It was still the middle of the night when Killian was shaken awake. Beside him, he felt as Emma thrashed and heard her faintly grunting. Through the fog of sleep and aided by the dim moonlight spilling in the window, he saw that her eyes were still closed. She was having a nightmare.

Shifting his body closer to hers, he pushed a lock of hair off her forehead, feeling a bead of sweat there, and laid a kiss on her cheek. "Emma," he murmured to her. "Wake, love. You're in a dream."

Her body jerked again, her brows knitting together.

"Emma," he tried again. This time, those beautiful large eyes opened for him. In them, he saw a fear that bordered on panic, and it caused his stomach to flip. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "It was a dream, love. Whatever you saw, it was a nightmare."

She burrowed her face into his shoulder, curling her body more firmly against his, her breath still shaking and heavy. Slowly, as the moments passed and he stroked her hair, he felt the tension begin to drain from her muscles. Her breathing steadied and slowed. When he was sure she had settled, he kissed the top of her head. It was the only part he could reach.

As he drifted back into sleep, he noticed his shoulder felt wet.

He sat on the edge of the bed as the first rays of the rising sun cut in through the windowpanes and across the floorboards. The gentle illumination brought a golden glow to Emma's skin. He let his eyes trace over the soft curves of her body beside him beneath the thin blanket. The peaceful expression on her sleeping face was a relief to him after her brief but obvious torment during the night. Her exposed breasts rose and fell in a slow, easy rhythm in time with her serene and restful breathing.

Already dressed and prepared for his day, he was tempted to strip off his coat and boots again and resume his place beside her in the bed. Instead, he gave in only partially, laying a kiss on her cheekbone, and then another beneath her ear. He placed another lower on her neck, continuing downward until he felt her stir and heard her sigh.

"Good morning," he whispered into her collarbone.

"Mmm, good morning," she replied with a smile in her voice.

Lifting his gaze, he saw the grin there on her face and watched it sparkling in her eyes. He felt sure then that whatever anxiety had gripped her during the night had released its hold of her. As curious as he was to know the cause and contents of her nightmare, he had no desire to remind her of it for fear that it might reclaim her. So he asked her no questions. He simply returned her smile and brought his kisses to her lips.

She returned them eagerly, her good arm wrapping behind his neck, pulling him even closer to her. The urge to disrobe and return to bed intensified, but he had responsibilities that needed tending to. He couldn't hide away down here the whole morning, as much as he may like to. Being captain allowed for many luxuries, but shirking duties was a good way for a pirate to find themselves replaced, whatever their ranking may be.

Using all the willpower he could muster, he kept himself above the blanket and even resisted letting his hand wander beneath to make contact with her bare skin. He chuckled as she pressed her body up against his, making her opposite intentions clear. "You're in a much better mood this morning," he noted, fitting the words between kisses. "I'm glad to see it."

Her grip on him relaxed, and she lay back against the pillow. He saw the recollection flashing behind her eyes and he instantly regretted having mentioned the midnight ordeal. Hopefully whatever she remembered would be less intimidating in the daylight than it had been while she slept. She kissed him again, but slower this time - distractedly.

He had to ask. Pushing himself up, he leaned on his elbow and caught her eye. "Is everything alright, love?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She tried giving him a reassuring smile, but it wasn't fully believable.

Unconvinced, he watched her silently, and waited for her real answer. It didn't take very long.

She sighed as she gave in. "It was only a stress dream. It's just been a lot lately." Bringing herself up to a seated position, she rubbed at her face, trying to summon more wakefulness as she started to rattle off the list, looking past him at nothing. "I'm getting used to being hunted by the evil queen, but the idea of meeting my parents is… intimidating, to say the least. I have no idea how Robin's going to react to seeing me again. I mean, he was always good to me, but I think I screwed that up. My arm is all mangled, putting me out of commission and making it a lot harder to distract myself with work. And that's right on the heels of my ex showing up who's supposed to be dead, and him telling me we have to go and save my - our - uh…" she trailed off, swallowing as her eyes grew more distant.

"Your baby," he finished for her quietly, not knowing whether doing so would help or whether it would intensify her stress.

Her eyes drifted shut as she exhaled deeply, causing him to worry that she was concealing welling tears. The way she repeated the word "baby" almost soundlessly made him think he was right. But in a moment it was gone. She'd swallowed the emotion that had been rising and her eyes opened to meet his directly. She nodded quickly, her jaw set.

He knew better than to try and offer her comfort now. Her walls had just gone up and any genuine attempt to get inside them would be perceived and treated as an attack, no matter how lovingly he meant it. Instead, he fell back on his best tried-and-true method of making her smile.

With his most charming smart-ass smile, he asked her. "Yes, but aside from all that, has something been bothering you, love?"

In her surprise, her laughter came out as a snort, which sent the both of them into a full-blown fit of laughter. When she'd regained the majority of her composure, she punched playfully at the front of his shoulder in retribution for the jab. The gesture unintentionally knocked his flask into his collarbone hard enough for her to hear the audible impact. With an apology, she laid the palm of her hand soothingly on that area of his chest and kissed him sweetly. It was exceptionally easy for him to forgive her when she did that.

When she pulled back, her hand dipped into his pocket and removed the offending flask. She held it between her knees to uncork it with her thumb, then took a deep swig. If it was going to be that kind of morning, he guessed he couldn't blame her. She dropped it on the bed between them when she was done, starting to zone out again.

Not wanting to watch that happen, he kissed her forehead and stood. "Come," he instructed. "I'll help you get dressed and get your sling on. I hear that sort of thing is easier with two hands. We can find out together."

Her smile returned, and he was grateful for it. Taking his hand, she let him help her to her feet and allowed him to assist through every stage of getting clothes onto her body. It was an interesting change of pace from how he usually behaved with her attire, but it seemed to keep her spirits high.

He took care to trace extra caresses over her skin wherever his hand passed until he tied a final knot at the nape of her neck to hold her broken arm in place for the day. When he'd finished, she turned to face him and kissed him thoroughly one more time before they headed for the deck and their day was fully begun.

Before they ascended, he saw as she snatched his flask off the bed sheets and stashed it inside of her sling.