Part 2, continuing what was in the last drabble about Emma and Killian running away. There are a few things about Snow and Charming looking, but mostly this is about how Emma's magic manifests itself. Enjoy this accidentally very long installment!

28. Home

Two days at sea was nothing for Killian, but it was more than enough for Emma.

They had set off late that night, sailing through the dark to gain some distance before anyone in the palace realized they were gone. By the time the sun had begun to show itself over the horizon, the two had put a number of miles between themselves and the enchanted forest, and Emma watched her first sunrise on the water with awe.

It was a small boat, but Killian still needed a little help with the sails, so much of that first day was spent teaching Emma. She was a quick learner, and she threw herself into the light workload, Killian knew, so as to distract herself from the sparks or light that he occasionally saw from her hands and fingers. But she seemed happy.

And then night came. Killian was accustomed to sleeping on ships, feeling the waves rocking him to sleep, hearing the soothing ocean lullaby.

Emma, on the other hand, was awake all night; the swaying of the boat was anything but comforting. When the sun rose again the following morning, she was by no means impressed.

"Emma?" Killian said near late afternoon, a slight hesitation in his voice.

"Yes?" she sighed, her voice tired. There were circles visible under her eyes.

Killian cleared his throat. He assumed that the last time Emma had slept was back at the palace, in her own bed, two days ago. "Your...um...hands."

Emma knit her eyebrows together, brain a little fuzzy from lack of sleep, and looked down. "Oh, no," she groaned. Her hands were glowing white, and she hand't even noticed. "How long have they been like that?"

"Not sure," Killian began, rubbing the back of his neck, "I first noticed them this morning but then it went away, came back around midday, went away. They were like that about an hour ago but I figured it would go away again."

"How could I not even have noticed?" she asked, more to herself than Killian. She glared at her hands, willing them to return to normal. The light flickered at first, like a lightbulb, but then it came back, brighter and stronger than it had been before, and even sparking a few times from her fingers. Terror took over Emma's face. "I try to stop it and I only make it worse!"

She made a small choking sound, and Killian knew the most stressful part of her life paired with two days without sleep was a terrible combination. He took three quick steps forward and pulled her to his chest. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around him in response, but refused to let her hands touch his back, instead squeezing his sides with her forearms to communicate how much she needed his comfort.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she admitted, her voice small and afraid.

He smoothed her hair with one hand. "Then we'll find someone who does. We'll find someone to teach you, help you -"

She broke the hug, shaking her head. "I don't mean just with this," she said, holding up her still glowing hands. She indicated the whole boat and the water around them. "I mean with all of this. I don't know what I'm doing. I thought leaving would be the answer but...I think I was wrong."

A surge of hope rose in Killian's chest. "Are you saying you want to go back?" A true man knows his weaknesses, and Killian's was Emma. He would openly admit that if she had wanted to go to the moon, he would find a way to make it happen. But this endeavor in no way had his full support.

"I'm not sure...I think I was trying to run from the wrong thing." Her eyes drifted back down to her hands.

"Can't run from yourself, Love." She looked up at Killian's rueful grin.

But those accepting, clear blue eyes were exactly what she needed to see, and a wave of calmness washed over her. "Let's go home."

And later that night, sitting in Killian's lap, Emma's hands stopped glowing, and she finally drifted to sleep.

"Snow," Charming said, to no avail. His wife's frantic imagination continued to spin tales.

"We've searched the town, the nearby villages, every inch of the Enchanted Forest -"

"Snow," he tried again.

"What if she was attacked, or kidnapped -"

"Snow -"

"- and we'll just have to wait and be useless until we hear something about a ransom!"

Charming ran his hands up and down his wife's arms. She jumped slightly at the contact, having been so focused on her imaginary worst case scenarios. "Snow, please. Believe me, I'm worried too, but this kind of stress isn't going to help her. The whole kingdom is searching. We have to do our best to stay calm."

She nodded her understanding, but continued anyway. "It's been three days."

He pulled her close, tucking her head beneath his chin. "I know, but we can't give up hope. She's smart and she's strong, and it looks like she has Killian will her. They'll take care of each other, just like they alway -"

The door slamming open cut him off. A guard, out of breath, panted, "The princess has returned!"

"Just now?" Charming asked, running with Snow to the guard and following him down the corridors.

The guard nodded. "Yes, she and Killian Jones."

As soon as they arrived at the entrance hall and saw, Snow told the guard, "Send word that Killian is back and safe as well, his family needs to know," and practically flew down the stairs to her daughter, whom she threw her arms around. "You're safe," she breathed, more to herself than anyone else.

Charming wasn't far behind, wrapping an arm around Emma and reaching out with the other to grasp Killian's shoulder. "Are either of you hurt?"

In response to the pair of shaking heads, Snow began to rattle off questions rapid fire. "What happened? Who took you? Where were you? How did you escape?"

"Mom," Emma started.

"Just a name, that's all we need, and whoever it was, we'll find -"

"Mom, no one took us."

The words were loud, blurted out, like ripping off a bandage. And to Snow and Charming, the sting of hearing that their child left of her own accord hurt just the same. Snow looked as if she had been slapped. "Emma," her father said, trying to find words and keep his voice level, "we've been worried sick for three days. We've used every available resource to look for you. We personally searched every inch of the Enchanted Forest. How could you just leave, and how could you drag Killian along with you?"

Of all the things Charming had expected his daughter to say, what she did say was not it. "Because I was scared." Her eyes began to shimmer slightly, and for what felt like the hundredth time in the last three days, Charming and Snow were completely bewildered. "I was doing what I thought was best, and it took me a few days before I realized how wrong I was."

"Emma, what are you talking about?"

Both of her parents caught the uneasy glance their daughter exchanged with Killian, and his nod to Emma was their only hope of soon understanding. Emma breathed a deep, shaky breath, and let her hands glow white. Her nerves and lack of control caused it to flicker, but from the looks on her parents' faces, she knew she had gotten her point across. Words spilled from her mouth and tears from her eyes. "It started after my birthday last week, and I couldn't make it stop or figure out a way to control it, and I read all the stories in the library about magic and destruction and darkness and I thought that if I stayed I would bring that on the kingdom so I convinced Killian to help me run away but I realized that I was wrong because it only made this worse and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you but I was afraid that -"

"Emma," Killian interrupted with a hand on her back, "I think they understand."

Snow remembered a time when she had to kneel to be eye level with her daughter. Now, Emma was almost as tall as she was. "We are your family, and you have nothing to fear." Snow brought a finger up to wipe away Emma's tears. "This will always be your home, and no matter what happens, we will find a way to work through it. Is that clear?" Emma nodded, biting her lip to keep it from trembling as a tear leaked from her mother's eyes. "Good," Snow said before enveloping her daughter in a tight hug.

"We can help you explain to your parents exactly what happened," King David said to Killian, who was initially taken aback by the offer, but very quickly accepted it; it was true that he hadn't given much thought to what he was going to tell his parents.

"I also want to thank you, Killian," the king continued, a sincere tone of gratitude in his voice, "for going with her. I suspect she had to do this, for herself, and she would have left no matter what. You kept her safe and brought her home, and for that, I thank you."

"I always will," Killian replied simply with a shrug before he could really think about it. His eyes popped open as he realized the informality of what he had said. He turned his attention from Emma to King David, almost afraid of what he would see.

But the king was smiling, and there was a note of approval as he said, "I know."

Thanks for reading!