Post-5.04 "The Broken Kingdom"

a/n: I haven't had to write fix-it fic all season. Should have guessed that wouldn't last. Spoilers for trying to make sense of Emma's sudden turn from last night.

Killian left her with another kiss at the door to her room, another promise sealed into her skin. She felt better than she had in all the time they'd been at Camelot, finally for once left to the peace of her own thoughts. Emma leaned against the heavy oak door and sighed, glad to have the privacy of her own room. If they were back at the loft her happy smile and blushing cheeks would have prompted too many questions from her parents. (Well, from her mother at least.)

For the first time she felt as though Killian and Henry's faith in her wasn't misplaced. Getting her heart racing, getting Rumplestiltskin out of her head... maybe she really could do this. Maybe it was possible to fight off the darkness and win.

Warmth curled in her stomach at the thought and spread through the rest of her as she remembered how her son and pirate had cared for her earlier in the day. Henry leading them to his peaceful spot, Killian and his patient encouragement. She had to hand it to him — even in seemingly the worst of circumstances he could still pull off one hell of a date.

Her skin tingled just thinking of the meadow and she pushed off the door into the room. She was too buzzed to try and sleep but she didn't feel the need to craft more dreamcatchers either. The demon in her head was still silent and Emma almost wanted to laugh with relief.

She could defeat the darkness. She could save herself.

Her fingers trailed over the dreamcatchers she'd hung up in the window, wishing that she could hold onto this new confidence and never again be reduced to how Killian had found her the night before. Weak. Scared. Tormented. She just needed a way to free Merlin. If she could do that...

One by one the web of dreamcatchers started to glow, images and voices emerging like a display of tv screens each tuned to a different channel. She saw her parents and Arthur arguing over the dagger, the king of Camelot pulling a broken Excalibur from the stone, the first Dark One stealing Merlin's tear and turning him into a tree. None of it frightened her. Standing back to regard her handiwork, Emma smiled.