IMPORTANT: If you read this story prior to October, 2024 — you need to re-read the past 12 chapters before proceeding; the story and its events are different. If you're reading this for the first time in / after October (2024) then you're all good, and can skip the note below.

Author's Notes: In 2018, I took a hiatus from uploading new content as RL got in the way. My writing has improved and I have fresh ideas about the stories I'm telling. I've since overhauled my plans, and created this new version of The Way Home. I love this story, and I'm excited to be back with new chapters for you on a regular basis. A heartfelt thanks to all who continued reviewing; never doubt the impact you have on a writer.

I also now have a Discord server, for those who are interested — link is in my profile. A new video is also being made for this story, to be released in the (hopefully) near future. Enjoy!

~ Princess & Pirate ~

Emma stared up the foreboding beanstalk, endlessly twisting into oblivion — much like her emotions. Behind her — David, Mulan, and Aurora argued over who would be climbing it with Killian. Even Ava got in on the debate, and was promptly shut down by everyone.

'It's me. I'm going, and I'm not gonna fail,' Emma said.

Ignoring David's protest, Killian slipped the enchanted cuff onto her offered wrist. Her eyes were drawn to him by habit, and his met hers in turn. He didn't react in the slightest to her being the one to join him, as if it was expected that they'd go together.

'It's about getting back to Henry,' she reminded David. 'I don't care what I have to face. It's a done deal, okay? I'm doing this.'

David huffed, crossing his arms in reluctant acceptance. He wanted to argue further, but her mind was made up and the cuff was already in place.

'Anything in that bag that's gonna help me with a giant?' she asked Mulan.

'Or Hook?' Mulan added.

'Hey,' Killian said, offended.

'I can handle Hook.' Emma rolled her eyes, ignoring the way her father squinted as if catching her in the lie. Killian's deviously-raised eyebrow didn't help matters.

Mulan gave her a sack of powdered poppies, and grudgingly returned Killian's hook as he couldn't climb one-handed.

'Please don't go.' Nicholas hugged Emma tight — his face pressed to her shirt, eyes damp in fear of losing her.

'Hey, kid.' Emma loosened his grip enough to crouch in front of him. She held his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. 'I have to do this, for Henry. For our family. I need you to have faith in me, okay?'

Nicholas nodded, retreating to hold Ava's offered hand.

'Mom.' Ava gave her a stubborn look. 'You have to come back, okay? We're not leaving without you.'

'Quite the little spitfire, isn't she?' Killian said.

Emma ignored him, though couldn't resist a smile. Determined as she was, she couldn't promise anything so simply nodded at Ava. She shared a glance with David, surprised to see his concern. Right. Of course he was. She was his daughter.

That played on her mind as she and Killian began the climb, but the quiet felt weird even with having to concentrate on the twisting limbs of the stalk.

'Can you believe, after all our adventures together, that this is our first beanstalk?' Killian quipped. 'You never forget your first.'

Emma sighed, grabbing another handhold. She shot him a look, but averted her gaze when he stared back.

'Who's Henry?' he asked.

'My son,' she said.

'Bloody hell, Emma.' Killian hooked a vine. 'How many are there?'

'They're triplets, so three.'

He grinned. 'Quite fertile, aren't you?'

'Seriously?' She shot him an annoyed look, tempted to reverse the comment since he was the father — but that was not the way for him to find out.

Killian chuckled, continuing the climb. Smug bastard.

'What happened to your hand?'

That wiped the smile off his face.

'It's a long story,' he said, evasive.

'It's a long climb,' she added. 'Has it got anything to do with why you want to get revenge on Rumpelstiltskin?'

'Aye.' He paused, staring intently at the vine in front of him.

Emma stopped too, catching her breath.

'Killian, what happened?' She watched him, her chest tight at his pained gaze. 'Did he take more than your hand from you?'

'Perceptive, as always.' He managed a half-smile, then adjusted himself on the beanstalk to face her. 'There was a woman, Milah. We had a mere dalliance, but... I lost her. He crushed her heart, and took my hand. I spent every moment since seeking revenge.'

