Emma and Killian were almost asleep – they were both pretty tired. One would think that since there hadn't been any villains since Gideon's defeat, things wouldn't be as crazy.
No such luck. Their daughter, who was now six, kept Emma and Killian on their toes. While she was a very sweet little girl, she loved to experiment with magic. That made for some very sticky situations. At times, she was definitely more pirate than princess.
Just as Emma and Killian had drifted off, they heard, "Mommy, Daddy?"
They sleepily and slowly sat up before Emma asked, "What is it, kid?"
"I want a story," Alena responded.
"And what story would that be, love?" Killian asked.
Instead of replying, she ran over to the side of the bed and held up a book. It was the book that Henry had made for her when she born, aptly named the Princess and the Pirate.
Emma and Killian smiled at their daughter before he told her, "Good choice, love."
Alena returned her parents' smiles in response.
Killian then grabbed the book and handed it to his wife before lifting Alena and placing her in his lap.
The dark-haired girl immediately grabbed Killian's hook and brace from the nightstand and put her hand in it.
"Look! I'm a pirate princess!" she exclaimed. It was then that Killian and Emma noticed the tiara on her head.
"That you are," Emma agreed as she stroked her daughter's black curls.
Killian then tried to remove the brace and hook, only for Alena to protest, "Daddy, I want to wear it while Mommy reads the story," furrowing her brows in a way that reminded him of Emma.
Emma then intervened, "We know you do, kid, but we don't want you to accidently get hurt or hurt me or Daddy."
"Daddy wears it all the time," Alena argued.
"Aye, love. That's because I've had it for a very, very long time," Killian explained.
The little girl sighed in response. As Killian began to stroke her hair, he suggested, "How about I wear it, and you can hold on to it."
Her blue eyes lit up as she smiled and told him, "Okay."
He then took the brace and hook and placed it over his stump. Once in place, he wrapped his arm around his daughter, who instantly took the hook in her small fingers.
"You can start the story now, Mommy."
"Sure thing, kid," Emma replied with a smile.
She opened the book and began, "Once upon a time, Snow White and Prince Charming were finally going to get their happily ever after, after years of battling the Evil Queen.
Their bliss, however, did not last long. The Evil Queen, with the help of the Dark One – otherwise known as Rumplestiltskin – was planning to enact a dreadful curse. A curse that would take away the happy ending of Snow White and Prince Charming, as well as the rest of the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest. The curse, which would create the picturesque town of Storybrooke, Maine, in the Land Without Magic, would cause the beloved fairytale residents of the Enchanted Forest to forget their former lives in whatever capacity Regina wished. The curse was said to be unstoppable.
All hope was not lost, however. Snow White was pregnant, and she and David were to have a beautiful baby girl. Born of true love, she would possess the lightest of magic and would become the Savior. Her destiny was to bring back the happy endings of her parents, as well as everyone else. She would do so by breaking the curse with True Love's Kiss.
Her name was Emma Swan.
Emma was placed in a magical wardrobe just after she was born to protect her from Regina's curse. She was sent to the Land Without Magic. The princess's life was far from a fairytale. She grew up in the foster care system, yet it made her strong and resilient. She already knew the pain of being abandoned, and the betrayal by her first love made it difficult for her to trust anyone. However, Emma would still do anything to protect those who needed it…"
Emma was cut off from the story when she felt her daughter's arms wrap around her neck. The six-year-old told her mother, "I'm sorry you was alone, Mommy."
The blonde kissed Alena's head as she told her, "It's alright, kid. It made me who I am, and now I have so many people who love me."
Alena then pulled back and looked at Emma with big blue eyes as she replied, "I'm glad, Mommy," with a smile.
Emma returned her smile in response before Killian stroked his daughter's curls and said, "Alright, love, let's let Mommy read more of the story."
Alena nodded in response, and Emma continued, "When the baby boy she had given away ten years earlier showed up on her doorstep on her 28th birthday, she made the decision to bring him home. Little did she know how much her life would change upon that decision. Little did she know that it would bring her to her own happy ending, surrounded by people she loved. One of which was her True Love, Killian Jones, infamously known as Captain Hook.
After Emma had broken the curse, everyone expected to go back to the Enchanted Forest, but Storybrooke remained in existence.
However, Regina had no shortage of enemies, and it eventually caught up with her. Henry, the son that Emma had given up, had been adopted by Regina shortly after birth, and he was determined to give her a chance. When a monster came after the Queen, Emma, Snow, and David made an effort to protect her. Their valiant effort resulted in Emma and Snow being trapped in the nearly destroyed Enchanted Forest. Here, they formed an alliance with Aurora and Mulan, and the four of them searched for a way back to Storybrooke.
Unfortunately, Emma and Snow weren't the only ones seeking passage out of the Enchanted Forest. The princesses came across the manipulative Cora, the Queen of Hearts and Regina's mother, and the ruthless Captain Hook. Hook was determined to avenge the death of his first love, Milah, by killing the man responsible – Rumplestiltskin, who also took Hook's hand. Hook wasn't going to let anyone stop him – he would do what he had to do in order to kill the Crocodile, by whatever means necessary.
