Willoffire123: Merry Christmas everyone!

Emma: It isn't even Christmas yet though.

Henry: Which is why we need to fix Hook before it is.

Hook: 'croak!'

Regina: Please do; the croaking's annoying.

Rumplestiltskin: Indeed.

Emma: (points hot dog gun at Rumple) what happened to him?

Rumplestiltskin: You're about to find out, my dearie.

Henry: Willoffire123 doesn't own Once Upon a Time, by the way.

Regina: On with the chapter.

Hook

On some, subconscious level, Hook knew that what he saw wasn't real. She didn't have the power to clone herself.

At least, he didn't think, she did.

But really, rational thinking wasn't working very well at that moment. The overwhelming pain in his head and his throat and his leg and his chest and his hand blocked out any rational thought process.

Oh God, his hand hurt.

He'd thought the pain was bad when the Crocodile chopped off his other hand, but at least a couple of pints of beer and one role of bandages later the pain vanished along with his hand.

Now it's still the same pain, but still attached to his arm, making it a thousand times worse.

Which is why even though he knew they weren't real, he couldn't help freaking out over Zelena sitting at the foot of his bed.

"Hook, it's me, Emma!" said his tormentor.

Hook knew deep down that yes, that must have been Emma, the woman he loved, but she looked and sounded exactly like Zelena. So no, he was not going to calm down and no, he couldn't tell her exactly why her presence reminded him of those hours spent broken in her dungeon with the Crocodile, of all people.

He tried his hardest though.

"N-n-no stop," he croaked, feeling his windpipe howl in protest to the exertion. Hook wasn't proud of what he did next, but he through the glass of water next to his bed at the witch.

Instead of melting, she let the water hit her, looking slightly hurt.

"Killian, what's wrong?" she said desperately.

He wanted to tell her, really he did. She needed to know that she was not whoever she thought she was. No, she was the Wicked Witch, the woman who broke him.

"Emma, what's going on?" said yet another Zelena in a white lab coat, four more of the witches entering the room behind her.

Killian opened his mouth in a scream that never came.

His vision went blurry for a while, but when it cleared up again, he felt leather restraints strapping him to his bed.

It was then that he knew he was screwed. His chest constricted even further, making his oxygen-deficient brain produce large dark spots in front of his eyes.

Why was it so hard to breathe? Was the witch dunking him underwater again? He didn't feel wet. He must have been in a dream then, he decided.

"If he can't tell us anything, can we at least put him to sleep?" asked the short Zelena. "He doesn't look like he can breathe very well."

And, before he could protest, the Zelena in the lab coat injected something into his restrained arm, sending him from one nightmare into another.

Emma

"Alright Gold, explain him," ordered Emma. "What did you do?"

"I beg your pardon, Miss Swan?" asked Mr. Gold. "I didn't do anything; it was all the witch's doing."

"Yeah but you probably helped," said David. "We all know that you and Hook aren't exactly bosom buddies."

"The witch put a curse on him," said Mr. Gold. "Now, the only face he'll ever see is hers."

Emma remembered Killian's terrified face as he woke from his coma and saw her. After she had rejected him for so long, to see him reject her because of something outside either his or her control was heartbreaking to say the least.

"Is there anything we can do to break the curse?" asked Henry.

"What about true love's kiss?" suggested Mary Margaret. "That usually tends to work."

"You could try," agreed Gold. "But that would grant me something I've been itching for since I met the pirate: his death."

"Gold's right," said Regina. "Hook's heart would stop from the shock."

"Then what do we do?" demanded Emma. For once, nobody had an answer.

"Why don't we clear out?" David suggested at last. "If we're all still here when Hook wakes up we'll give him a panic attack."

"Good idea," said Mary Margaret. "We can regroup at Granny's and decide on a plan from there."

"Not you, Swan," said Regina, putting a hand out to stop Emma from leaving. "It's best if you stay with Hook."

"Why?" asked Emma. "If he sees Zelena when he sees me then I don't want to be anywhere near him."

"Trust me, Emma," said Regina on her way out the door. "If anyone can help Hook break this curse, it's you."

"Don't worry," said David, giving her a quick hug. "Hook will be fine. He's a survivor; he said so himself. Just don't leave him here to wake up with Whale, okay?"

Emma nodded, the panic receding slightly. Killian was a survivor; he would pull through this curse.

"Dr. Whale, when he wakes up, could you leave us alone for a little while?" she asked in a low voice, not taking her eyes off the-no, her pirate.

"Of course," said Whale, eager to leave his chest-kicking patient's side.

Then again, Emma was alone with her sleeping pirate. In a way, the silence was more frightening than Killian's terrified struggles. The silence provided that very real possibility that he would do just as Neal, Graham and even Walsh had all done.

He would make her alone again.

Unable to cope with that thought, Emma took his bandaged hand in her own.