She looked away, pretending that didn't sting.

'Did you love her?' Emma asked, before thinking it through. She didn't want to know, but it was too late.

'I cared for her,' he said, studying her. 'But no, not like how I loved you.'

Breath stuttering, Emma stared at him — trying to catch his lie. His gaze bore into hers, vulnerable and allowing her to see the truth. He had loved her? Past tense was noted, but emotions still flooded up her throat — and she almost wavered her grip on the vine keeping her safe.

Blinking back tears, she didn't know what to do. How was she supposed to respond to that? After all those years of being alone, of missing him, and of thinking...

She set that aside, unwilling to face it. Emma grabbed another vine, hoisting herself higher as her only means of putting distance between them. He nodded, disappointed as he resumed the climb. It made her feel worst, but Emma couldn't put into words her own feelings — despite how certain she was earlier.

It was all too much.

Emma glanced down, shuddering at how high up they were. There was magic involved somehow, as no way a human was capable of climbing what seemed like a thousand miles — especially when they hadn't been climbing for long.

'Have you really been to Neverland?' she asked.

'Aye.' Killian eyed her. 'How'd you know that?'

'Stories. About Captain Hook, I mean.' She reached for another vine. 'I didn't know they were about you.'

They continued to climb — both talking along the way, but neither really saying anything. It was the most privacy they'd been granted since reuniting, and it was going to waste. Emma had so many questions. She needed answers, if only she wasn't afraid to hear them.

Killian sighed, pausing again.

'Ask me,' he said, not looking at her.

Emma secured her grip, and leaned to the beanstalk. He'd always said she was something of an open book, at least to him. Too bad she wasn't so transparent that it spared her having to say it aloud.

'Where's Liam?'

The heavy shift in his expression confirmed her regret in asking that.

'He died,' Killian said, focused on a vine. 'A few years after we...'

The news was a punch to gut, as was the timing of when it happened. Killian mentioned Neverland and a deadly poison, but Emma barely heard him. Liam was gone. Not only that, but she couldn't comfort Killian when it happened; he'd had to face that alone.

But also, Liam died. He was always kind to her, even allowing her on the ship when there were rules against that sort of thing. He taught her about sailing, and got them out of whatever trouble they'd fallen into. Liam never asked anything about Emma — he just accepted that she was a part of Killian's life.

Surprising them both, Emma struggled to fight back tears.

'It was a long time ago,' he said, as if that was meant to console her.

'Killian...' She shook her head. 'I am so sorry. That it happened, and that I wasn't there for you. I had no idea.'

'You never returned.' His tone was bitter, yet he avoided continued talk of Liam's death. 'Why?'

She never saw him again. Why?

Emma looked up the beanstalk, her arms aching from hanging on for so long. With a shaky breath, she led the way to resume their climb. The sooner they reached the top, the easier the ordeal would be.

Killian scoffed, and grabbed another vine.

'I'm not avoiding the question,' she said, at his look. 'It just doesn't make any sense. We are both angry here, Killian. I can't help but wonder if maybe we also both got it wrong. Maybe it wasn't our fault.'

They arrived at the top, with tense air between them. Killian wouldn't look at her, and Emma was at a loss of what to think about everything. Liam was gone.

'Do you still have the ship?' was a safer bet. 'The Jewel of the Realm, right?'

Killian nodded. 'Same ship, now sailing as the Jolly Roger.'

'You're a pirate,' she said, unsure how she felt about it — though doubted the Captain Hook stories were even close to accurate.

'Aye, that I am.' He nodded, then cast her an amused yet hesitant look. 'And you're a princess.'

'What?' Emma scoffed. Oh right, she was. 'I guess so. How'd you know?'

'Your father.' Killian said, giving the giant castle and area a cautious glance — not forgetting where they were or why. 'David has all the signs of royalty. It seems you found them, your family?'

'Yeah.' She checked herself over, wincing at her bruised shoulder. 'They were under Regina's curse.'

Killian nodded, understanding enough of that tale to fill in the blanks. The topic of family was never an easy one, but the moment presented Emma with an opportunity to reveal another parentage. They were alone now, and yet the words wouldn't come out.