It wasn't love at first sight for the princess and the pirate. Hook had led the foursome to believe that he had managed to escape Cora's cruel and senseless killings. He told them he was simply a blacksmith. Emma, however, prided herself on her "superpower" – being able to tell when anyone is lying. She quickly caught onto Hook's game and held a knife against his throat. She then proceeded to tie him to a tree."
Alena then started to giggle.
Killian tickled her side as he asked, "You think it's funny that I got tied to a tree?"
"Daddy, stop, it tickles!" Alena told him between giggles.
Killian did as his daughter asked before she questioned, "Mommy, did you think it was funny when you tied Daddy to a tree?"
Emma thought over her words for a few moments before she answered, "Well, not exactly. I wasn't sure your daddy could be trusted."
Alena nodded before she looked thoughtful for a moment. She then looked up at Killian and squealed, "But then you falled in love with Mommy!"
Killian couldn't help but chuckle as he told her, "I think you're getting ahead of the story, Alena."
Alena nodded before she turned those bright blue eyes back to her mother, who then continued, "Hook had the same objective as the princesses – finding a way to get to Storybrooke. He would relinquish his ties with Cora, whom he wasn't fond of working with anyway, to attain the compass that would be Snow and Emma's way home. Though the four princesses were wary of the pirate, they realized he was the only one who could lead them to the compass. So, off they went toward the location of the compass – the beanstalk.
After some deliberation, it was agreed that Emma would climb the beanstalk with Hook.
Sparks did indeed fly between the handsome and flirtatious pirate and the closed-off princess, but Emma was afraid to trust him. He was a revenge-driven, ruthless pirate. She couldn't be sure that he wouldn't betray and use her to suit his own needs and get his revenge. He seemed to only care about himself.
But more than that, she was an open book to Hook, and he understood her better than she even knew – Milah wasn't the only person that Hook had lost.
Hook never even had the chance to know his mother – she died shortly after he was born. This left Hook, and his three-year-old brother Liam, to the sole custody of their father, Brennan. Brennan tried to be the best he could for his boys, but the grief of losing his wife was too much to bear. He began gambling more and more, which eventually led to a warrant for his arrest. In order to evade it, he abandoned his sons – now 14 and 11 – on a ship in which he had promised his sons a trip across the realms. He traded them into servitude to obtain a small boat to avoid being caught.
Though Emma wasn't privy to any of this information, she felt that Hook knew what it was like to be left alone. But Emma couldn't – and wouldn't – take a chance of being betrayed again.
So, when the compass had been retrieved, and Hook had been pulled from underneath the rocks that had fallen during the confrontation with the giant, Emma chained up Hook with the intent of leaving him behind. Though Hook's pleas were sincere, Emma couldn't risk it. She promised his safety before going on her way, with the last words being heard were Hook's accented voice calling 'Swan!'
The trip back to Storybrooke was tumultuous. Hook had (reluctantly) gone back to working with Cora, the sting of Emma's betrayal hurting him more than he let on. After helping Cora lock up the princesses in Rumplestiltskin's supposedly unbreakable prison, Hook and Cora opened the portal at the dried up Lake Nosotros. However, their plan was foiled when Emma, Snow, and Mulan had escaped using squid ink. This resulted in a showdown at the lake.
Mulan, armed with a powerful sword, and Snow, armed with her trusty bow and arrow, were up against Cora and her magic. It soon became just Snow and Cora because Mulan was in charge of giving Aurora her heart back, which Hook had taken earlier per Cora's request. Emma was left to face Hook, both ready to do battle with swords.
The intense swordfight resulted with Emma being pinned on the ground by Hook, with no shortage of flirtatious comments from the leather-clad pirate. Things looked bleak for a moment before Emma felt the compass hidden in the sand under her side. Hook was caught off guard, and Emma managed to get on her feet again. She then used the compass to knock Hook out.
Emma was then witness to Cora trying to steal her mother's heart. However, Emma stepped in front of Snow, and learned a lesson that she didn't realize would become so important: love is strength. Cora was blasted back when she couldn't take the Savior's heart, and Emma and Snow were able to go through the portal and make their way home.
Unfortunately, their homecoming was far from peaceful. Cora and Hook managed to find another way to Storybrooke, and chaos ensued from there. Despite her promise to Henry to try to change, Regina was being pushed further into the dark side for the sake of wanting Henry for herself, with Cora's encouragement. Hook made several attempts to rid the world of Rumplestiltskin – even going as far as hurting the Crocodile's love, Belle – one of which ended up with the pirate in the hospital. A mysterious stranger found his way to the fairytale town, as well as Emma's ex-boyfriend and first love, Neal, with his fiancé, Tamara. Neal was also Rumplestiltskin's son and Henry's father.
As it turns out, the mysterious stranger, Greg, and Tamara, were working together to rid the world of magic – or so they thought – for none other than the manipulative and downright evil Peter Pan, unknowingly. They ended up kidnapping Henry and taking him to Neverland per Pan's request.
