AN: Thank you for the lovely reviews, as I stated in chapter one; this story is based on the in-between moments from some of my favourite episodes, from seasons 4,5 & 6. This chapter is about Season 4 Ep12 Heroes and Villains. This chapter starts the second that Emma & Snow step off the elevator, there will be dialogue from the episode; plus some in-between moments that we didn't get to see. It will be a two part chapter from Emma's PoV, read and review please; as it would be greatly appreciated, MysteryFan1997
Disclaimer, I do not own any of the characters from OUAT
Ch3 - The Heart Of The Matter Pt1
When we entered the library, my breath hitched in my chest; my mom looked at me, smiling reassuringly. I tried my best to give a reassuring smile of my own, as we entered the elevator; I kept clenching and unclenching my hands, as we made the short journey to the top.
My anxiety levels went through the roof, as we stepped off the elevator; not knowing what to expect, as my mom and I stepped forward. My heart stopped slightly, as I glanced up; I stared at Gold, who then spoke.
"I'm sorry..."
My mom and I looked at each other, knowing that this wasn't going to end well; my breath hitched when he spoke again.
"But I have to do this"
My hand raised, to blast him back; but just as I was about to do so, my mom and I were frozen. My mind raced, as I tried to make sense of what was happening; while I stood here, unable to do anything. I couldn't understand why Gold had his heart, did they make a deal? Was this because of his hand?
I'm the saviour for gods sake, but clearly I'm not a good one; as I can't even stop Rumple-freaking-stiltskin from killing my boyfriend. I really don't want to add Killian to the list of people that I've lost, he told me that I didn't need to worry about him; because he's a survivor.
I gasped slightly when the spell was broken, my body swaying slightly; I peered up, and that's when I spotted Belle. My heart breaking for her, as she used the dagger to command Gold to take them both to the town line.
He looked concerned, good; I'm glad he's concerned, I wouldn't be surprised if Belle banished him. He deserves everything he gets, before they disappeared; Killian glanced down at me, a slight smile on his face.
They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, my breath catching in my chest; he survived, he's ok...So why did I still feel anxious? I turned round to face my mom, who hugged me gently; before whispering.
"I'll see you later, and please don't be too hard on him"
I nodded, as she headed back towards the elevator. I watched as she descended, before turning back; to where Killian was standing, the second I reached him I moved to place my arms around his neck, to hug him.
He shifted slightly, before I moved back; my gaze drifted from his face, to his heart. That's when I noticed it was cradled in his hand, my gaze landed on it; and my eyes widened when I noticed it pulsing, glowing even...how could I not have noticed, that he didn't have his heart?
I stared at him, trying to decide what to say; I uttered his name, just above a whisper.
"Killian..."
I glanced up at him, as he smiled softly; before speaking.
"Emma love...I'm so sorry"
I stared at him, not knowing what to say; he then leaned down to kiss me, but I pushed him away slightly. He looked at me, perplexed; as I sighed softly, trying to sound serious as I spoke.
"No, we can't...not yet; because first things first, I'm going to put this back where it belongs..." I glanced at his heart, which was still cradled in his hand; he handed it to me, I sighed again before continuing speaking.
"Once we've done that, we're going to talk and you're gonna tell me what the hell has been going on"
He nodded, before he spoke.
"I understand love, and you're right; we do need to talk, but like you said first things first..."
He trailed off, while gesturing to his heart; which was now in my hands, I nodded before we made our way towards the elevator. Once we got into it, he placed his arm around my shoulder; and once we left the library, we made our way to Granny's.
His arm stayed around my shoulder, as we entered the diner; Granny greeted us softly, as we made our way to the back hallway. We stopped, my nerves kicked in; as I'd never done this before, what if I mess it up?
I took a breath,
He nodded, before looking at me;
speaking.
"Just be gent.."
I shoved his heart back into his chest, and he grunted; as my shoved his heart back into place, that's when I felt all of my frustration, anger and anxiety dissipate.
I then myself being pushed backwards, as he placed his lips on mine; I leaned against the wall, as we kissed. This was more like it, this is how he kisses.
He pulled away, before speaking above a whisper.
"I told you Swan, I'm a survivor"
I leaned back slightly against the wall, while staring up at him; a slight smile formed on my face, before I took a breath. I needed to know what the hell happened.
I spoke.
"Yeah, but you almost weren't...So tell me, what the hell happened? Why did he have your heart?"
He looked at me, I heard his breath hitch; before he spoke.
"Aye love, but I'm here...thanks to you and Belle"
I spoke, with a slightly warning tone.
"Killian, just tell me what happened..."
"Aye love, I'll tell you everything, but before I do; let's go somewhere a bit more private..."
I nodded, before following him upstairs; and to his room, once inside, we sat side by side on the bed. Our hands entwined between us, he took a breath; before speaking.
"Emma, I want to apologise again; before I tell you, and when I'm finished explaining. I just hope that you can forgive me"
I nodded, silently agreeing; whilst looking at our hands, he cleared his throat before speaking.