She let the moment pass.

Even after luring then knocking out the giant, Emma fought with herself. Who knew when she'd get a chance like this again — especially with this kind of privacy, even amidst towers of golden coins and mountains of treasure. The search for the compass, in a room of shining temptations, was enough to distract a pirate but her heart was hardly in it.

She wanted to tell him. Needed to, really. And the resistance grew — she was too scared and vulnerable. Those were familiar for this new Emma, but foreign around him. Killian was always safe, but had too much time passed?

'Wait.' Emma lunged forward, spotting the trip wire. She grabbed him round the middle, pulling him close. He flooded her senses, and his warmth pressed to her as he adjusted his hand on her back to steady them. For someone so often at sea, he was always warm.

Their eyes met and no, the passage of time wasn't a match for this. Neither moved, afraid to even breathe this closely together. His touch was light; hesitant. Her eyes blurred with tears, and she tried to pull away — but emotions reflected back at her. The uncertainty, yet the relief.

So instead, she pulled him in. Their embrace was desperate, but a warm blanket. She released a heavy breath, and tucked her face to the crook of his neck. His grip tightened with both arms, wrapping her close.

This was the real reunion. This was what she remembered — his scent, the shape of them together, and the quiet reassurance. Yet woven in it was the reminder that this was also what she'd lost. Seeing him again, like this — Emma had never missed him more.

She tore herself away, unable to look at him. Furiously wiping aside tears, Emma mumbled an excuse about finding the compass. She poured herself into the task, then of course the giant had to wake up and cause more problems.

As the ground shook and rocks crumbled down, there wasn't time to think of anything than the immediate moment. Killian got trapped under some debris, and the giant thundered towards her. Instinctively, Emma waved her hands — causing nearby strips or chains of metal and gold to bind the giant, then bring him to the ground.

Nothing was ever easy. Yet somehow persuading the giant, Anton, and getting the compass felt relatively minor — compared to what she was yet to face with Killian.

She raised her hands, concentrating to remove the binding. It didn't work, not that Anton believed she was really trying. Emma huffed, and turned on her heels towards the cause of her distraction.

'You okay?' Emma reached among the pile of rocks, and helped Killian out.

'Aye.' Killian grinned, relieved to see her — and impressed with her magical handiwork. 'I always suspected you had magic. Though I'm not surprised, with you being the daughter of true love.'

Emma hesitated, staring at her own hands. 'It's complicated.'

'It's alright, love.' Killian dusted himself off. 'Your secret's safe with me. The compass, may I see it?'

Offering it for a brief glance granted her some misdirection, to shackle him to the wall. Killian stared at the chain for a moment, then shot her a far less friendly look.

'You're leaving me here?' he asked, bitterly. 'Again?'

She was unable to meet his gaze at the question, but her thoughts finally caught up to her emotions.

The hurt in his tone and face exposed what was on his mind. He believed she'd left him all those years ago, and that was why he never saw her again. That was supposed to be her line. Maybe they really had both gotten it wrong.

'I was hoping to see you here,' Emma admitted, staring at her boots. 'I've been trying to find you, but it turns out I can fail in that.'

'You're here now,' he said with an annoyed quip.

'I never realised it was the Enchanted Forest,' she said, forcing herself to face him. 'And in my world, there was no magic.'

Killian frowned, his gaze desperately searching hers for any sign of hope on his part. He could read her far too well, and Emma let him. Because she didn't know what to do or what came next. All she knew was that it hurt, and not only was there too much to process — but there was also too much at stake.

'Emma, why do this to me now?' he pleaded, rattling the chain. 'The beanstalk, the compass... what of our history? You trusted me once, love. After everything we've been through, could you not grant me one more chance? I swear to you, I am on your side.'

If she left him there, he wouldn't die. She'd just have a head start, if she had to. But it was selfish, and she had no right to do that. As much as she dreaded him knowing the truth, she'd realised that the only way forward was to sacrifice herself. She had to put their children first.

'You asked me, earlier...' Emma shakily kept it together. 'It's been about eleven years since I last saw you. Since our night together.'