After the town had been saved from a destructive crystal, Hook had decided to use the magic bean he originally stole to get back to the Enchanted Forest to take a team of Emma, Snow, David, Regina, and Rumple to Neverland. It was no easy task convincing Hook to give over the bean – it took some persuasion from Emma, who reminded him how much alike herself and the pirate really were. This speech brought on memories of a time when he did care for someone other than himself, which served the purpose of ultimately convincing him to stay and help the blonde Savior. So, the team of unlikely heroes set off to Neverland.
For Hook, Neverland was the one place in which he never wanted to go back. Aside from the fact that he had spent over 200 years on its soil trying to find a way to kill Rumplestiltskin, the island held memories of someone near and dear to his heart. Someone he looked up to and admired – someone he strove to be. Someone who was his hero. His older brother Liam.
After their father and abandoned them, Liam took it upon himself to raise his little brother. The elder Jones wanted to give Killian the best life that he could – this included an enlistment in the Royal Navy. Liam had worked his way up to captain, and Killian was his lieutenant. They were sent on a mission for the king to Neverland to retrieve medicine in form of a plant to help cure soldiers in the war. However, Liam and Killian soon became aware that the plant, called Dreamshade, was actually poison, and the king knew of it's true, nefarious purposes. This poison is what killed Liam. Liam's death is what put Killian on the path to ruthless piracy. Killian could no longer condone working for a king whom he held responsible for his brother's death. So, he and the crew took over the Jewel of the Realm, and Killian renamed it the Jolly Roger. For the crew of former naval officers, it became a pirate's life for them."
Emma then glanced up from the story to see Alena wrapping her arms around Killian's waist as she sat in his lap. The dark haired girl then looked up at him and asked, "Daddy, do you miss your mommy and daddy?"
Killian took a deep breath before he answered, "Well, love, I don't remember my mother, and my father didn't do the best job with Liam and I. And when I had the chance to reconnect and do something good for my father and younger brother, I chose not to take it because revenge was more important. But I did see him in the underworld, and it felt like I finally had the father I had always wanted – and needed. I was finally able to forgive myself for how I had wronged him, and he was proud of the fact that I had become the man he wished he could have been for me. I was really happy I was able to see him again, and that we could part on good terms."
Alena nodded in response before she squeezed Killian tighter. The little girl then looked back at Emma with expectant eyes, and the blonde continued reading.
"Present-day Neverland provided a whole host of new challenges. Henry's safety was of utmost concern for everyone involved, but they had different ideas of how to get him back from Pan. This lead to Rumple going his separate ways once the team reached the island. It forced Emma to designate herself as leader, as well as deal with the pain of being abandoned by her parents still caused her. Pan was a master of manipulation, and avoiding his tricks while trying to figure out his plan for Henry kept the group on their toes. They also to dodge the Lost Boys at every turn.
While Hook's knowledge of the island and of Peter Pan were indispensable and his skills with a sword were invaluable, Emma was quick to shut down any flirting he shot her way, which was quite often. She was grateful for his help, but she was nothing more than a pretty face to him – or so she thought. When Emma sacrificed herself to Neverland's seas to make the group get along before stepping foot on the island, he didn't hide the look of relief on his face very well. This was only the beginning of the real feelings that Hook was developing for Emma.
However, Hook didn't realize the depth of those feelings until she kissed him passionately. The kiss was only meant as a response to Hook's challenge – Emma stubbornly refused to let him win. While the kiss quite literally took both of their breaths away, Emma had Henry to focus on, as made evident by her insistence that the kiss was a 'one-time thing' and that it was 'just a kiss'. For Hook, however, the opposite was true. As part of Pan's games, the gang – minus Regina – went to rescue Neal, who they thought had been killed in a confrontation back in Storybrooke with Tamara, from the Echo Caves. In order to rescue him, Snow, David, Emma, and Hook had to reveal their deepest secrets. Hook revealed his feelings for Emma with the following words: 'I never thought I would be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah. To believe that I could find someone else. That is…until I met you.'
Following Hook's admission, he began to realize that perhaps there was more to life than revenge. He promised to win her heart the right way, even though he knew she could go back to Neal. Hook put Emma above all else, and did what he could to help her. And the most important thing to her was rescuing Henry. With Regina and Rumple coming back, and the addition of Tinker Bell, the team was able to save the boy from Pan's evil clutches. They were all able to make it home safely.
However, things are not often as they seem. Pan refused to be defeated and intended on being in charge. He managed to make his way to Storybrooke and planned to unleash Regina's dark curse, making everyone forget who they are, and Pan would be able to rule over them. Just in time, a loophole was found – Regina would offset Pan's curse by undoing it. The only way that was possible, however, was to send everyone back to the Enchanted Forest – except Henry because he was thing that Regina loved most. Since Emma was the Savior, she would be able to avoid the curse, and Regina sent them to a new life, where it would be as if Emma never gave up Henry. The princess hated to say goodbye to her family – especially since she just found them, but she knew it was necessary. Hook's final goodbye was promising Emma he would think of her every day, and his heart broke as he watched her yellow bug cross over the town line and go out of his life forever."
At that point, Alena was sitting with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed. Emma then asked, "Hey, kid, what is it?"
"You didn't get to tell Daddy that you liked him back, and it's all Peter Pan's fault. He was mean," the dark-haired girl huffed.
