I'm trying to put some of the events that happened in the show in this story as well, nevertheless, some things will be a little different as you might notice.

So I'd like to say that in this fanfic: Belle never dated Will; Zelena really died; Regina can have children.

If I remember any more important details I will mention.

Happy reading!

… and there was the sea between us again — Sylvia Plath

A week later and Killian's behavior still made Emma uneasy.

She had stopped making questions, hoping that maybe his identity crisis passed and he returned to his normal self but Killian was far from normal and any doubt that Emma had disappeared on one certain morning.

She was lying in bed with her eyes opened, staring at the ceiling for at least an hour. Killian was sound asleep next to her and she was waiting in silence for him to wake up.

These last days he had barely touched her; the only exception was the day he had returned and she had literally jumped into his arms, after that he almost didn't touch her, only small kisses and most of them on her forehead.

He was different; she could feel it and that scared her. The fact that she was slowly losing him scared her, especially because she was feeling now what she had felt when he went on the boat trip that almost killed him. She was feeling that something was about to happen and that she was going to lose him.

She felt the mattress shaking and saw Killian opening his eyes.

"Hi" – she softly said, leaning her head to his so she could reach his lips.

"You're already awake?" – Killian said, moving to a sitting position, preventing Emma from kissing him.

"Yeah" – Emma said, trying to ignore his action – "I was waiting for you … Henry isn't home" – she added.

"I know" – he said, without looking at Emma – "He spent the night at Regina's …"

"Which means that we are alone" – Emma completed his sentence as she moved closer to him.

"You know how David gets when we're late" – he tried to say with a convincing voice but the way Emma was moving her body to his was enough for his voice to betray him.

"I don't care" – she said sitting on his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Well, I do" – Killian said as Emma kissed his neck. Under different circumstances he would tease her calling her pirate or saying something like pillage and plunder so early?

"I'm the Sheriff, remember?" – she teased him, starting to unbutton the shirt of his pajamas – "You're safe with me"

Killian could feel Emma's lips placing kisses along his throat and the side of his neck. The movements of her hips made him forget how to breathe. His head fell back. Oh Gods how he wanted her. He could feel her breath on his lips, suddenly realizing that she was going to kiss him and that would be his undoing; he wouldn't be able to stop so he did the only thing that he could do – he opened his eyes.

"I can't" – he murmured. Emma looked at him in silence for a few seconds and Killian saw in her eyes his own heart breaking. She got out of bed without a word. Before she could reach the bathroom door, Killian jumped out of bed too and reached her arm – "It's not what you're thinking" – he said, trying to make her see that his feelings for her didn't change.

"Actually it is" – Emma said, releasing her arm from his hand – "It's exactly what I'm thinking and … and I don't even know what the worst part is: the fact that you're running away from me or the fact that you don't tell me why …" – she said, walking towards the bathroom, trying to hide the trembling in her voice and the tears that were about to fall.

"Emma, wait …" – Killian said, following her.

"That's all I've been doing lately, waiting for you!" – she blurted, turning her body so she could face him – "Waiting for you to come back from that boat trip that almost killed you! Because you're still there Killian! You're still on the middle of the ocean, far away from me and… and I don't understand why … why don't you come back, why are you pushing me away"

"I'm just trying to…" – Killian tried to explain.

"What has changed?" – Emma continued to say, ignoring Killian's words – "What aren't you telling me? I know that there's something else going on, besides your identity crisis … lately you've been distant, acting like you're haunted by something …" – she added – "You barely touch me"

Instinctively, Killian grabbed her hand and caressed her soft skin.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about" – Emma said, releasing her hand from his – "I know that you're hiding something from me and I need you to tell me what it is so we can fix it" – she insisted.

"Not everything can be solved by talking, by you …" – he yelled, walking towards the balcony door, increasing the distance between them. He had never yelled at her before and Emma realized that he wasn't exactly angry, he was ashamed – "There are things that we can't change; that can't be undone" – he suddenly snapped his head up and turned to look at her – "Things that I don't tell you to protect you"

"Protect me from what?" – Emma shot back.

"I've already said too much" – Killian said, running a frustrated hand across his eyes.

"No you didn't! You didn't say anything!" – she exclaimed.

"Emma, don't …" – he murmured.

