Disclaimer: Reluctantly I have to admit that I don't own these characters. They are property of others far luckier than myself.

Killian awoke with a start, followed by a groan of pain as the sudden movement pulled at the stitches holding his gut together.

In Emma's exhaustion, she didn't wake as she would under usual circumstances. Killian slipped away from her grasp and tucked a pillow under her arm to prolong her sleep before he slipped out of bed. He wrapped himself in an extra blanket to keep warm before he took up residence in the chair near the window. He could see the moon's reflection on the calm water. It soothed his soul like nothing could.

He'd spent days staring out the window when he'd first recovered from losing his hand in an attempt to make sense of Milah's death. He'd never found it. Instead he came up with a plan to avenge her death, a plan that had yet to come to fruition. As much as he wanted justice for his lost love, he couldn't find it in himself to regret any decisions that he'd made to get to the current moment.

When he glanced towards the bed, the moonlight was hitting Emma in such a way that it appeared she was glowing. She was a savior to a town full of citizens, but she was most importantly his savior. She'd brought him back amongst the living, giving him a renewed sense of purpose. He could love again. He never thought he'd want to love a second woman, but meeting Emma changed all of that.

Now he couldn't shake the dream that had awoken him. He'd become accustomed to waking up to the terrors of his dreams, but this dream had been different. It wasn't Milah's heart that had been crushed by the dark one, it was Emma. He'd only just found her. He couldn't bear to lose her.

"Killian," Emma muttered as the chill in the room woke her. Her eyes searched the room until she spotted him in his chair, "Is everything alright?"

"Go back to sleep, Love," Killian encouraged her, "I was a bit restless and didn't want to wake you."

Emma rose from the bed and wrapped the bed quilt around her shoulders before she went to his side.

"Go back to bed," Killian repeated.

"Only if you join me," she stepped in behind him and wrapped her arms and blanket around his shoulders. Her breath was warm against his ear when she spoke, "What's wrong?"

"Bad dream," was his simply response, "You have them from time to time after three hundred years."

"You don't need three hundred years to have them," Emma replied, touching his chin to draw his eyes to hers. Even in the moonlight, she could see the torment in them. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"Not at the moment," he shook his head. He knew she wouldn't push him to bare his soul. They were the same in that way. They needed to take their own time to open up.

"I'm ready to listen whenever you're ready to talk," she replied.

"Thank you," he turned slightly to kiss her softly on the lips.

"Come back to bed," she requested, "To keep me warm if for no other reason."

"That's a very good reason," he was easily persuaded, "I can't allow my love to become chilled. I am a gentleman after all."

"When you want to be," she agreed as they settled back into bed.

"Sleep, Love," Killian coaxed her head to come to rest against his chest.

Emma was able to fall asleep a second time without much difficulty. Killian kept his mind occupied by studying her features. He didn't trust himself to sleep again. He didn't want to get caught in another nightmare.

"How are you feeling, Jones?" David asked when he, Mary Margaret and Henry approached the docks.

Killian was inspected his vessel like a good captain always should before a voyage.

"I've been better, Mate," Killian held his hand close to his side, seemingly holding his side together.

"So this is the new ship," Mary Margaret took in the impressive slight, "It looks a bit larger than the Jolly Roger."

"Glad it meets with your approval, Your Highness," he gave an exaggerated bow.

"Mabel's Rose," David read off the ship's rear, "Not what I was expecting. I was thinking you'd go with Jolly Roger 2."

"He's renaming it for Mom," Henry chimed.

"Is that so?" David eyed the sailor curiously.

"He's naming her Emma's Swan," Henry added.

"Care to give us the tour," Mary Margaret suggested before her husband could think through the pirate's thoughtful gesture and all the implications that came with it.

"Come aboard," Killian led them up the gangplank, offer his arm to Mary Margaret despite David's groan of displeasure.

"Where's my mom?" Henry inquired.

"She's settling with the harbor master," Killian replied as he walked them through the ship to point out several of the features.

"This is quite modern compared to your previous ship, Captain," Mary Margaret made note when they returned to the main deck.

"Call me a modern day captain," Killian grinned proudly. "I am adaptable."

"Found Emma," Ruby came aboard with Emma, their arms linked together.

"'ello, Love," Killian smiled, "To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Mary Margaret made the point at Granny's last night that Emma would likely want to be sailing with you. Rather than leave her car in Portsmouth unattended, I agreed to drive it back," Ruby explained.

"Thank you for the assistance," Killian gave a humble nod.

"It's nothing. Granny doesn't let me drive all that much," Ruby replied.

"You do know how, don't you, Ruby?" Emma asked nervously. She'd already handed over the keys and was now regretting it even though she'd seen Ruby drive before.