"Aye, love. That he was," Killian agreed. He then added, "But fear not, love, he was defeated when Rumple plunged his dagger into him."
"I know. But I still don't like him," Alena told her father.
Emma and Killian tried not to chuckle as their daughter asked her mother, "Can we skip to the part where Daddy tells you that he traded his ship?"
"We'd be skipping a good bit of the story, love," Killian pointed out.
"I already know what happened – we can skip it," Alena replied.
"Do you now?" Emma asked.
Alena nodded before she launched into the story, "Daddy found you in New York, where you was dating an evil monkey. He gave a potion to help you remember that you liked him and that you had Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Regina and they was your family. Then you came to Storybrooke, and Aunt Zelena was there except she was mean. But nobody knowed she was mean or how they came back to Storybrooke. But then they found out, and she wanted your magic.
She killed Henry's daddy, and then she cursed Daddy to kiss you and take away your magic. She tried to drown Daddy and you saved him. Aunt Regina then kissed Henry's forehead, and he remembered everybody. Aunt Regina then defeated Aunt Zelena, but she wasn't really defeated. A portal was then opened, and you and Daddy went in the past to fix Grandma and Grandpa's story. There was a ball and you were a princess and Daddy was a prince!" practically squealing on that last sentence.
Both Emma and Killian smiled at their little girl. She absolutely loved hearing this story, and though she wasn't the best with details, she practically knew it by heart.
"Well, kid, I think you've covered it," Emma told her with a smile as she ruffled her daughter's hair.
Alena smiled brightly at her mother before Emma turned a few pages in the book.
Emma smiled brightly as she began, "After successfully getting Snow and David's story back on track, Emma and Hook returned to Storybrooke in the midst of a celebration for Zelena's defeat.
A little while later, Emma sought out Hook and found him at a table just outside the diner. He praised her for being a hero, and she thanked him and pointed out that she couldn't have done it without him.
She also thanks him for bringing her back to Storybrooke and helping her see that it's her home, despite her insistence that New York was the best place for her and Henry. When she asks how he got to her in New York, he tells her his tale. He lived a pirate's life until he heard of a curse.
Ditching his crew, outrunning curses, and sailing the high seas occupied Hook's time until a bird, with a note tied to his leg, landed on the helm of the Jolly Roger. The note had a message that Emma's family was in trouble. To get back to her, he traded something valuable for a magic bean. It was his home, his prized possession, and his gateway to a flood of memories with his brother and his first love.
The Jolly Roger.
There was no doubt of the gratitude Emma felt toward the pirate. But there was something more – Hook never left Emma's side, he believed in her abilities, he understands her like no one else, and he was clearly falling for her. Thought Emma wasn't ready to say it out loud, she was falling for him, too.
And so, Emma poured all that she felt into one amazing kiss. As opposed to the kiss in Neverland, which was pure passion, this one was so much more. It was tender, sweet, and loving – it was the perfect start to a beautiful happily ever after.
The road to happily ever after, however, wasn't paved with all love and happiness. The princess and pirate had quite a few obstacles along the way.
Following their trip to the past, Emma and Hook had unknowingly brought someone back with them – the queen of Arendelle, Elsa, who had ice powers. The gang had agreed to help Elsa find her sister, Anna, and help them find a way home. However, things did not go smoothly. Elsa's aunt, Ingrid, who had also been Emma's foster mother, lived in Storybrooke. She was determined to replace the sisters she had lost with Emma and Elsa, no matter the cost – even if it meant the destruction of Storybrooke.
Despite his promise to be a better man for Neal and Belle, the newly married Rumplestiltskin was up to his old tricks. After Emma had asked Hook on a date, he went to the Crocodile to get his hand back – but it wasn't without a cost. Rumple had told Hook that his hand belonged to the villain he used to be, and as such, would cause Hook to revert back to his villainous ways. However, as it turned out, it was nothing more than a mind trick.
His dastardly ways continued when he began planning to take Emma's magic in order to cleave himself from the dagger. The Savior was having trouble controlling her powers and planned to get rid of them. Rumple told her he would help her and was going to suck her powers in the Sorcerer's hat. Unbeknownst to Emma, she would be sucked into the hat as well. He would have succeeded had it not been for Elsa convincing Emma to embrace her powers and love herself.
Unfortunately, Rumple had a plan b – taking the heart of someone who knew him before he was the Dark One. Hook had showed up to stop Emma and fit the bill. Already under Rumple's blackmail following the hand incident, Hook was now under Rumple's control.
Things looked bleak for the pirate, and it only got worse when Rumple held Hook's heart in his hand ready to crush it to complete the spell to tear himself from the dagger. Emma found out just in time, but she was too late, as Rumple froze her in place. It seemed as if the long life of the pirate was over. That is, until Belle, having found out the truth, showed up and stopped Rumplestiltskin. She then proceeded to force him over the town line.
Back at Granny's, Emma (forcefully) placed Hook's heart back into his chest. With Rumplestiltskin banished from the town, the Snow Queen's selfless sacrifice, and the farewell of the three good friends made in Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff, the town was at peace.
