I wanted to get this out before the next episode, because I know this isn't how things are going to play out, but it just wouldn't leave me alone. My play on how Killian proves himself to be Emma's True Love ;) Taking a tiny bit of artistic license and pretending that the gap between the showdown in the boathouse and Snow going into labor is a couple of days, and this fits in the middle.

CSCSCSCSCS

"You look a bit lonely there, pirate," a sickly sweet voice taunted from behind Killian. The pirate spun, his hand immediately going for his sword as he faced Zelena. The witch laughed, and flicked her wrist to magic the weapon out of his hand. "You should know by now that your measly weapons won't harm me." Before Hook had a moment to react, he felt himself fall backwards into a tree.

"Haven't you had enough of me yet, Zelena?" Killian growled, struggling against her hold. Couldn't he get a day without this wretched woman ruining it?

She smiled and traced his jawline with a finger. "My plans for you are far from over, dear one. You will kiss Emma and take her magic."

Killian gave a humorless laugh, dropping his head back against the bark of the tree to draw away from her touch. "Do you forget that she was less than pleased with me after your little revelation yesterday?"

Zelena stepped up into his personal space so that her nose was nearly touching his. "You aren't going to give her a choice."

Hook raised an eyebrow at her incredulously. "And why would I ever harm her willingly, let alone take away her choice?"

The wicked grin he received in response sent a stab of fear through him. "Because, deary, you aren't going to have a choice."

Agony exploded abruptly in his chest, drawing a ragged cry from Killian's lips. He dropped his chin forward, and saw Zelena's arm protruding from his body. The Wicked Witch smirked at him, brushing her nose tauntingly against his as he grimaced. He could feel her cold fingers wrapping around his heart, could feel pain radiating through his veins with each beat. A low groan escaped through clenched teeth, and his head dropped back again. He knew that if it weren't for Zelena's magic keeping him pinned to the tree, his legs would have given out.

"Hey!" Hook cursed under his breath when the new voice filtered through his pain. Emma.

CSCSCSCSCSCS

Emma ruffled Henry's hair with a wry smile. It was an immense relief to have her son back with her. Having her noble, brave son back, who had the Heart of the Truest Believer, meant the world to her. It also meant she had to accept that things weren't as cut and dry as she'd originally believed when it came to Killian's actions the day before.

"It looks like I owe Hook an apology for jumping to conclusions, huh kid? I'm still not happy with how he handled it, but…I can understand why he did what he did."

"Just…go easy on him will ya? He-"

Henry's voice cut out abruptly when a pained cry echoed through the trees they were walking through. Emma's stomach clenched painfully as she processed the fact that she knew that voice. "Killian…"

Without hesitation, the Savior took off running in the direction his voice had come from. Henry's footsteps followed immediately behind her. She didn't let up her pace until she came into a clearing, and the sight before her threatened to bring her world crashing down around her. Zelena, standing before Killian with her hand sunk wrist deep into his chest. Emma's breath caught in her throat, and it took all she had to force her voice out enough to catch the witch's attention. "HEY!"

"Hook!" Henry cried. Emma had to act quickly to grab his arm to keep him from running to the pirate's aid. "Leave him alone!" Emma maintained her hold on her son as she stepped slowly forward, needing to be closer but not wanting to provoke the witch prematurely.

Fury like she'd never felt before engulfed Emma when Zelena turned to look at them with a self-satisfied smirk. She used her free hand to grasp Killian's chin and turn his face towards Emma and Henry. "Would you look at that, Captain, it looks like they aren't so angry now that they think you're going to die." Killian's agonized gaze met Emma's, and it took all of her willpower to refrain from demolishing Zelena with her magic. "Too bad you aren't the one who is going to die, love," she taunted in a whisper meant only for him that tainted a phrase that he so often used as a term of endearment. She turned his head back to face her, and traced her nose and tongue along his earlobe and neck. Killian tried to twist his head away with a grimace, but she held him in place. "Not yet, anyway."

Emma and Killian both gasped in unison as Zelena yanked his heart from his chest. The pirate, like a puppet whose strings had been severed, dropped to his knees and then fell forward, barely catching himself enough to keep his head from colliding with the unforgiving ground. "Zelena, no!" Emma cried, reaching out instinctively. Confusion crossed her face when Killian looked up to meet her eyes, the pain less prevalent in his gaze as he panted to catch his breath. Understanding slowly dawned on Emma, and she was able to watch her horror mirror itself on Killian's face. If the witch didn't intend to crush his heart…

"No…" Killian growled breathlessly, struggling to push himself to his elbows. "Emma…run," he panted. "Take Henry and get out of here!"