"I can drive just fine," Ruby waved off her concern, "Granny is just over protective."

"Of the car or her granddaughter?" Emma asked skeptically.

Ruby gave a sound of annoyance before she spoke, "The car survived just fine until I let Ashley drive it."

"We'd best get sailing while the wind is favorable," Killian replied as he glanced towards the flags of the harbor.

"We'll leave you to it then," Mary Margaret nodded, "How long should we expect the voyage to take?"

"A few hours," Killian responded, "Assuming the prince doesn't get us lost."

"If we don't hear from you in five hours we're calling out the coast guard," Mary Margaret stated before she hugged her husband, daughter and grandson.

"Then we'd best get a move on," Killian nodded as Mary Margaret and Ruby made their way to the docks. They took a few moments to cast the lines and watched the ragtag group of sailors sail away, taking orders from their injured captain. Henry, though the youngest, was clearly the most experienced of the abled body crewmen.

Mary Margaret didn't want to worry, but she couldn't help it. Her family was hardly what could be called experienced when it came to time aboard a sailboat. David had spent the drive down to Portsmouth trying to reassure his wife that he'd follow Killian's orders without question, but he didn't fully trust Killian. That lack of trust could work against them on the journey home. She hoped her husband behaved himself.

"There's Storybrooke," Killian proclaimed after spotting it through his looking glass after a fairly uneventful voyage. His new vessel sailed better than he could have hoped. She had them well ahead of schedule.

"We've made good time," Emma glanced at her phone to get the proper time.

"Wind was favorable," Killian replied, "And she's a fast ship."

"Would she give the Jolly Roger a run for her money?" Emma inquired.

"She might," Killian replied, "She may not be made of enchanted wood like the Roger was, but she has the enchantments of her namesake."

"Awe, flattery, how I've missed you," Emma snickered.

"Come, Love, help me trim the sail," Killian replied, "I'd hate for your father to get tangled in the rope."

"You mean again," Emma laughed. What David lacked in experience he made up for in exuberance, but his skills with rope were as impressive as they were awful. Somehow he'd found himself entwined on several occasions. Killian nearly had to cut him free the last time.

"For as good as you are with a sword, we're going to have to work on your sailing skills, Mate," Killian gave the prince a good ribbing.

"We're almost home, aren't we?" David replied.

"Really, you're taking credit for that?" Emma laughed, "You're lucky you haven't fallen overboard."

"Perhaps I could use a bit more time out in the open seas," David conceded, "But it could have been worse."

"Yeah, you could be wet," Emma snorted.

"There's still time, Love," Killian added, "We still have about twenty minutes until we enter the harbor, and then things will get interesting."

"Interesting how?" David nervously rang his hands together.

"How good a swimmer are you?" the pirated inquired with a straight face.

The quartet managed to get Emma's Swan docked without incident. A gathering of townsfolk greeted them. It was nearly as overwhelming as the homecoming when Henry had been returned safely from Neverland. To say Killian was surprised was a gross overstatement.

"How was her maiden voyage?" Mary Margaret greeted them with her son tucked in safely in her arms. He'd hardly woken during the few hours she'd been gone.

"She's a finely crafted ship," Killian watched David take his son into his arms, "Your husband could use a few lessons in sailing however."

"Really?" Mary Margaret responded in surprise. He'd seemed to hold his own during their last voyage, but they'd all had their minds occupied with thoughts of Henry at the time so she hadn't paid close attention. "Did you behave yourself?"

"I followed orders," David confirmed.

Mary Margaret looked towards her daughter to confirm her husband's statement. Emma gave a nod of confirmation.

"Perhaps I'll take you up on the offer of sailing lessons after you've healed up," David stated.

Killian nodded.

"Now that the ship is tied to the docks, I'm going to insist that you get checked out at the hospital by a trained professional," Emma told Killian sternly, "You could have further injuries."

He knew however much he protested that he wouldn't win the argument, and he'd used up most his charms just to get his new ship back to her homeport. He went along without comment.

After being poked and prodded by Doc, Killian was diagnosed with two cracked ribs to go along with the bumps, bruises and cut Emma had treated.

"Lucky you got that infection under control, Sheriff," Doc praised Emma's nursing skills, "He likely wouldn't have made it back to Storybrooke."

The news sobered them both. Despite their happiness over their proclamations of love for each other, they were hit with a good dose of reality in which he'd nearly not survived.

"Rest," Doc handed his patient a few pieces of paperwork, "Try to keep sudden movements to a minimum and if you need anything for the pain, here's a prescription for some pain medication. I should caution you. Do not mix these pills with alcohol."