Though Hook was reeling from what Rumple had made him do under his control – trapping the Sorcerer's Apprentice, as well as the fairies in the hat, and the lying to Emma, she assured her pirate that he was every bit the hero. Though she didn't say those three words, her feelings for him were growing stronger.
Building on the momentum of their first date, the princess and the pirate grew closer and soon became inseparable. Emma opened up to him about her time in foster care, but he never pushed her further than for what she was ready.
This continued through the six weeks of peace, with Hook and Emma meeting for morning coffee and walking with their arms wrapped around each other to start their day. Their happiness was clear to everyone.
However, the peace came to an end as Rumplestiltskin made his way to Storybrooke with two more villains in tow – Ursula and Cruella De Vil. Once Maleficent was resurrected from where Emma had defeated her to help break the first curse, the three of them became known as the Queens of Darkness. They, along with Rumplestiltskin, planned to unleash the Author to rewrite the stories where the villains got their happy endings.
The price for making their plan a success? Darkening Emma's heart. It was a race against time to stop this plan. However, things are not always as they seem when it came to the villains getting their happy endings.
Darkness began creeping into the lives of the beloved heroes, starting with Ursula attempting to get revenge on Hook. He had taken away her singing voice, which aided in her falling on a dark path. After a near death by drowning, Hook, with Ariel's help, was able to locate Poseidon – Ursula's father, and he returned her singing voice. She left with him and was able to have her happy ending.
In the aftermath, Hook revealed how close he had come to being to man he used to be, to which Emma assured him that he was able to resist it because he wasn't that person anymore. However, despite how much she had changed as well, Regina still lost her happy ending, and Hook was afraid the same would happen to him.
In some state of oblivion to the depth of Hook's feelings, Emma asked him what his happy ending was. To which Hook responded, "Don't you know, Emma? It's you." If it wasn't before, it was now crystal clear just how much Emma meant to Hook, and he would fight with everything he had to keep her safe, and though Emma wouldn't admit it easily, she would do the same for him.
The darkness continued to unfold when Emma discovered a devastating secret from Snow and David's past. While Snow was pregnant, they discovered that with Emma being the product of True Love, she also held the potential for the greatest darkness. To ensure that this wouldn't happen to their daughter, Snow and David took drastic measures – they placed all of Emma's darkness in Maleficent's daughter, Lily, and sent her to the Land Without Magic. Despite the fact that they weren't aware what would truly become of Lily, it was still because of them that Lily felt as if she never truly belonged.
Emma was furious, and the darkness was creeping on her heart. It became increasingly difficult for Emma to forgive her parents or even talk to them. Things got worse for the Savior when Henry's life was in danger because of Cruella. The fur-coat wearing woman was determined to have Emma restore her happy ending. Things took a nasty turn when Cruella held Henry at gunpoint. Motivated by fear, Emma used her magic to blast Cruella off the side of a cliff, resulting in the villain's death. The gang soon discovered that Henry was never in any danger because Cruella didn't have the power to kill anyone.
Despite her guilt, Emma was still determined to fight the darkness and do what was right – starting with Maleficent. She had come to Emma because in her life before Storybrooke, Emma was a bail-bondsperson. This made her an expert at finding people – including those who didn't want to be found. Maleficent wanted Emma to find her daughter, and despite the protest of her parents (with whom Emma was still upset), she agreed.
So, Emma and Regina set off on a journey to find Lily, all the while worrying about Emma's heart turning dark. Though she was tempted, she was able to resist. They all made it home safely, and Maleficent was reunited with her daughter. Lily wasn't too keen on forgiving Snow and David and put the princess' life in danger.
Meanwhile, Hook had finally managed to convince Emma that though her parents were wrong, they only wanted what was best for her, and Emma forgave them just as Maleficent convinced Lily to start over with her.
All seemed to be well in Storybrooke, that is until, a dying Rumplestiltskin got the Author to rewrite the storybook, a task that Isaac was more than happy to complete. In this alternate universe, Snow White was the Evil Queen, with Charming as her unwilling servant; Regina was the bandit; Rumplestiltskin was a brave and valiant knight known as the Light One; Hook was a cowardly deck hand; and Emma was trapped in a tower, where she knew the truth but was powerless to do anything about it.
Henry, however, was not a part of this story, and managed to travel to this alternate universe, where it was discovered that he was the new author. He finally managed to convince Regina of the truth and was able to rescue Emma with the help of Hook. While Henry was able to right Isaac's wrong, it wasn't without a steep price – Hook's death. The supposed coward had given his life at Charming's sword so that Emma and Henry could escape and return back to Storybrooke.
Watching Hook die made Emma realize that she did love him, and she wanted to tell him so. However, upon returning from the alternate universe, Emma had the chance to tell him her feelings, but she was still afraid. She was also counting on the fact that they had plenty of time together – a fact that did not remain true.
Rumplestiltskin was still dying because the darkness that had consumed him for centuries was eating away at his heart. With the help of the Apprentice, who, along with the fairies, had been released from the hat, they were able to suck the darkness from Rumplestiltskin. The plan was to place the darkness inside the hat so that it could be contained. Unfortunately, since the darkness needed to be tethered to someone, it wasn't able to be contained and went to sought out the next victim – Regina.