"Oh, how valiant," Zelena crooned. "But I don't think the Savior here is willing to walk away, not when it would mean risking me making you kill…oh, say the first person we find in town?" she suggested, gesturing with his heart and tossing Emma a look that said 'Am I right?' "I could just make her decision for her, and…take care of her problem now." She squeezed his heart abruptly, causing Killian to yelp and curl in on himself.

"Stop!" Emma demanded, wishing she could strike the wicked witch down where she stood without also killing Hook in the process. Zelena cackled as she loosened her grip, watching with amusement as Killian's body relaxed marginally and his forehead rested on his trembling arm.

"A bit testy, aren't we? Fine, if you aren't enjoying this little game as much as I am…let's get down to business, shall we?" She raised Killian's heart up to her lips. "Now, Captain, I'm going to need you on your feet."

Killian pushed himself to one knee, and looked up to Emma, who was staring at him with an unreadable look in her eyes. He knew he had to do whatever it took to protect her and Henry…these two people who had come to mean so much to him. His body, however, was betraying him and moving of its own volition. Before he could even attempt to reclaim control, he was on his feet. "Emma…please, love…"

"Zelena, let him go," Emma growled, her eyes never leaving Killian's face. The despair in his eyes broke her heart, and fueled her hatred for the witch controlling him. The look in Killian's eyes told her that he believed that Zelena was right about her reason for staying. In reality, she couldn't risk turning her back on him and giving the witch a chance to kill him.

"Kill the brat," the Witch commanded. Emma tensed and immediately pulled Henry behind her and took a step back when Killian took an unstable step forward. His hand was clenched into a tight fist, his knuckles white with the effort of fighting her control, but Emma knew it was useless. As long as someone held a heart, that person completely controlled the person to whom it belonged.

"Swan, get the hell out of here before I hurt both of you!" he begged, his body beginning to shake.

"I'm not leaving you with this psycho!" she responded, pushing Henry farther away from Killian.

"Kill him, pirate!" Zelena yelled, shaking his heart. Killian clutched his chest with a groan and staggered forward another two steps.

"No…" Killian breathed, suddenly falling back a step. His hand and hook both pressed against his temples as he moved backwards another step. "No!" Emma's jaw dropped as he stumbled to his knees and then fell forward onto his hand. "I will not harm Henry!" he insisted through tightly clenched teeth. Emma was frozen in shock; according to what Regina had told her, no one had ever resisted such control before.

"What?!" Zelena roared in indignation, staring at Killian in fury.

"Henry…go get David and Regina and the others. Hurry!" Emma murmured urgently, nudging her son when he hesitated for a brief second. She turned to make sure he was obeying, but her attention was pulled abruptly back to the pirate when he groaned weakly. Zelena was squeezing his heart again.

Unable to sit back and watch her pirate suffer – her thoughts faltered for a moment when she realized how her heart had laid claim on him without her head's consent – Emma tightened her own fist and willing magic to settle there.

"Ah ah, deary," Zelena warned, gesturing to the heart she was still squeezing. "You attack me, and I will kill your darling captain." The witch knelt next to the suffering man, smirking as she squeezed it harder and he writhed with a low moan. "If you don't kiss Emma like I told you to weeks ago, I will crush your heart."

Killian pushed himself up on his hand and hook and leveled Zelena with a challenging, albeit weak, glare. "Better I died than any of them. I will not allow you to use me as a tool for your destruction, witch."

"So be it, pirate," Zelena snarled bitterly, and pushed herself to her feet. She kicked him in the side, throwing him onto his back. Her hand shook as she squeezed Killian's heart with all her strength, and Emma felt her own heart shatter at the raw agony in the pirate's scream. His back arched up off of the ground. The Savior felt her body tense like a coil and then abruptly release, and a beam of white light rocketed from her hands and crashed over the witch, freezing her completely.

Emma found herself similarly frozen for a beat, in shock at how her magic had acted on its own to save Killian, before he gave another hoarse cry and startled her back into action. She realized that, while freezing Zelena had saved Killian's heart from being crushed, it did not loosen her grip, and so he was still suffering.

