Author's note: This is just a little one shot about what might happen in The Queen Is Dead. Based on spoilers, so you've been warned!

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.

Killian stood at the helm of the Jolly Roger, wind blowing in his face, staring unseeing at the horizon. Not even the sea – his home, no matter which realm he found himself in – could calm the chaos in his heart. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore. The thing he'd lived for for over three hundred years – his revenge on Rumplestiltskin – was now a mockery down in the hold of his beloved ship. How had it come to this? Killian had come to this realm with a single goal. He'd been battered, beaten, bruised, broken in the name of his quest. And it was all undone with two simple words.

Please, Killian.

He could see it in his mind's eye. His Crocodile backed up against the bars, trapped between them and his body. Killian's scream of fury as he raised his hook and buried the point of in the monster's chest. Rumplestiltskin's pathetic attempts to cry for help, the coward. Still unable to face Killian like a man, he'd thought triumphantly. As he twisted his hook ever so slightly, he'd expected to feel...something. Satisfaction? Relief? Joy? But instead he felt nothing. Neither happiness or sorrow, neither anger or relief. Nothing. Milah was still dead and he was still alone.

Then he heard her voice. But it wasn't Milah's voice that called out to him. It was the Swan girl, Emma. Her voice pulled him out of his haze; his blue eyes locked with her blue-green ones. The color of the sea, he'd noticed absently. She stood there, half horrified and half concerned. Concern not for his Crocodile, but concern for him.

Please, Killian.

She'd never used his name before. Hook, always Hook. Never Killian. He'd hadn't been called by his actual name in...gods, he didn't even know. Decades? Centuries? There was no way to know. All he did know was that she was standing there using his name and pleading with her eyes and reaching out for his arm slowly. For a second, he turned his eyes away. He couldn't let her get in; he had his Crocodile in his grasp at last; he was powerless. Rumplestiltskin needed to die. This was his chance. His chance to end it. If Killian didn't do it, he might not get another chance.

Then her hand wrapped around his left forearm and her breath was hot in his ear, "Please, Killian."

Slowly but surely, Killian allowed her to pull his hook from Rumplestiltskin's chest and away from his vengeance. Emma stayed between him and Rumplestiltskin, who was quickly tended by a man who looked vaguely familiar and a small boy. When it became apparent that the wound would be mortal unless it was healed by magic, Emma turned her eyes back on him. He barely heard what she'd said, the conflicting emotions swirling in his mind. It wasn't until Killian found himself back on the Roger, that his mind started to refocus. But he was damned if he could make heads or tails of what had transpired.

Killian tore his eyes away from the darkening horizon. There was only one person who could give him any answers. His eyes quickly found her standing at the bow, next to the anchor chain. She was staring at the sea, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. It was a beautiful, arresting sight. His breath hitched in his throat at the vision before him. He'd recognized her beauty from the moment he met her. She was made all the more alluring because she clearly did not see herself in the same light. But it wasn't her beauty that drew him to her. One look in her eyes had told him everything he'd needed to know. She'd been abandoned. Deeply hurt by love. So scarred that she closed herself off from the world to try and keep her demons at bay. She was like him. And yet for all the darkness that clouded her eyes, there was a light. A light so bright that it had called out to him, tried to pull him back from the abyss of his own hate. But then she'd betrayed him and all that was left was the pain.

And yet he couldn't help the tiny spark of hope that lit up his soul when she'd found him on the side of the road. Foolishly, he'd unwittingly let her in again, only for her to leave with the Crocodile. Away from her, Killian found himself able to refocus on his purpose, his revenge. Then at the moment of truth, he'd failed. Everything he'd worked for, everything he'd suffered, all undone by the woman before him. How had she gotten in? And why did he let her?

Killian saw her shiver in the cold, biting wind, arms hugging her body. But she didn't move. Killian shrugged out of his long coat and climbed down from the helm. The Jolly Roger was enchanted and was perfectly capable of finding Storybrooke on her own. He strode across the deck and stopped at the rail next to her. She gave no sign that she even knew he was there.

Killian cleared his throat loudly, then said, "Put this on, love. You'll catch a chill."

Emma turned her eyes away from the sea and looked up at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red, her cheeks were wet with tears. The sight of her evident distress made him want to severely punish whoever had wronged her. It was irrational, nonsensical. Especially since he had a suspicion that he was the problem. Emma sniffed and took the coat from him.

"Thanks," she mumbled, as she shrugged it on. It dwarfed her; the sleeves too long and the hem hanging past her knees. But it was warm and she hugged it close.

They stood there not speaking for a long time. There were so many things Killian wanted to say, to ask, but he hadn't the faintest idea of where to begin. At length, Emma sighed. "Is this the part where you tell me that nothing has changed and that we're still enemies in the morning?"

Killian gaped at her. How could she even think that? Everything had changed. It was becoming clear that she held some sort of power over him, a power he didn't want or understand. But it existed and until they sorted it out, Killian would be helpless against it. Finally, he managed to speak. "I don't think we've ever been enemies, love. Not truly."

Emma looked up at him again. Her eyes swirled with the same confusion Killian felt. "No, I guess not." She paused, thinking. "Even though I know we should be. You shot Belle, robbed her of her memories. Now..." she gestured inarticulately.