Emma refused to allow Regina to lose her happy ending and to be sucked back into the darkness that the Queen had fought so hard against. So, Emma took the dagger and tethered herself to the darkness. Emma Swan was now the name written across the dagger – she was now the Dark One. She told Hook that she loved him just before the darkness took her away.
And so began the long and painful journey back to ridding Emma of the darkness. It took them from Storybrooke, to the Enchanted Forest, and finally to Camelot. The key to destroying the darkness was reuniting the dagger with the blade from which it came – Excalibur – with the retrieval of the Promethean Flame, which would secured by a showdown with the first Dark One. After being released from his prison within in a tree, the wizard Merlin was more than happy to assist Emma, as well as her family – he understood the feeling of losing someone you loved to the darkness.
While Merlin was more than happy to assist, King Arthur pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. He seemed eager to help, but the reality was that he wanted to reunite the blades for the purpose of making Camelot prosperous. His power as king had truly gone to his head. Fortunately, the heroes had managed to get Excalibur from Arthur and set forward with their plan.
It was more important than ever for Emma to succeed, with the darkness becoming harder and harder to resist. She had already chosen a dark path in order to complete the spell to release Merlin from his wooden and leafy prison – she had taken the heart of Henry's first love, Violet, and commanded her to break his heart. It had also been difficult for Emma to move forward with this plan because of her feelings for Hook. Though she had only admitted them because she thought she wasn't going to see him again, she realized that she did want a future with him.
That future, however, was soon put in jeopardy. As Emma was preparing to reunite the blades, Hook fell to the ground from a fatal wound – he had been cut on the neck by Excalibur during the scuffle with Arthur. Though Hook pleaded for Emma to let him go, she refused to lose the man she loved.
To protect their future, Emma did what she had so desperately been trying to avoid - giving herself completely to the darkness. In order to save Hook, she turned him into the thing he hated most in this world - the Dark One.
Once Emma and Hook had found each other, they planned to rid themselves of the darkness together. Unfortunately, Rumplestiltskin, in the form of a voice inside Hook's head, had gotten to the pirate first. For Hook, the pull of the darkness was too powerful for him to resist. His ultimate goal? Getting his revenge on Rumplestiltskin once and for all.
He began putting his plan into action while still in Camelot. He did so by enacting the dark curse. Since one dark one represented the desire of all dark ones, and Merlin's love - Nimue - was the first dark one, Hook crushed Merlin's heart to complete the curse.
Fortunately, Emma caught him just in time. Though she tried to stop him, he was too far gone. However, she was able to add a memory potion to the curse so that no one - including Hook - would know what really happened in Camelot. Emma was the only one who knew the truth, and she was determined to make things right - on her own.
The following weeks in Storybrooke were chaotic to say the least. Emma was tightlipped about what happened in the six weeks in Camelot and everyone was desperate to figure it out. They were unsure of her ultimate goal and were anxious about what she would do next. She was no longer able to control her darkest impulses and hurt everyone she cared about.
After Hook had retrieved his memories and discovered the truth – to Emma's disappointment –
the blonde revealed the truth to her family. They then set off on a mission to stop the vengeful pirate.
As part of the ultimate vengeance and to make Emma pay, he brought all of the past dark ones to Storybrooke. They marked Emma's family – this mark would send all of them to the underworld.
Hook's plan was underway when he was reminded of the man that he wanted to be – a man of honor. Emma once again pleaded with Hook, and it was the sight of her being choked by Nimue that was the final piece of Hook's decision.
He contained all of the darkness and all of the power of the dark ones into the reunited blades. He then made the decision to make the ultimate sacrifice. He asked Emma to lunge Excalibur into him – through his death, the darkness would be destroyed. Emma's heart was breaking as she considered the task before her. A tearful goodbye and one final "I love you" were exchanged before Emma thrust the sword into Hook. Tears flowed freely as Hook died in Emma's arms. She had to be ripped away as they wheeled his body away."
At that point, Emma had to stop reading for a moment. Despite the years that had passed, she never failed to become emotional when she came to this part of the story.
She instantly felt Alena launching herself into her arms as the little girl wrapped her arms around her waist in a tight hug.
"It's okay, Mommy. Daddy is right here."
"I know, kid. It's just that these memories are painful," Emma told her as she stroked her daughter's hair.
She then felt Hook's arm wrap around her and his lips press up against her temple. She pulled away from her husband and daughter and gave them both a bright smile, which they happily returned.
Emma then saw her little girl yawn, and she told her, "I think it's your bedtime, kid."
Alena protested, "I'm not sleepy, Mommy. And we have to finish the story." Even though she had heard this story many times, Emma and Kilian knew there was no point in trying to talk her out of hearing the rest of it.
So, Killian suggested, "How about I give you a shortened version of what happened next?" Alena furrowed her eyebrows in thought for a few moments before she nodded in agreement.