As she stepped forward carefully until she was toe to toe with the Wicked Witch, Emma heard the worried voices of her family approaching. She ignored them when they called to her, hearing only the sounds of pain coming from her pirate. She looked over the witch, trying to figure out a way to free his heart without breaking the spell holding her in place. "Regina!" she called abruptly. The group fell silent behind her, and Regina stepped forward. Emma turned to her with desperation in her eyes. "When I pull his heart from her hand, I think it's going to break the curse keeping her immobile. Can you send her…somewhere else so we have time to save him?"

Regina simply nodded, her eyes closing sympathetically as he gasped. Both women prepared themselves, and Emma nodded to Regina the instant before she reached forward and pried Zelena's hand open and pulled Killian's heart free. The next second, she was engulfed in purple smoke and vanished.

The effect of releasing the pressure on his heart was nearly instantaneous. Killian's breath escaped him in a soft exhale, and he fell still. If it weren't for the fact that his heart continued to beat in her hand– at a rate that was slowly returning to normal – Emma would have feared that the wicked witch had succeeded in killing him after all. She looked up to see her parents, her son, and Robin standing back, staring at them in awe. Emma turned her attention to Killian, awe filling her for an entirely different reason. "His heart was in the right place yesterday," she murmured to her parents. When she turned her eyes to them, she saw hesitation in both of their faces. "He was backed into a corner, and was trying to protect Henry who had tried to run away on his own. And now…he would have died to protect both of us."

She turned her eyes back to the raven-haired man lying before her, far too still for the man who had spent so much time flirting with and teasing her. She took a deep breath and pressed his heart back into his chest where it belonged. Silence reigned for a long moment, no one breathing as they waited for Killian to awaken. Just as tears started to fight to surface, Emma felt his body heave as he dragged in a rasping breath.

She felt him try to sit up, so she took the opportunity to slide herself around so that her knees became a pillow for his head. "You're safe, don't try to sit up. She's gone for now." Blue eyes searched her face frantically and he struggled to bring himself upright despite her reassurance. This time it was David who pushed him back down to rest against Emma. The woman in question looked up into her father's eyes, and was relieved to see that his hesitation to forgive him was almost gone. Killian's hand found hers and squeezed weakly, pulling her gaze back down to his.

"Emma…did I…" she could read his deepest fears in his tired face, and smiled tenderly.

"No, Killian…no. You resisted her. I don't know how you did it, you stubborn pirate…but you protected us." She stroked his hair as his eyes drifted closed in relief. Regina gasped.

"He…he did what?!"

Emma smiled over to her mentor. "Zelena had his heart and tried to use it to make him kill Henry and take my powers…and he resisted her."

The formerly-evil witch was dumfounded. "That's impossible…no one has ever resisted that kind of control before."

"True love is the most powerful magic of all…" Mary Margaret murmured, staring between Killian and Emma with tears in her eyes. The pirate's eyes opened slowly and he held her gaze, a weak smile gracing his face. "I'm sorry that we doubted you, Killian."

"All things considered, I can't rightfully blame you for being wary of me. However, I hope that this proves my intentions?"

"That it does, pirate. That it does," David confirmed with a smile. He offered a hand to Killian, but Emma laid her own on her father's arm to stop him. "Emma, the Witch is still out there, as are her monkeys. We need to get out of the open, and he needs to be able to rest safely. We need to get back to town."

Emma nodded, and allowed David and Robin to ease the Captain to his feet, steadying him carefully when his knees buckled. Mary Margaret linked her arm in Emma's, and smiled warmly at her daughter. "I can't say I saw him coming," she whispered as they watched the men hobble slowly towards David's truck. Emma laughed, her relief mixing with her newfound revelation to leave her feeling hysterical. "He's become a good man, Emma. He's going to make mistakes, goodness knows your father still does, but he's certainly a far cry from the villain bent on revenge that we first met wouldn't you say?"

She didn't give Emma time to respond before squeezing her daughter's arm and tugging her along behind the others. After everything they'd been through, it really shouldn't have been a shock to her that Killian had gotten under her skin like he did. He'd become the hero she and Henry had needed, and had somehow managed to sweep her off her feet without her knowledge. As David and Robin eased him into the truck, his eyes sought her out, and he gave her a crooked smile that stole her breath away. She had a sinking feeling that Zelena was not finished with Killian; after all, she had once again failed in getting him to kiss her and remove her magic. The next time, however, they would be presenting her with a fully united front. The Wicked Witch had no hope of beating them now.