She could see his thoughts coming together, as he did the math and realised what she was telling him. But while she'd rather avoid it, Emma knew she had to say it aloud. For herself, and to not leave any chance of a misunderstanding.

'The kids are yours. Ours.' She nodded. 'All three.'

'I suspected,' he stuttered, face a bit pale. 'But I didn't dare believe...'

Before he could get much further, Emma cut in while she still had her nerve — knowing that he was shackled in the literal sense, while her shackles were made of her own guilt; they had no choice than to confront the worst of it. That however he reacted, and however much it hurt, neither could run from it right now.

'When I found out I was pregnant, I was in prison.' Emma kept her tearful gaze on her boots. Hands shoved in her pockets to keep them from shaking, she surrendered what she swore she'd never tell him. 'My world isn't like this one; there was no escape. I couldn't care for them where I was, so I gave them away to those who could. I had to give them their best chance.'

She and their kids were together again now, but he'd seen that. Despite all those years of fearing this exact moment, Emma somehow dug deep to not fall apart because it wasn't over yet.

As the air fell quiet, she lifted her gaze to face the consequences.

Killian went through a range of emotions, easily displayed on his face — the shock, awe, and anger, of which Emma knew all too well. When Henry showed up on her doorstep, her first conflict was guilt. The look on his face was something else. It reminded her more of her younger self — the seventeen-year-old Emma who sat in her cell, staring at the little stick that changed everything.

'Can you forgive me?' she asked, hating the quiver in her voice.

'You were imprisoned, alone, and with child.' Killian shook his head, tears in his own eyes though he couldn't meet hers. 'You did what you had to.'

He was here now. They both were. Things could be different, if only she could believe that. Emma wasn't convinced by his answer, yet the reaction she'd feared didn't happen. Though his lack of anger or blame didn't dissolve her guilt, it did make it lighter. Henry understood why she gave them away; perhaps he was more like his father than she'd realised. She carefully made eye contact, and everything else stripped away.

'I will let you go if you tell me the absolute truth,' Emma said, ignoring the lump in her throat as she dared to hope. 'Convince me I can trust you, Killian.'

'It's hardly trust if you need convincing, love.' But he didn't miss a beat. 'I thought you'd long since died. I changed allegiances from Cora the moment I saw you again. I swear to you, Emma, especially now I know about them, that I'll do right by you — all four of you. Our family. We won't let them grow up the way we did.'

Emma turned her back to him, her heart racing and thoughts muddled. She stared at the compass Ava brought, her gaze fixed to the little arrow pointing directly at her chest. No, through her — at him. Her home.

Holding back tears, Emma rushed to him. By her will alone, the shackle around his wrist vanished. As a side effect, Anton was also freed from his binding.

'I just want my best friend back.' She gave up keeping tears at bay, but stopped herself from hugging him again.

'Perhaps he never left.' Killian admired at the compass with a half-smile, trying to reassure her.

Emma smiled despite herself, shaking her head. His ringed hand brushed each tear from her face — so gentle and in awe, despite her current state and knowing what she did. She looked down, reaching for his hook.

It was a different kind of sadness, what he'd also lost. But that sadness melted into fuel for her rage towards Rumpelstiltskin.

'Shall we go, love?' Killian nudged her. 'Tick tock, and all that.'

Emma nodded numbly, and let him lead the way. She just wanted to curl up in her bed and cry. Nothing was clearer now; if anything, she was even more confused. What was she supposed to do next?

'How did we get it wrong?' Killian asked, fiddling with a gold coin thieved from the giant's treasure hoard. 'Earlier, you said we were both angry but perhaps we got it wrong?'

'I don't think us not seeing each other again was our fault,' Emma said, though wasn't confident in that. Was it a real theory or just hope finding its way back? 'I really wanted to find you. I swear, I tried to.'

'As did I.' He said it quietly, but its meaning was loud. 'Are you suggesting something intervened? Perhaps magic, or someone?'