Killian took a breath and began, "Shortly after my sacrifice, your mother discovered that my death had been in vain – that is I died for no reason. You see, the blo.." he stopped himself from finishing the word when he received a glare from his wife. He scratched behind his ear before he covered quite smoothly, "the bloke of the Crocodile once again proved that power is more important than anything else. As it turns out, the darkness I thought I had destroyed was actually simply moved into Rumplestiltskin – he now had the power of all of the dark ones. Once Emma found this out, she told him that if he didn't help in bringing me back to the land of the living, she wouldn't hesitate to tell Belle everything. And so, Rumple, your mother, Aunt Regina, Uncle Robin, Grandma Snow, Grandpa David, and Henry all went to the underworld to save me.
However, it was no easy task. Hades – the ruler of the underworld – was no man to be trifled with. It would require quite a feat to defeat him, and bring me back, but I knew your mother could do it – even though I told her to let me go. But she never listens," Killian shot Emma a teasing grin on that last part, to which she responded with a shake of her head.
"Anyway," Killian continued, "Emma managed to rescue me, and she began to put forth her plan of us sharing a heart like Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, Hades had other ideas and trapped Emma, Aunt Regina, and Grandma Snow in the underworld. But they weren't giving up that easily. Along with finding a way to defeat Hades, we had discovered that we could help others move on to a better place, and we all played in part in making that happen for our friends and family who had the misfortune of being trapped in that awful place. We were able to help them move on – including your Uncle Liam.
But the time then came to bring me home. As there was a problem with the heart split, we had to resort to plan b. Your mother and I had to travel to the deepest part of the underworld to retrieve a special plant to help us – it would only work if we were declared True Love, which we were. Unfortunately, it had been one of Hades' tricks, and there was no plant. So, your mother had to leave me in the underworld, and we were once again separated.
But all was not lost. While Hades was in Storybrooke wreaking havoc, myself and a surprisingly helpful King Arthur were able to find a way to defeat Hades. As a reward, Zeus – the king of the gods – sent me back to Storybrooke and to Emma.
The town was safe, it was peaceful, and we were blissfully happy. Unfortunately, a new threat came along in the form of Rumple and Aunt Belle's son – Gideon. Aunt Belle had sent him away as a baby to protect him from Rumple, and he came back as an adult with a vengeance and to destroy Emma. It was said that Saviors couldn't get happy endings, but as your mother so often does, fought back tooth and nail. But she didn't do it alone – as you know, Alena, you are the product of True Love. You are what saved us, my darling. As your mother was in the midst of fighting against Gideon, I was protecting you and keeping you safe. When I kissed your forehead it was True Love's Kiss, and the weapon that was to be the cause of your mother's death was destroyed. Aunt Belle placed Gideon inside Pandora's Box.
Your mother and I had finally gotten our happy ending – we had our family, we had each other, and we had our beautiful little girl. Six months later, our family shared in our happiness when we married – it was one of the best days of both of our lives. And like all good fairytales, we all lived happily ever after. The end."
Alena offered her father a bright smile as she observed, "I love you and Mommy's story."
"So do we, kid. It may have taken a number of curses and villains, but your Daddy and I couldn't be happier," Emma agreed with a smile.
Killian then added, "Alright, my little pirate princess, it's time for you to go to bed. Come on, then," as he scooped her up in her arms. He knew she was tired when she didn't try to fight to be let down.
Emma wished her daughter goodnight and kissed her forehead before Killian got up and made his way toward Alena's room.
As soon as Killian laid down his daughter in her bed, she immediately poofed her favorite stuffed animal from the shelf to her arms.
Killian raised an eyebrow at her as he told her, "I could have handed the swan to you, love."
"I like my magic, Daddy," Alena pointed out.
Killian had to refrain from the eye roll and the shake of his head before he bent down to kiss his daughter's forehead.
"Good night, Alena," he told her.
"Good night, Daddy," Alena responded before rolling over on her side.
As Killian began walking away, he once again heard her voice, "Daddy?"
He turned around and asked, "Yes, love?"
"Was you happy that Uncle Liam got to go to a better place?"
Killian raised an eyebrow before he moved to sit down at the foot of her bed. He took a deep breath before he replied, "Of course I was, love. I miss him, but I know he's happy where he is. I loved him very much."
"Even though he wasn't nice to Mommy?" Alena asked.
"Well, love, Uncle Liam only wanted to protect me. He wasn't able to see that Mommy was good for me because he was so focused on still taking care of his younger brother. Does that make sense, Alena?"
She furrowed her brows for a second before she nodded. Killian thought that she would then go to sleep, but she had another question, "Do you wish that Uncle William stayed here?"
"His life is at sea, love. I understand that better than anyone – while I made the decision to stay here, William's life is being Captain Nemo's first mate. Nemo is like a father to William. He wouldn't want it any other way," Killian explained.
Alena nodded once again. Curious, Killian then asked, "Where are these questions coming from, love?"
"They're your family, Daddy," Alena answered simply.
Killian smiled at his little girl before he responded, "You are my family, as well, love. You and your mother and Henry, as well as your grandparents and aunts and uncles. I am perfectly happy, love."
Alena then offered him a bright smile before she sat up to hug him.
"I love you, Daddy," she said against his neck.
"I love you, too, Alena," Killian responded before he kissed her head.
As they pulled away, he told her, "Alright, love, you really need to go to sleep, now. It's past your bedtime."
