A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay in posts. I'm writing my thesis, busy with my final year of my undergrad, applying to grad school and trying to keep up with life in general. It's been a whirlwind and not always the good kind. Writing got pushed to the side and then I started doubting my writing skill which made me not want to write at all because I just criticized everything. Tonight though I can't sleep. So here's a new installment. I'll try to get a new chapter up for A Bounty Of Paint Pots up soon, or at least I'll start working on one. I hope there's still at least one person around who wants to read what I write. Let me know! Thanks for sticking around! Also, I haven't seen any of the new season because I am too busy to watch TV so this is all based of my own ideas as of last season.

Disclaimer: All aspects of Once Upon A Time are property of ABC and the show's creators.

Emma sat on the edge of the bathtub watching Killian fight with the plumbing in front of her. Plumbing was something very new to a man who'd spent three centuries in the Enchanted Forest and something that wasn't exactly going well. They'd hired someone to do the bathtub Emma was currently sitting on but Killian insisted there was no reason he couldn't do the sink and toilet. If he was going to own his own house with running water then he best know how to fix it, at least that's how he saw it. Emma had tried to tell him about plumbers but that had been in one ear and out the other.

The removal of the avocado toilet and sink had ended with the two of them absolutely covered in water. A grumpy evening of washing clothing soaked with decades old toilet water had followed that. The toilet now sat at the end of the driveway, taunting them.

"Swan, why do we need three bathrooms in this house?" Killian grumbled, securing the new white ceramic sink to the wall with the provided brackets.

Emma laughed. "Food poisoning precautions," she answered, rolling her eyes. She wanted to help but he wouldn't let her. Killian had let Emma paint the room, a sandy beige with white trim, but frustratingly, he wouldn't let her do any of the heavy lifting.

Maybe it was because once the sleeping dam had been opened in the new bedroom it didn't really close. Emma had been exhausted before. But now, now she could barely keep her eyes open. It was as if now that she could sleep her body was demanding it, forcing her to try and make good for the several months as the Dark One she'd gone without ever sleeping. Emma was completely drained, felt sick, the power she'd used during the months she wasn't herself pulling everything from her. The sleep had forced her to feel that again, taken the mask off what she was hiding. And now she never wanted to get out of bed again.

Killian had been nothing but a gentleman about it. He brought her Granny's in bed, keeping her company when he wasn't off on errands or running interference from her family and the townspeople who still insisted on needing the saviour after everything that had happened. Emma had had to talk him down and steal his hook after several of the dwarfs had shown up on their doorstep early in the morning demanding help. Emma had a sneaking suspicion there was now a sign tacked to the mailbox at the end of the driveway threatening disembowelment should someone knock on the door. Killian had even cancelled all renos until Emma was back on her feet.

Five days into the sleeping marathon Emma had finally woken up and felt like she could keep her eyes open for more than five minutes at a time. She could actually feel her own magic simmering just beneath the surface of her skin. It had been like waking into a whole new nightmare. She was terrified of using her magic, of what had happened before when she had too much magic. Emma desperately squashed it away and spent the next hour convincing Killian that the renos needed to start up again.

It had taken a week to get new shower/tub duo installed, the other equipment purchased and the walls painted. But it had happened and here they were. And she still hadn't used her powers.

"You aren't funny, love."

"Of course I am," Emma answered. Killian looked over his shoulder and rolled his eyes at her. "You just forgot that since I've been asleep so long."

"Yes," Killian answered, putting on a fake pained voice. "I've been absolutely lost without your astounding wit, my love." Killian dodged the hair elastic Emma flicked at him then grabbed the wrench to start hooking up the piping.

Killian started twisting the nut into place, screwing the drain to the curved pipe below. The original piping within the walls hadn't been replaced and there was a bit of corosion around the top which made it hard for the nut to screw into place, especially with only one hand.

The more Killian twisted the more cross threaded the thing became. Halfway up it stopped screwing all together. Killian cursed and hit the piping with the wrench, the clang echoing through the bathroom. Emma cringed. She could have stepped in, offered her two hands to help keep it steady but that would have damaged Killian's ego. He'd been so good to Emma, so pleased with himself that he was able to take care of her, that she just couldn't bear the thought of making him feel any lesser than his lack of plumping knowledge already did.

But there was something she could do. Something she was absolutely terrified to do. A wiggle of her fingers and the bolt would loosen and if she did it when Killian's back was turned it would be as if she'd not done anything. Before Emma wouldn't have hesitated. Before Emma wouldn't have even considered stepping in and doing it manually. But Emma wasn't the Dark One any longer.

Killian threw the wrench down, the metal tool skidding across the fake marble laminate. At least it wasn't real stone and couldn't crack. Killian slumped down, head in his hand, eyeing his hook as he moved it slowly in front of him.

"I wanted to do this for you."

"Killian, it's a bathroom," Emma replied softly. "You've done enough for me. I don't need to see you put together a sink that doesn't leak for me to love you."

"And thank goodness for that," he bit back. They were silent for a few moments, Emma waiting to see what Killian would do. "Your father could do it."

Ah. Measuring up to David, despite the strong bond of friendship they'd developed. It was still obvious that Killian saw himself as the villain when his confidence was shaken. To Killian, David was nothing less than the all capable Prince Charming. It didn't help either that David was her father and was constantly around during the renos. Or that he had two hands.