"What could possibly endanger me so much that I shouldn't know about it?" – Emma said, approaching him – "What aren't you telling me, Killian?"

"I can't…" – Killian said like he was talking to himself – "This problem is mine…"

"Yes you can …" – Emma said, cupping his face in her hands, making him meet her gaze – "Whatever it is you can tell me. Your problems are my problems. We can fix this" – she added, caressing his cheek.

Killian remained in silence, waiting for the right words to appear so he could tell Emma that everything would be okay again; that nothing was wrong … but the words never came. How could they if they were lies?

The silence was suffocating Emma. She needed to hear him saying that everything was fine; that everything was going to be fine like he always did but instead of that Killian was paralyzed in front of her. He was the one who was good with words, not her.

"We're a team" – Emma spoke again, trying to get a reaction from him.

"Do you remember when I told you what my happy ending was?" – Killian finally said, closing his eyes. Emma just nodded, waiting for him to continue – "I said it was you but … but what if …" – he stopped talking for a few seconds before continuing – "… but what if I'm not your happy ending?"

"What?" – Emma breathed.

She was prepared for anything but that. She was prepared for him to tell her that there was a new villain in town; that there was a new threat; that there was someone threatening them. She never thought that he would say that he wasn't good enough for her; not after all they've been through; not after the life they were building together.

"I want you to have the life that you deserve …" – Killian said, removing her hands from his face – "… even if it's not with me" – he finally said, feeling like he had been stabbed by a knife right into his chest – "Deep down we both know that you're better off without me…" – he added, passing by her, ready to leave the room.

It was better this way. It was for the best. She would be safe. She would be happy.

"Don't you dare walk away from me" – he suddenly heard Emma saying from the spot he left her – "I'm not letting you do that"

Killian stood frozen on the door frame in silence. He could hear footsteps approaching him.

"I love you" – Emma said, grabbing his arm, making him turn his body to her – "Do you hear me? I – love – you. Do you understand that? Do you know what that means?" – she said, feeling the tears rolling down her face – "Answer me!" – she insisted, shaking him.

"Yes …" – he said, his voice barely a whisper.

"So why are you trying to steal my happy ending from me?" – she said.

"I'm just trying to do the right thing" – Killian softly said.

"And leaving me is the right thing?" – Emma asked and suddenly Killian saw, inside her upset eyes, the lost girl; the orphan; the woman who didn't believe that anyone could love her – "Damn it Killian! You're the one who always stays … even when I push you away or yell at you … you always stay" – she nervously said – "When you returned you promised me that I wouldn't lose you. Why are you trying to break that promise?" – Emma said, trying to hide the trembling in her voice – "Because that's what you're going to do if you walk through this door" – she took a deep breath before continuing – "So, unless you don't want to be here, unless you don't lov –"

Emma never had the chance to finish her sentence because before the words could leave her mouth, Killian crashed his lips against hers.

His lips were soft on hers and their bodies seemed to almost sigh with relief at being joined again. Her lips parted and she felt his tongue starting to savor her. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer. She moved up one of her hands so she could feel the skin of his neck. She heard him moan into her mouth and felt a jolt of electricity running through her body.

An eternity later, she felt him release her very slowly. They stared at each other's eyes in wonder until he sighed:

"I don't think I could ever stop loving you, Emma"

Even if they were together for more than a year, the way he was looking at her in that moment made her knees weak. His face was only inches from hers.

"Good" – she finally managed to say, making him smile.

His arms came around her waist and he pulled her very close. She leaned into him, letting her head rest on his chest, feeling his lips on her hair.

In that moment she realized how much she had missed him; how much she had wanted her life back.

She still couldn't believe how he could think that she was better off without him; that he shouldn't be in her life.

The boat trip really messed with his head – she thought.

How could he not see that she needed him in her life, now more than ever … and then a thought invaded her mind. Maybe if he knew what was about to happen in less than nine months he would stop thinking that he was not worthy of her. He needed reassurance so that was exactly what she would give him.

"I need to tell you something" – she said, lifting her head so she could see his deep blue eyes.

Killian raised his eyebrow and waited for her to continue. She was smiling which made him smile in return.

"What is it?" – he asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Emma opened her mouth to speak but the sound of her phone ringing interrupted her.

"Seriously?" – she said, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

"It must be David" – Killian commented.

Emma grabbed her phone and looked at Killian.