"Okay, Daddy," Alena responded. She then crawled back underneath the covers. Before she snuggled underneath them, she snapped her fingers and the lights went off. She then rolled back on her side and held her stuffed swan close to her. Within a couple minutes, she was sound asleep.
Killian watched her sleep for a few minutes before returning to he and Emma's room. He found his wife reading the storybook.
"Is our tale that enchanting, love?" Killian teased. Emma rolled her eyes in response before placing the book on her nightstand.
Killian then crawled into bed and undid his brace once again before placing in on the nightstand beside him.
As Emma snuggled close to his side and fingered the wedding band around his neck, he could tell she was thinking. He took a breath before he asked, "Everything alright, love?"
She sighed before she admitted, "It's just that, you know, sometimes I think that one day I'll wake up and all of this will be dream. Even after six years, I feel like I'm waiting for the next villain to come and all hell will break loose."
Killian pondered her words before he told her, "Well, Swan, I can't say the same hasn't crossed my mind, but this is no dream, love. We are each married to love of our life, and our beautiful little girl is sleeping right next door. Henry is at college hoping to pursue a career as a writer. Your parents visit all the time with your little brother, as does Regina and Robin with Robyn. We're a family, love. We're happy. After years of fighting curses and monsters and villains and death, we all got our happy endings. And it's going to stay that way."
Emma considered his words before she looked up at him and smiled. She then teased, "Who knew that Captain Hook would have such wise words of wisdom?"
"Certainly not anyone in this realm, with that blasted Peter Pan movie designed for children. It's a bloody disgrace, Swan," Killian retorted.
Emma couldn't help but laugh before she told him, "I do have to say I prefer the real version of events. If it hadn't been for our adventure in Neverland, who knows how long it would have taken us to get together – or even if we would have."
"Oh, love, believe me, that wouldn't be a concern," Killian began. He then smiled and continued, "As I've told you before, love, I would have gone after you, and I also believe that fate would have been kind to us. We are True Love after all."
Emma returned his smile before she told him, "I love you, Killian."
"And I love you, Emma," Killian responded.
Emma then got up to go turn out the lights before crawling back into bed. She then surmised, "We better hope we get a good night's sleep because Alena will be up in the morning trying to make pancakes using magic."
Killian chuckled before he pointed out, "You're the one who agreed to letting Regina train her once she started school, love."
"Yeah, well, you didn't do anything to convince me otherwise," Emma retorted.
"Who am I to talk you out of allowing our daughter to explore her full potential?" Killian responded with a smirk, using the words that Emma had used to convince him.
Emma rolled her eyes before she told him, "You are incorrigible, and Alena is so much like you until it's ridiculous."
"Perhaps, Swan, but you love the both of us, and you wouldn't have us any other way," Killian told her, his voice laced with sincerity.
Emma let out a breath before she agreed, "I absolutely wouldn't," with a smile. She then added, "I wouldn't trade my life for anything in this world."
Killian smiled at her words before he leaned over to give her a goodnight kiss.
Both of them were soon asleep, dreaming about their journey that started so long ago – the flirtatious and handsome pirate and the closed-off princess. No one, least of all them, would expect them to fall in love and live happily ever after. But in the words of Snow, "If people are meant to be together, they find a way."
A/N: I know that their story was a bit simplified, but there a reason for that. Aside from the fact that is entirely too complicated to include all of the details, this story was meant to be for a child.
I also realize that exact dialogue wasn't really necessary within their story, but I really couldn't help it. His Echo Cave confession and him telling Emma that she's his happy ending are some of my FAVORITE CS scenes ever!
Even though Liam is dead, Hook obviously still talks to Alena about him. However, we also have to consider Hook's younger, half-brother – whose name is also Liam. Since that makes things complicated and confusing, I just pretended that "Liam" is short for "William", and that is what the youngest Jones is called.
Aside from the Gideon speculation, I hated to just make stuff up when it came to Hook and Emma's story. However, I wanted to show how Hook and Emma truly are kindred spirits. But when it comes to Hook's childhood, there's a lot we don't know – i.e. what his father was arrested for (if they did say it and I missed it, that's my bad) or what happened to Hook's mother. We'll probably never know the answer to these things, but for the sake of the story, I added what is a likely explanation by using the past I made up for Killian in a Lieutenant Duckling Story. I also put Brennan in the underworld because I needed Killian to have real closure for killing his father – I know that the reunion and working things out with Liam 2 seemed to do that, but still needed that to happen on the show. Even as Papa Jones was dying, he still believed that Killian could change, and I wanted him to see that Killian had changed. So, I made it happen.
Also, y'all may have noticed how I painted Liam in a good light, and that is because my opinion of him did not change following "The Brothers Jones". Just as Hook told Emma at the end of that episode, everything that Liam did was to ensure that Killian had a future. Liam's only goal was protecting his brother – both in the deal with Hades and with how he treated Emma. I may not agree with what he did, but I understand where he was coming from – I can't fault him for trying to do what was best for his brother – it came from a place of love. I understand if you don't feel this way, and it really doesn't matter to me if you don't agree with me – you have a right to your opinion. But I do ask that keep any hate to yourself. :)
So sorry for all of these notes, but I do hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot! Thanks for reading! :)