"It started the day you asked me to take Elsa to the sheriffs station; well as you know we didn't go there, we took a lock of Marian's hair and paid the crocodile a visit. At first he didn't want to help us, until I told him that I knew that Belle didn't have the real dagger; I knew that he didn't want the truth coming out, so I told him I would stay silent. And that's when he agreed to help us track the Snow Queen, he reversed the spell; and the snowflakes, then led us straight to her..."
He paused, before looking at me; a small smile on his face, I smiled softly. Knowing how this ended, I stared at him; before encouraging him to continue.
He took a breath, before speaking again.
"Well you already know what happened next..."
I nodded again, knowing exactly what happened; that was the day I rescued him from being hit by icicles, and it's also the day that he told me that he was a survivor.
My grip on his hand tightened, as I remembered how close he came to not surviving. I heard his breath hitch slightly, and then I felt the soft pressure as he used his hook; to lift my chin, his eyes bore into mine.
He smiled at me, before whispering.
"You saved me Emma...I survived, because you saved me"
I nodded, before encouraging him to continue.
He did.
"I was so elated when you asked me to go to dinner with you, and I wanted everything to be perfect; so I decided that I would pay the dark one another visit..."
I gasped softly, and he paused; before looking at me again.
"I know it was foolish love, but you have to understand why I did it..." I nodded again, before he continued. "So I let myself into his shop, and waited for him to arrive; and when he did; I told him that I wanted to make another deal, he wasn't interested in doing so. Until I reminded him, that I could have easily told Belle the truth about the dagger; he didn't take to kindly to that, and he threatened to take my other hand...Which was kind of ironic, as that's why I paid him the visit in the first place; I then explained that I wanted my hand restored, so that if our date went well and if you wanted me to hold you...well I wanted to do so with both of my hands, he made some nasty comment on blackmail bringing out my romantic side, and then the next thing I knew; he placed a jar on the counter. It was my hand..."
I shuddered slightly, knowing how creepy that could have seemed. Killian laughed softly, before speaking.
"I know exactly how you're feeling love, trust me; I was slightly vexed when I found out that he still had my hand and when I asked him if he could reattach it, he said that he could. But not without warning me, that if he reattached it; there was a chance that I could become the man I used to be, I thought he was joking...So I told him that I wasn't going to fall for his tricks, and then after a few moments; he restored my hand..."
My head started to spin, as I tried to make sense of what he just told me; I didn't know what to think, but before I could say anything. He open his mouth to speak again, and my gaze drifted back to his face.
He then went on to tell me how he came across Will Scarlet, who happened to be trying to break into the library; my eyes widened when Killian told me that, he punched him.
I spoke.
"So it was you, that gave him the black eye?"
Killian nodded, hanging his head slightly; I used my hand to lift his chin, before smiling at him. Silently encouraging him to finish speaking. He nodded again, before going on to tell me that Gold refused to remove his hand and give him his hook back; and that he used the deal that they made, to force Killian to help him place an old man into a magic hat.
I tilted my head in confusion, because that was around the time that his phone kept going to voicemail; so that's why he was silent, and why it took him so long to get to the sheriffs station. It's because he had just helped Gold trap someone, and why he had his hook back; instead of his hand...
I shook my head, as I focused again; just as he was telling me about the mansion, and why Gold was so eager to help me get rid of my magic. He was going to trap me in that hat, I spoke again.
"So that night at the mansion, when I didn't give up my magic; is that when Gold took your heart?"
He nodded, before speaking.
"Aye love, apparently he needed the heart of his enemy or something of that nature; I wasn't really paying attention, as he was ripping my heart out of my chest..."
I let go of his hand, before speaking again.
"Is that why when you rushed in to check on me, and when you kissed me, and stared at me like you were going to drill a hole in my head? Because now it all makes sense, well kind of; it would also explain why our kiss at the station didn't feel right either. I honestly didn't know that you didn't have your heart, I should have known something was..."
I was stopped, as his mouth landed on mine; in a kiss that was full of warmth, yeah I was an idiot for not noticing sooner. He pulled back, while smiling at me.
He spoke.
"Emma, again I'm sorry for what I'm about to tell you"
I stared at him, before nodding.
"Why, what else did you do?"
He took a breath, before speaking.
"We knew that the spell of shattered sight was looming, so I made my way down to the docks; and Gold was there, he reminded me of where my heart lay. So then he produced the magic hat, and I panicked because I thought he wanted me to use it to trap you...he did't, he wanted me to use it to trap the fairies; because he knew that they were at Granny's, and when I did trap them it meant that the hat would be infused with even more magic...which meant that he could cleave himself from the dagger. We then made our way to Granny's, and then he ordered me to go around the back, and wait. So I did, and then after he managed to get Belle to leave; I made myself known, I trapped the fairies, and then I hid behind the counter...And yes love, I was there when you arrived; but I waited until you left. I knew if you seen me, then it would have made things worse. So I left the diner, and returned the hat..."
