.
"What if she had a child who grows into a mass murderer?" Killian questioned, causing Emma to frown at him. "Or she gets tipsy one night and rides her horse into one of the dwarves so that there are only six of them?"
Emma rolled her eyes at his odd suggestions.
"Who knows, Swan?" he still insisted. "We're best not finding out. She doesn't belong here."
Emma's lips suddenly tilted up in a smile, one that he knew perfectly well; she was planning something.
"I know exactly what we can do", she said and arched an eyebrow at him. "We take her with us."
Before Killian could object, Emma rose and walked over to the woman. After explaining everything to her and the plan, the woman frowned at them as if they had both suddenly turned into mayflies.
"The future?" she said, sounding doubtful.
"You can't stay here", Emma explained. "You were supposed to die hours ago."
"I don't understand", the woman said and took a step back. "I just want to get back to my family."
"They need to believe you're dead", Killian said, backing Emma up. "That's what they've always thought."
"Trust us", Emma begged. The woman shook her head again.
"All due respect, but I don't trust you, or believe you. So unless you're kidnapping me I'm going to find..."
While the woman spoke, Emma rolled her eyes, walked past her, picked up a long branch and wacked her in the back of her head. She fell forward and Killian only just managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
"Well then", Emma said and threw the branch away, "I guess we're kidnapping you."
Killian gaped at the unconscious woman, then at Emma, before he started grinning.
"I knew there was a little pirate in you, Swan!" he said, causing Emma to look very pleased with herself.
"What happened to her?"
Killian spun around; Charming had appeared from nowhere and frowned at the woman on the ground.
"She's resting", Emma quickly replied, smiling. "What's up?"
"Have either of you seen Snow?" Charming said, deciding to drop the subject regarding the woman on the ground. "She went to the stream but she hasn't..."
He stopped and grasped at his vest pocket, then quickly stuck his hand inside it.
"The ring!" he exclaimed. "She took it!"
"Really?" Emma said and glanced at Killian, who hid his smirk by looking down. "Do you know where she might be headed?"
"She was seeking passage on a pirate ship", Charming responded, then threw Snow's left bag of belongings onto his back. "There's only one way to get to the harbour from here; the Troll Bridge."
With that he sat off through the forest and Killian smiled, only to hear Emma groan.
"Oh no", she muttered and hurried after her future father. He grabbed her arm before she got too far.
"Swan, wait. The Bridge; isn't that where you want them to be? Isn't that where Snow saved your father from the trolls?"
"Yes", Emma quickly replied, "but the only reason she was able to do that was because she had a weapon; the dust!"
Now it was Killian's turn to groan.
"Which she's already used on herself. Bloody hell."
They were almost at the Troll Bridge when Killian spotted the pair they were searching for out on a wider forest road.
"Wait", he said, stopping Emma in her tracks. Emma gasped silently when she saw her parents walking together, smiling sheepishly at something the other one had said. Killian looked down the road and saw King Midas' golden castle glimmering in the sunlight not far away. Charming saw it as well and stopped, turning to face Snow White.
"So", he said and took out a small satchel from his vest pocket, "you probably want this."
"Right", Snow said and accepted it, "the gold."
"It appears your parents didn't need our help after all", Killian remarked and glanced at Emma, seeing her smile at the scene playing out in front of them.
"And", Snow said and reached into a small pouch hanging from her belt, "you can't get married without this."
Charming accepted the ring that Snow held out towards him and was about to put it inside his vest pocket, but stopped and studied it with a small smile.
"I know", he said and nodded at Snow, "not your style, right?"
Snow huffed.
"Well, there's only one way to find out."
She took the ring back from him and placed it on her left hand, holding it up to study it. Charming stared at her. He seemed to have lost the ability to breathe and Killian did not have to guess more than once at what Emma's future father was feeling right in this very moment. Snow eventually looked up from the piece of jewellery and shrugged at Charming while blushing.
"Yeah", she said and removed the ring, "not me at all."
She handed the ring back to Charming, who tentatively accepted it.
"I'm sure your fiancé will love it", Snow commented, though her smile did not seem altogether happy. Killian heard Emma sniffle and looked over, noticing that she was crying.
"It's okay, Swan", he assured her with a small smile. "Not everyone gets the chance of watching their parents fall in love."
"Well", Charming said and placed the ring inside his vest pocket, "wherever you're going, be careful. If you need anything..."
"You'll find me", Snow filled in with a small smile. Charming smiled as well.
"Always."
He then bent down and picked up Snow's sack of belongings, which he had placed on the ground when they had pulled to a halt, and handed it to her.
"I almost believe that", Snow said, before she made a small bow in Charming's direction and turned around, walking back down the road, deeper into the forest. Killian frowned.
"They're heading away from each other", he said and moved to intercept the event. Emma, however, stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"No, it's okay", she said with a teary smile while watching Charming turn around towards Midas' castle. "It's how it happened the first time. It took my parents a while to accept their feelings."
"Must run in the family", Killian commented to himself. Emma did not respond; instead she grabbed his bag and pulled out the storybook from it. As she flipped it open they both saw how the stories and images that had previously been missing once again appeared. The timeline had been restored.