'I'm not suggesting anything.' Emma sighed, dreading the climb back down the damned beanstalk. 'I don't know what I'm saying. I'm angry too. I want to blame you for not finding me, for abandoning me, and... but now I'm not sure you deserve it. Maybe I'm just angry at being left alone.'

With each foothold descending the beanstalk, their bubble of privacy and vulnerability dwindled. Killian had questions, and she wasn't doing a great job of answering them. His shock hadn't faded, but he kept it together better than her.

'We have to take this slow,' she warned him. 'There's a lot to explain. The kids are still getting used to having me around.'

'What of the third child, the one I haven't met? Henry, was it?' Killian was out of breath, too focused on what was ahead while she yearned to go back.

'Yeah.' Emma smiled. 'He's the one who found me. He brought our family back together.'

Beanstalk wrangling was not the time or place for emotional conversations, as somehow the way down was far more challenging than the way up. Exhaustion seeped into their pores and muscles, making it hard to focus on little else.

'We're almost there,' Emma said, with a daring look in his direction. 'Shall we jump?'

'Aye.' His gaze was playful. 'If you think you can handle it.'

Emma scoffed, and adjusted her footing. A literal leap of faith, if ever there was one. She glanced at Killian, who nodded.

On the count of three, they jumped. The ground rushed to greet them, and they collapsed against it — mostly into each other.

'Mom.' Nicholas dove at her, hugging with all his might. It startled Killian, who received a partial hug from his son while so close to Emma.

'You okay?' David pulled her up, with zero regard for Killian.

'Yeah.' Emma flexed her aching muscles, despite being squashed by two kids. 'An earthquake and a jump from a beanstalk. I think my brain's still rattling around a bit.'

'Did you get it?' Mulan asked.

'Yep.' Emma revealed the compass enough for proof, then secured it in her pocket.

She glanced at Killian, but he was far more interested in the twins — seeing them in a new light. Nicholas' blue eyes matched his, and for a moment Emma wondered if their son already knew.

'Let's go,' Emma told the group. 'Get your stuff. I've no idea how long it'll take Cora to catch on, but I'd rather not find out. We still need that dust.'

She went to follow Mulan, but David stopped her.

'You sure you're okay?' he asked, far too intuitively. David shot Killian a look as he walked by. 'Hook didn't give you any trouble?'

'No, nothing like that.' Emma bit her lip, staring at her father while hoping her eyes weren't red. It was still surreal, but she knew how it felt to be on the other side of this. 'Nothing I can't handle, anyway.'

His fatherly concern was honest and unnerving. She wasn't used to it, though today had been lot. But he was there. Wondering what it felt like, and too exhausted to care about anything else, Emma leaned to give him a half-hug. David accepted, and held her close yet not too tight.

Safe — that's what it felt like.

The group left the field, as time was not on their side. Emma paused at the ridge, looking back at the beanstalk spiralling its way into the sky. Despite the mere minutes, it felt like hours since that adventure with Killian. Hours since the things they'd shared, and the risks taken.

A part of her wished to go back there; Emma hated every second of that exhausting climb — yet now free of it, she wanted to be back in that moment.

'Maybe I should've taken the nap David suggested,' Aurora said, tugging her cloak free from a prickly bush.

As Killian expressed sympathy to Aurora for having lost her prince, a tug at Emma's hand returned her to the present. Emma smiled at Nicholas, who looked up at her with an adoring gaze. Giving his hand a squeeze, they rejoined the group.

'Phillip is in my heart every moment of every day,' Aurora said. 'If there was anything I could do to bring him back, I would.'

Mulan and David walked ahead, leading and scouting though no doubt listening to the conversation. Ava walked with Aurora as though the two had recently bonded, and Killian glanced at Emma.

'Actually, there might be way.' Killian frowned, debating with himself. 'Cora mentioned that when a wraith consumes a soul, it merely travels to another realm. And that soul could be brought back to this world.'

The group paused to listen, but Emma urged them to keep moving.

'How?' Aurora asked, poised yet desperate for answers.

'I haven't a bloody clue,' he admitted, scratching behind his hear. 'But perhaps that's all the hope you need?'