"Hi, David" – Emma said and Killian couldn't help but smile at the way Emma said David's name.

The talk was short and as soon as Emma ended the call Killian spoke:

"We're late, aren't we?"

"According to David's watch yes" – she said as she entered into the bathroom and washed her face – "It seems that there are some problems at the mines … Will invaded the place, again"

"Don't worry. He's probably drunk and the Merry Men got tired of listening that annoying song that he always sings when he drinks too much" – Killian said, seeing the way Emma was walking around the room, taking the clothes from her closet.

"Yeah … I know, I was just getting used to lazy mornings, you know?" – she said as she tried to choose one of the many shirts that were now scattered over the bed – "No villains to run after, no curses to break…"

"What if …" – he said, taking from her hands the shirt that she was holding – "… I make you a special dinner tonight so you can relax and tell me whatever it is that you wanted to tell me?" – Killian suggested, sitting on the bed – "I also need to tell you something" – he added, knowing that was about time for Emma to know about all that was happening so they could return to their lazy mornings and David's complaints.

Emma breathed a soft kiss on his lips – "I'd like that" – she said, grabbing her shirt from his hands – "Now get dress, pirate. We're late, remember?" – she added, throwing at him one of his shirts.

Rumpelstiltskin was at his pawnshop looking at the scarf that was on the table in front of him. He was looking at it for almost half an hour, trying to figure it out what had happened. He let his mind return to the moment when Emma had cut her hand and completed the spell that allowed them to know that the men were alive.

Some of her blood was now in the scarf that he had used when no one was seeing. He had cleaned some of the savior's blood so he could analyze it later.

He had felt power invading the room the second Emma's blood started to flow and he wanted to know why but the mystery seemed to be far from being solved.

The scarf that was painted red was now blue.

"How is this possible?" – he said to himself.

Blood was supposed to be red, not blue. Something was really happening and he wanted to know what that something was; he needed to know.

He searched for some old books that could have some information about the relation between blood and magic and put them on the table so he could read them later.

Rumpelstiltskin started to put all the information that he knew together, like a puzzle:

Emma was the savior. The savior was pregnant. The child's father was Killian Jones. Killian Jones was a pirate.

And then of course there was also Milah.

Milah was alive and had magic; Milah had been alive for three hundred years and wanted to destroy him.

None of the information seemed to be related which confused him even more.

Why had the blood changed its color? Why had he felt such an amount of power coming from Emma's blood? Why had Milah decided to appear just now?

"A penny for your thoughts?" – Belle's voice brought him back to reality.

"I was a little distracted, wasn't I?" – he said, putting the scarf in his pocket, before turning his body. He saw his wife smiling at him.

"A little" – Belle said, approaching him – "Is everything alright?"

"Of course. Everything is fine" – Rumpelstiltskin said, smiling at her.

"What's this?" – Belle asked, grabbing one of the books that were scattered over the table – "Blood prophecies" – she read the book's title – "Have you talked with Killian?"

"Why would I talk with the pirate?" – The Dark One asked.

"Well … these last days I've been helping him. He's doing a research about prophecies" – Belle began to explain – "I'm kind of worried about him … He tries to disguise it but I can see there's something troubling him"

"He's been reading books about prophecies?" – Rumpelstiltskin asked intrigued.

"Yeah" – Belle said – "Prophecies about the sea … he also mentioned something about blood made of sea, I think" – she continued to say. After Belle mentioned the word blood, Rumpelstiltskin's eyes popped wide open – "Perhaps you know something that can help …"

"I'm sorry" – he said, taking the book from her hands – "This book only speaks about blood, no sea involved"

"That's okay" – Belle said – "I'm sure he'll find the answers that he's looking for. See you at lunch?" – she said before heading to the door.

"Of course" – Rumpelstiltskin said, smiling at his wife

As soon as Belle closed the door, Rumpelstiltskin opened the book and started to read it.

The answer has to be in here – he thought, especially now that he knew exactly what to look for.

The pirate had been looking for prophecies about the sea when he should have looked for prophecies about blood. Almost all of the prophecies about the sea spoke about mermaids and their chants, sirens, ghost ships, treasures hidden under the sea … but blood prophecies spoke about different stuff; more complex stuff and the Dark One was now starting to put all the pieces together, completing the puzzle that had been right in front of him this whole time, because, as usual, the Charming family had created the key ingredient for villains to perform powerful spells, curses or fulfill old prophecies … and the ingredient was what the world has of more innocent – a baby.