"Please, come back to me," she whispered to the floor, too afraid to ask any louder.

She still got her answer though.

"Em-ma," croaked the drowsy pirate. "R-really y-you?"

"That's for you to decide, Killian," she said calmly, stowing away her emotions like always.

"Dun-no, l-lass," he rasped, attempting a chuckle. "Y-you look a-an aw-ful lot li-ke h-her."

"Are you scared of me?" she asked softly.

"N-no," he lied.

"Killian, it's okay to be scared," said Emma, gulping down a sob. When did he become so broken? "She put you through hell. But I'll be right here with you until you can see my face again."

"I-it is y-you," Killian panted, struggling with the effort to force sound out of his bruised throat. "Th-think I kn-ow th-that. B-but I-I,"

"Yes?" encouraged Emma.

"M' sc-scared," he confessed.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Emma insisted. "You don't have to hide your fears from me or anyone else anymore. Especially me. You've given up so much for me and I've always replied with shutting you out but-,"

"Y-you a-are r-re-al?" he asked, cutting off Emma's outpour of emotions.

Emma took one look at his pale face full of both hope and fear, and knew what she needed to do.

"I love you, Killian Jones," she said at last, and kissed him.

Instead of going into shock as everyone had believed, Killian used his broken hand to pull Emma closer, and he kissed her back.

It felt like mere seconds later, but when the two finally pulled apart, Emma could have sworn the room grew brighter, the blue and white colors becoming more defined.

Then there was Killian. His eyes no longer held any fear, only a gleeful sparkle.

"I love you, Emma Swan," he said tremulously. "You have no idea how long I've waited to see your face again."

One Month Later

Emma

"Are you sure Granny really needs me?" asked Killian as Emma dragged him down the street to Granny's Diner. "I'm really not well suited to fixing her communication device if I can't bloody well figure out the one you gave me."

"Yes, she insisted on you," said Emma. "Now come on! You've been in the hospital for a month, aren't you ready to be back in your own bed?"

Although he would never admit it, Emma saw his tired face brighten at the prospect of being back at Granny's.

"SURPRISE!" shouted everyone as they entered the diner.

Killian blinked, taken aback. "What's all this?"

"It's called a surprise party," said Henry. "Look! We decorated the whole place last night!"

Sure enough, balloons spray-painted gold and silver littered the floor, the counter and the tables. A sign hung on the back wall with "WELCOME BACK HOOK!" written in giant gold letters. Someone, most likely Henry, had draped matching streamers over all of the booths, making it difficult for anyone to sit and enjoy Granny's apple pie and ice cream.

They managed anyway, sitting Killian in the midst of everyone.

Emma nudged him, feeling very pleased with herself and her friends. Killian's reaction was perfect, his face bright pink, overwhelmed by how much his friends cared about him.

"Is this all for me?" he asked Henry, flabbergasted.

"That's the whole idea," said Henry, unable to stop grinning.

"I got you a present, dearie," said Granny, handing him a wrapped box.

"Why?" asked Hook. Emma could see that the massive attention was making Killian uncomfortable, so she intervened before he could potentially offend someone.

"Just open it," she insisted.

Never one to disobey Emma, Killian opened the box and pulled out what few possessions he owned and kept in his room upstairs.

"Why-," he repeated.

"You're being relocated, mate," announced David.

"To where?" asked Killian.

"To our place, of course," said Mary Margaret. "You can't live alone while you're recuperating, so you're coming to live with us!"

"Is that okay?" Emma asked anxiously. She could see that this was a big step for them, but she was willing to try if he was.

"But you have a baby on the way," Killian protested. "I would take up too much room."

Emma took his hand in hers. "We will always have room for you, understood?"

Killian gulped. "Yes mam!"

After the party, Emma pulled him aside to ask him herself. "Are you really okay with this? You don't have to do anything you don't want to, remember? And if you're still seeing flashes of her…"

Killian slumped against the wall. "In Regina, Belle and the Blue Fairy," he admitted.

"Compared to everyone in town? That's a huge improvement from a month ago," she said encouragingly. "And if you don't see her in any of my family…"

"That's best, I know," said Killian, taking her in his arms. "Even if I did, I'm not leaving you again. That alright with you?"

"Like it or not, pirate, you're stuck with me for a long time," said Emma.

Killian pulled her into a kiss. He realized that he had been through hell and back again over the past month. He still saw flashes of his time in that dungeon whenever he closed his eyes, but if Emma was there when he opened them again?

Then that was good enough for him.

Emma: NOW are we done?

Willoffire123: Yes

Hook: I don't believe you

Willoffire123: What? You want MORE torture?

Hook: I think I'll pass.

Henry: The story's finished! It's a Christmas Miracle!

Willoffire123: Indeed. Would everyone please join me for the last time?

Hook: Might as well.

Emma: Ugh, fine

Willoffire123 and Once Upon a Time crew: Until next time!