'Indeed it is.' Aurora nodded, smiling despite the daunting new quest ahead of her.

With the beanstalk long since vanished beyond the horizon, the group held a strategy meeting for what came next.

'But I gave you my word,' Mulan said, deep in debate.

'That was before you knew Phillip could still be saved,' David reassured her. 'I'd have done the same for Snow. Trust me, we understand. You helped get us this far — let us take it from here.'

'What about Cora?' Mulan sighed, outnumbered by Emma and David's insistence that there was no dishonour in her and Aurora parting ways early.

'We can handle Cora.' Emma willed it to be true. 'We're almost home.'

'Thank you.' Aurora looked round the group, lingering on Killian. 'It appears this is where our paths split. I wish you all the best; good luck.'

'And good luck to you,' David said. 'I hope you find what you're looking for.'

'Here. Take this.' Mulan offered him her sword. 'It'll deflect her magic.'

Emma pouted, wondering why he got the cool sword and not her. Catching Killian's amusement at that, she quickly hid it.

Yet her heart swelled with pride that Killian had done a good deed, despite Mulan and Aurora holding the most suspicion against him. He'd tentatively gained their respect, but no such miracle happened with David.

'Trying to earn points?' David asked, waving goodbye. His expression was calm, yet his tone less polite.

'Can't hurt,' Killian said, without protest. Never one to bow to royalty or having bothered to win David over, Killian cast him a devious smile.

As Mulan and Aurora left the group, Emma's nervousness for the battle ahead only grew. But she couldn't bring herself to blame them — not when she'd have done the same.

'Let's go.' David took up the lead again, and the kids rushed to follow.

'Why'd you do it?' Emma nudged Killian forward, rolling her eyes at both men's antics.

He shrugged, though there was something genuine in his gaze. He was a pirate and scoundrel — yet still, at his core, a good man. He was flippant about David's reactions, but Emma knew the truth and that was what mattered.

'While you're being so forthcoming, what can you tell us that might help us defeat Cora?' David asked, shooting Killian a suspicious look.

'She won't be easy, especially with her dark magic,' Killian said. 'But with that magic-deflecting sword, my devilishly adept skills, and Emma's...'

He paused, slowly glancing her over.

Her magic?

Her own skills?

'Well, being Emma.' Killian smirked, ignoring her unamused look. 'I'd wager we have everything we need.'

'What about us?' Ava asked, arms crossed — though Nicholas was less keen on any involvement. 'What's our job?'

It went against every motherly instinct she had, but Emma knew that telling them to hide and stay safe wasn't a realistic expectation. She cut in before David or Killian could give in to similar instincts. They were just kids, but what if there was nowhere to hide? And they had history of not staying put — it was the very reason the twins were trekking through the forest with them now.

'Stick together, no matter what,' Emma said. 'Your job is to keep watch. Let us do the fighting, okay? I mean it, Ava. We've done this so many times, and we need you safe. You can help by listening to us, and by being our eyes.'

It sounded important enough that the twins nodded. They walked with renewed determination, playing with their slingshots to practice their aim and stock up on small pebbles along the way.

With them occupied, and David scouting further ahead, Emma tugged Killian's sleeve. He slowed pace with her, eyebrows raised in intrigue. He watched her, while Emma watched their kids. She stayed like that a little longer, dragging out this final moment of normalcy. She wasn't sure when she'd made the decision, but it had taken root and she couldn't shake it.

'We have to tell them who you are,' Emma whispered. 'I wanted to wait, for Henry's sake, but I can't. I promised them I'd find you, and we have no idea what might happen next. They deserve to know.'

Killian nodded, watching Ava and Nicholas as well.

'Let's make camp first.' Emma sighed, dread squeezing her chest. 'Then I'll tell them.'

Every step over the forest's uneven ground brought them closer to a conversation already eleven years overdue. Revealing their father was supposed to be good news, but for Emma it exposed too much. How many steps were left? How many more trees they passed, or pebbles collected? How many breaths remained until, inevitably, she had to let go?

Her babies finally meeting their father was meant to be wonderful — yet Emma knew everything was about to change, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.