Robin was the one able to put some sense in Will's head and managed to take him out of the mines.

Emma had almost lost her patience when Will decided to use Leroy's pickaxe as a mike and started to sing the most annoying song that she had ever heard but before she could take a step forward and end the singing, Killian grabbed her waist, preventing her from moving. He would not let her go near a drunk guy with a pickaxe in his hand. He put her behind him and started to walk towards Will but then it was Robin's turn to interrupt.

"I have an idea" – he said, touching Killian's shoulder.

Robin grabbed one of the pickaxes that were on the floor and started to imitate Will, singing the same song that the thief was singing.

When Will saw Robin doing the exact same thing that he was doing his enthusiasm grew.

"I can't wait for your bachelor party, mate" – he hysterically said – "It's going to be bloody epic!"

Will started to laugh not noticing that Robin was reaching something from his pocket.

"I was thinking the Rabbit Hole for the party" – Will said and somehow he managed to speak and sing at the same time – "We could hire some strippers … oh, no, no … sorry … they prefer to be called exotic dancers" – he said laughing, putting his free hand on Robin's shoulder – "Shhhh …" – he theatrically said pointing at the other people in the room – "I promise not to tell Regi-"

Will didn't have the chance to finish his sentence because in that moment Robin opened the bottle of water that he was hiding and threw the liquid at Will.

"Bloody hell!" – the thief exclaimed, letting the pickaxe fall.

"Wake up" – Robin simply said – "You're supposed to be at the camp doing your chores"

"Maybe I don't want to do my chores" – Will protested – "The mines are so much more fun and guess what … I'm taller than everyone else" – he added.

"Grow up, Will" – Robin said, shaking his head.

"I don't have to!" – he continued to say – "I'm the taller one, get it?" – he said like he was telling a funny joke.

Robin ignored him and with David's help dragged him out of the mines. Minutes later Will was in his usual cell sound asleep.

Emma and the men were at the station when Henry called Emma informing her that he would spend the night at Regina's again. It seemed that the Mills–Locksley family had planned a movie night, which meant that Killian and Emma would have the house to themselves.

After lunch Killian went home so he could start to prepare their evening.

A few hours later Emma left the sheriff station too with the excuse of go shopping, leaving David and Robin in charge of the town's security.

Once home, Killian started to clean the living room. He wanted the room to be perfect for their evening.

He moved some of the furniture, wiped the dinner table at least three times and eyed the floor almost ten times, looking for any sign of dust. Hours later he began to make dinner, remembering the look on Emma's face the first time he had cooked for her.

She had thought that he was joking when he volunteered to make dinner. He would never forget the surprised look on her face when she tasted the food he made.

Oh my God! I think Granny's just lost a client – he could hear her saying.

He searched for some candles and put them all over the living room.

Dinner was almost ready when he sat on the couch. He was looking at the big wall made of glass that allowed him to see the beach and the waves crashing down on the soft sand. Killian couldn't think of a better place to live as he watched the sun disappear over the horizon with the sea in the foreground. He lightened the candles and waited for Emma to come home.

Emma was at the docks looking at the different boats that were on the water. She didn't waste much time shopping so she decided to spend some of her free time at the docks. She didn't want to go home and disturb Killian and even if she would never admit it she kind of liked it his surprises.

She couldn't stop thinking that in a few minutes she would tell him about the baby; in a few minutes all would be real.

She was trying to guess what would be his reaction.

He would be happy, right? – she said to herself, touching her abdomen – Relax Emma … just breathe.

Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing – she remembered her mother's words.

"I believe" – Emma murmured to her stomach – "We're going to be fine, little one" – she said, realizing that it was the first time that she spoke to the life that was growing inside of her.

She took her eyes from her belly and looked at the sea, seeing the sun disappear in the water, before starting to make her way to her car.

"You must be Emma" – a voice from behind startled her – "Emma Swan, right?"

Emma turned her body so she could see who was talking.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" – she asked.

"I'm sure you've heard stories about me" – the stranger in front of her said with a mischievous smile – "I'm Milah"

Spoiler for chapter 13: Some people believe that the number 13 is an unlucky number.