I peered up at him again, before taking a breath. He smiled at me, before he spoke.
"He asked me if I had done what he asked, and that's when I reminded him that Belle loved him and that he could have forever and all the power in the world. But that's when he told me that he didn't need to make that choice, and when I asked if we were finally done; he told me that he wasn't ready to relinquish control over me, because he didn't have everything he needed to cleave himself from the dagger. And no he wouldn't tell me what else he needed, but he made it clear that my time was running out; and that's when I decided to go to the station, I needed to see you...Because I thought my time was running out, and when we kissed; I could tell you were hurt, and after we said goodbye I went back to the crocodile's shop, and that's when he ordered me to kidnap your boy...He told me that it was in order to escape from this town, so I did as he asked..."
I moved away from him, before speaking.
"You were going to kidnap my son?"
He nodded, before reaching out to place his hand on my arm; I flinched slightly, before he pulled back. He then spoke.
"I'm sorry love, I had no choice; but when I went to find him, he had locked himself in the mayors office. He had been affected by the spell, the words I spoke weren't mine; if you understand what I'm saying, I needed to sound convincing because I needed Henry to trust me. So I tried opening the door, whilst trying to convince him to come out and go somewhere with me...and that's when he said he was going nowhere with a dirty pirate, which isn't true; because I bathe quite frequently, and he said he never liked and liked me even less now that you and I are together. Unfortunately he wasn't buying it, so I used the spell that I was given; and just as I was about to open the door, I slipped on some tiny glass spheres...and Henry escaped, then as I went to follow him; I came face to face with Will Scarlet, who wanted payback. He tried to hit me, but I stopped him by shoving him into the wall; he fell, and I continued after Henry..."
I stood up, moving off the bed; anger coursing through my veins, Killian stood too. He moved to stand in front of me, but didn't reach out to touch me in anyway; he cleared his throat, before speaking.
"I didn't catch him, he was too quick for me; so I went back to the crocodile and told him that Henry evaded me, unfortunately he wasn't too happy about that. He then went on to mention that the Snow Queen's plan also failed, and then he suggested I enjoy the snowfall; as it was going to be my last..."
I didn't know what to say, so I told him to quickly explain; everything else that happened, because I didn't know how much more I could take.
He looked at me, before nodding; he then sat back down on the bed, and I joined him. Still keeping a small distance between us, he took a breath before speaking.
"When Elsa, her sister and her sisters betrothed; were trying to go home, and we went to the town line and you discovered that the Snow Queen left some residual magic behind?..."
I turned my head slightly to look at him; before I spoke.
"Yeah, why? Please don't tell me that you only knew about the portal because of Gold?"
He looked at me, nodding; before continuing.
"Well I was summoned by the crocodile, I made my way back to his shop; and he had my heart in his hand, he squeezed it and that's when I told him that the Snow Queen messed up the boarder and that meant that when someone crossed it, they couldn't come back. He wasn't too happy about that, but he was willing to do anything; even if that meant hurting Belle, and then he asked about our visitors. I told him that they didn't leave, because they were searching for a portal; again he wasn't too happy, as he wanted Anna gone. As she knew why he wanted to cleave himself from the dagger, so he could leave town with his powers still in tact..."
I got off the bed again, and moved towards the door; leaning against it, creating space between us. I took a breath, before speaking.
"So that's how you knew about the portal, because Gold told you about it; and I'm guessing when you were speaking, it wasn't actually you...it was him?...so that's why you were so eager for me to find the portal and send them home, because of Gold and his stupid dagger? And when you grasped my hand and looked like you were in agony, was it because he was squeezing your heart?"
He nodded, and opened his mouth to speak; I stopped him, before speaking again.
"Killian, why didn't you tell me about the dagger being a fake? Because had you told me, none of this would have happened; I wouldn't have almost lost you, or Henry. You asked me to trust you, but its obvious that you don't trust me..."
He spoke.
"Emma, love..."
I shook my head, before opening the door; and going downstairs, I found myself moving towards the counter. Where I spotted Regina, who looked; well not great, so I moved to sit beside her.
She spoke.
"I'm not in the mood for a hope speech, Emma"
"You're mistaking me for my mother, and besides you don't need a speech; you need a drinking buddy...shots?"
She nodded, before speaking.
"Sure, why not..."
I gestured for two shots, and then I spoke again.
"You know you did the right thing, today..."
She spoke again.
"There it is a hope speech...I thought we were drinking?"
I sighed, before speaking.
"It's not a speech, it's a compliment..."
Regina spoke again.
"I don't need your validations, I know I did the right thing; I know because I'm miserable again..."
I guess were both feeling miserable, I shook my head internally; smiling softly, thanking the waitress as our shots placed in front of us.
I then spoke.
"Well if it makes you feel any better, so is Gold..."
She nodded, before answering.
"It does..."
We then clinked our glasses, only to be interrupted by Henry...I guess this town isn't ready to be quiet...
TBC