Emma sighed, desperate to make the desolation on Killian's face disappear. She'd caused enough of that lately. She had to do something. While Emma wasn't the Dark One any longer she was still Emma Swan. And Emma Swan had magic.

Another deep breath. There really was only one option. "Killian, give it another shot? Things get harder before they get easier."

Killian turned to her. She tried to give him her best reassuring smile, one she knew Killian couldn't resist, even if it was covering up the fear of what she was about to do.

"Alright love, just because for us that logic seems true." Killian grabbed the wrench and turned back to the sink.

When his back was to her she closed her eyes, concentrating on the current that had been flowing through her body for days. Fingers moving under their own accord the magic sparked. She opened her eyes when she heard Killian's shout of triumph.

The nut was moving properly now, nearly fully tightened. Emma's heart slowed as she watched Killian finish twisting up the pipes. She'd done it and nothing bad had happened. She hadn't hurt anyone. She hadn't blown anything up. She'd actually helped. Kind of like she was a plumbing saviour. Huh.

"Done!" Killian cried, throwing his hand and hook up. In one swift motion he picked up Emma and swung her around in elation. Yes, magic could be good. Magic could help. Magic was actually making her feel more alive, more herself, even in just the few moments it had been since using her skill.

"Does it work?" Emma asked once he'd put her down and kissed her cheek.

Killian gave the sink an unsure look before turning the water to the pipe on and then turning the tap. Water spewed out of it. With a very satisfied smile Killian turned it off again and the water drained down into the pipes.

"All done."

"Perfect. Thank you, Killian," Emma replied. Before she could suggest potentially finding someone to help with the toilet Killian had disappeared into the hall and grabbed the porcelain fixture. This job seemed easy enough, at least according to David, who'd explained it all over the phone that morning, much to Killian's chagrin. Maybe Killian would be able to do it without a problem.

Drip.

Emma's eyes flashed to the sink just in time to see a second drip come from the faucet. Killian didn't seem to notice over the noise of the toilet being placed over the pipe and his grunts as he moved it. Of course it was dripping. Poor Killian. One hell of a captain? Oh yeah. Plumber? Hopefully never again. Before she even considered what she was doing Emma wiggled her fingers and the third drip, halfway to the basin from the tap vanished. A blink and the knobs screwed in a little tighter.

By the time Emma had turned back to Killian, he was securing the toilet to the floor. Part of her wanted to shout and get his attention, show him she'd found her magic again. The other part of her wanted the opposite, the fear that Killian would think that her use of magic meant the darkness was returning coursing through her. So she kept quiet, hands still on her lap as Killian finished and turned the water back on to the toilet. Emma would do anything to keep the fear from Killian's eyes, be it real or something she imagined would be there.

Killian stood, groaning, slightly damp jeans moving over his trim body in a way that never ceased to make Emma's stomach flutter. A press of the handle and the toilet flushed. Both Killian and Emma watched in silence, as if saying something would cause the water to spew from the pipes as if it were jet powered. A good two minutes passed before Killian turned, a smug smirk lifting up the side of his face.

Emma stood to join Killian, relieved that she wouldn't have to stop a flood with magic. There was no way she would be able to hide that from Killian. Killian slid his arm around her shoulders with a contented sigh. They walked from the now finished bathroom like that.

"How about you poof us some Granny's?" Killian murmured into her ear. Emma shot him a glance, trying to act confused but really just fighting to hide the terror at being caught. "I know you used magic back there to help. I'm proud of you." Killian kissed the side of Emma's head, his eyes showing nothing but pleasure. No fear. No disgust. No sign that he was going to go call Regina immediately and have her locked into some cell below the hospital to control her. Killian let go of her shoulders and walked into the bedroom.

"Really?" Emma forced out, stumbling behind him into the bedroom.

"Of course. I'm starving," Killian answered easily, pulling his dirty shirt off.

"But I used magic."

"And I used a wrench." Killian slid a new long sleeved t-shirt over his head and turned back to her. "Emma, love, magic is a part of you. A part of the light you. The you that's here. Of course you should use your magic. It may take time for you to be confident in it again, to know you aren't going to turn dark again but that's okay. If all you can do for the next month was what you just did that's great, I'm glad we have a working sink out of it. Or maybe you'll start using it more, like before. I'll be here either way. No matter what."

Emma took a few moments to process that. Killian wasn't scared. Maybe Emma could learn not to be scared too. It would take time but maybe she could work towards that. "Okay," Emma replied, her voice thick with emotion, relief and fear tangling together to form a gravelly tone. "But I think we're going to have to drive to Granny's for supper."

Killian grinned, reaching for her hand to lead her from the room. "You drive. I'll pay."

"I like that deal."

It turned out that Emma actually had to use her magic again relatively soon. Two days later, in the middle of the night, the toilet practically exploded, a pipe bursting under too much water pressure. Water coated the newly painted ceiling- something Emma was determined not to paint over again. While Killian cursed and tried to stem the flood of water from leaving the bathroom and ruining the hardwood floor of the hall Emma poofed the toilet out into the driveway next to the avocado one. Sure, she could have fixed the toilet with a flick of her wrist, just as she did the paint job, but Emma wasn't going to take any chances. She was calling David in the morning and he was putting a brand new one in, whether Killian liked it or not.