"We'll take that under advisement," Emma grabbed the prescription from Doc's hand before Killian could get a grasp on it.

"Let me know when you're feeling better," Doc requested, "I'd be very interested in seeing your new ship. Us dwarves love seeing craftsmanship at its finest."

"Aye," Killian nodded.

"Thank you, Doc," Emma replied when he left the room to allow Killian to redress. Emma walked with him to have a few more words regarding her patient's care.

Killian was dressed by the time she'd returned.

"Ready, Captain?" Emma inquired, "We have a few stops to make before we return to your ship."

"Is that so?" he raised a curious eyebrow, "Your place perhaps?"

"We need to make your new residence livable," Emma replied, "I know you're proud of your purchase, but if it's going to bear my name, it's got to be cleaned from top to bottom."

"And how does this figure in with Doc's orders to rest?" he followed her to her vehicle.

"You'll be resting plenty," she assured him, "But if I'm going to be spending any time aboard that ship there are a few changes that need to be made."

"You think you'll be spending a lot of time aboard my ship. That's a little presumptuous of you, Sheriff," he couldn't resist the urge to irk her.

"Do you want to walk back to the marina?" she scowled back at him.

"You'd let an injured man walk near a mile knowing that he could pass out at any time?" he did his best to look hurt.

"You're such a pain in my ass," she huffed while stepping into her vehicle and waited.

"It is a very lovely ass," he was grinning from ear to ear when he climbed in beside her.

Emma sighed heavily before starting up the vehicle.

After stopping to fill Killian's prescription and to get cleaning supplies, they stopped at Granny's to have a meal and gather his belongings from the room he'd been renting before returning to the docks.

Emma noticed the way his eyes seemed to shine a bit brighter the instant his eyes landed on his vessel. She'd be jealous if it wasn't the same look he gave her.

"She does need a bit of care," Killian conceded when they stepped aboard his ship. He'd had rose colored glasses when he'd first laid eyes upon her, but now he saw her the way Emma did. His vessel had been well cared for, but it wasn't up to his usual standards.

"We need to air out the cabins," Emma brought him below deck, "But you need to rest."

"Rest with me, Love."

"Can't," Emma shook her head, "I can't sleep on that lumpy thing you call a bed for another night. It was only my exhaustion that allowed me to get any sleep last night. I'm going to insist you change that out."

"It's luxurious for a seasoned sailor," Killian's hook patted the bed.

"It's like the lumpy thing I was forced to use in prison. I swore to myself I'd never sleep like that again," she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Then we'll have to change it," he relented quickly, "Any other changes? Perhaps I should paint it yellow to match your vessel."

"Don't be absurd," she rolled her eyes, "I'd like it to be red to match my leather jacket."

He knew she was joking and laughed accordingly.

"The bed is really all I need," she replied, "And perhaps new sheets."

"I'll replace them as soon as possible," he pulled her into his arms. She melted into his embrace.

"Don't ever scare me like that again," Emma buried her head into the crook of his neck.

"Was never my intention," he replied, "I was intending it to be a simple transaction. I don't know what happened."

"Old Man Hallstrom said you two got into an argument before you got jumped. Could it have been them?" Emma asked.

"Anything is possible," he conceded, "I wasn't looking for trouble, but it seems to find me."

"You are magnetic in that way," she agreed. "What was the disagreement about?"

"They were mad that I got the title to Mabel's Rose," Killian replied, "Apparently they'd been hoping he'd drop his price."

"Which didn't happen because you came in and bought it out from under them," Emma added, "But Old Man Hallstrom said that you negotiated quite a bit."

"Aye," Killian nodded, "But apparently I was willing to pay more than they were. They said they'd rather see my ship at the bottom of the ocean than in the hands of some one-handed hack that didn't know what to do with her."

"Little did they know that you're ten times the sailor with one hand as they could ever hope to be with two," Emma smiled proudly.

"I appreciate your confidence in my abilities," he brushed the hair behind her ear with his hook.

"I've seen you in action," she replied, "You're very sexy behind the wheel of your ship, this one and the last."

"Does that mean I'll be able to convince you to sail with me frequently?"

"Absolutely," she nodded, "But I'll probably have to share your time with Henry. He had so much fun this morning."

"Happy to take him aboard whenever he wants to sail," Killian replied, "He's becoming a fair sailor."

"He has a good teacher," Emma replied, "And I appreciate you being willing to spend so much time with him."

"Your appreciation isn't necessary. I enjoy the lad's company," he stated.

"I'm going to appreciate it all the same, but I'm still going to insist that you lay down," Emma nudged him towards the lumpy mattress, "You're still recovering."

"As you wish, Love," he bowed slightly.

TBC…