"And took the princess's heart," he noted wryly. These were just the things he'd done since they met. She didn't know about all the other things Killian had done in the name of vengeance. Suddenly, he was desperate for her to never find out.

"But you gave it back."

"Does that matter?"

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, it matters."

"There are plenty who would disagree with you, love."

"Well, they're not here right now. I say it matters and that's what's important."

He had no idea what to say to that. The more he got to know her, the more extraordinary she became to him.

They fell into silence again. At length, Killian broke it, unable to quench his curiosity. He had to know. "What were you doing with the Crocodile, Emma?" he asked, returning the favor of using her name. Besides, he liked how it felt on his tongue.

Emma kept her eyes focused on the sea, but Killian saw a tear slip down her chin. "It's not important. Not anymore."

"You're getting salt water all over my coat, love," he pointed out. "I'd say that's important."

Emma sighed heavily. "I owed him a favor."

"You what?" he said, panic creeping in his voice against his will. He knew what happened to people who made deal with Rumplestiltskin; he was living proof. "Why would you make a deal with him? You know what he is."

Emma looked up at him, angry. "I didn't know that then! It was before I believed in any of this! He was just some creepy guy the whole town was afraid of, I didn't expect any of this to happen! I don't want this!" she cried, more tears scrolling down her cheeks.

Clearly, there was something she wasn't telling him. Her distress went beyond anything he'd ever seen from her. This was not the woman he met in the Enchanted Forest. He didn't like it; he wanted his Emma back. "What do you want?"

Emma laughed bitterly. "Do you know a way to go back in time?" When she saw the look on his face, she blanched. "Sorry," she said, hastily. "That was...stupid. I wasn't thinking. I mean, you of all people...I'm just sorry, OK?"

Was she expressing sympathy for him? Did she actually care that she may have hurt him? It didn't seem possible. There was a deep corner of his heart that wanted to believe it. It was a feeling he thought long dead. But her reactions to him were so whiplash inducing that he didn't know what to think.

"It's alright, darling," he finally said. "What did he ask of you?"

"He wanted me to help him find his son. It was what he'd concocted the whole curse thing for in the first place."

Killian frowned. "Surely, that's something he could have done without you."

"I thought so too, yet here I am."

"He must have been persuasive. Who did he threaten? Your parents? Your boy?" That was how the Crocodile had gotten to Milah; he'd had his fist in Killian's chest when she stumbled upon them. He'd tried so hard to protect her, to keep her safe, but Rumplestiltskin had used their love for each other against her. And it had cost Milah her life.

Emma was silent for a long moment, her eyes returning to the sea. "He did," she said, quietly. "But only after I'd agreed to go with him."

"Why would you do that?"

Emma took a deep breath, then turned back to face him. "Because he threatened you," she said carefully. "He said every moment he stayed in Storybrooke, was a moment he was closer to killing you."

All this was because of him? Emma had risked her life for him? No, it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He was Captain Hook, Scourge of the Seas, infamous pirate. He didn't need to be saved, not by Emma Swan, not by anyone. He wasn't afraid of the Crocodile; he wasn't afraid of death. Why suddenly was he terrified of the wayward princess in front of him?

"Killian, say something."

There she was with his name again. He looked down at her; she looked so vulnerable, so unsure she was making the right choice. Just like she did on the beanstalk. Could it be that he had the same power over her that she did over him? Whatever it was, they had no say in it. It just was. Emma cared about him. For all her bravado, she cared enough that she would leave willingly with the Crocodile to spare his life.

"I honestly don't know what to say, love."

"You could start with 'thank you'," she said, a half smile gracing her lips.

For the first time since her outburst, he saw a glimpse of his Emma in her eyes. "I am in your debt, Emma."

"No, no more debts," Emma said firmly. "I didn't do this because I wanted you to owe me anything. I did this because I wanted to."

"I can't imagine why, love."

Emma cocked an eyebrow at him. "Really? Then why are we here now? Why is Gold in the hold of your ship? You could have killed him, Killian. But you didn't."

If Killian was being honest with himself, there was only one reason this was happening. Emma asked him to. She pleaded with him not to finish off his Crocodile. The she asked him to take them back to Storybrooke to save the miserable Crocodile's life. Emma got him to think about something other than his vengeance for the first time in three hundred years. Some part of him latched onto it like a lifeline, quite against his will. And gods help him, he didn't want it to stop.

Emma reached out, placing her hand on his arm. "I don't want you dead, Killian. I'm not losing anyone else I...care about. And I don't want you to lose yourself because of him. You're better than that."

"I think you have me confused with someone else, Emma."

Emma shook her head. "I don't think I do. We're alike, you and I. I needed someone to give me a chance; I got that with Henry, with my parents. Yeah, things are...complicated right now," she continued, her eyes flickering behind him in the direction her son had run off to. "But that doesn't mean that we should give up. We just need someone to believe in us."

"And you believe in a crusty old pirate?"

"I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't."

"You are the most extraordinary woman I've ever met, love."

Emma blushed. "Unlike some people I know, you've given me a reason to believe in you."

"Oh and what's that?"

"Well, no matter where I go, I can't seem to shake you. You always turn up, no matter how far apart we are. Interesting, don't you think?"

"Indeed it is."

Killian didn't know what the future would bring, but one thing was certain. Emma Swan would be in it. And for the first time in many years, he felt a small ray of hope blossom in his heart.