Final chapter... I'm sad but happy, so torn.

Brain is already buzzing with a twinkle of an idea, just need to work out the logistics of a good story now.

Please please please review, they make me super happy and inspire me to carry on with a new story :D

Enjoy

Two bloody days, that's how long it had taken him to feel even close to human again. His speech had returned and the numbness in his arm had finally left but Swan had insisted that he stay in bed until Whale said that he was OK to get up. Killian currently sat with his feet on the floor, Emma was on his left while Whale poke and prodded him for what felt like the hundredth time in forty eight hours. His spots had mostly faded faded now and his breathing was much better, the only real issues that remained were his "normal" headaches and the inability to balance very well.

"You've made good progress" Whale said packing his stethoscope back into his bag as he stood up form the edge of Emma's bed "I think you're good to start getting up and about again, just take it easy"

"When will these headaches end and why can I still not walk in a bloody straight line without falling over? That's what I want to know" Killian grumbled as he pulled his pajama top back down.

"Give it time. Believe me when I say that you are very lucky to only have these two issues. A lot of people have a lot worse after going through what you did"

Killian sighed, he just wanted to be able to do things for himself again but Whale was right, he was lucky. Emma rubbed her hand across his back and he looked up at her with a smile.

"It'll be OK you know" she said with a smile of her own.

"Aye Love" he agreed as she lent over and kissed his cheek

Whale left a few minutes later and Killian lay back on his pillows with another sigh just staring up at the wooden ceiling as Swan walked the Doctor out. As he lay there he could hear David walking about on the roof outside, the Prince had been out there for hours now, what the hell was he doing? Killian had thought that he would surely be back inside once he awoke from his nap but he wasn't and he wasn't being particularly quiet either. He was apparently fixing a leak but Killian now wasn't convinced that he had told him the truth, it had been hot and dry for the last two days and this was the first a leak had been mentioned.

As Killian lay there he could smell whatever Mary-Margaret was cooking for dinner, he had no clue what it was but it smelt delicious and his mouth instantly watered at the thought of the meal that he would surely be tucking into soon. He had barely been able to stomach anything the day after the migraine had struck and had only managed light meals yesterday which meant that now he was no longer feeling like a corpse he was famished. He lay trying to figure out what was being cooked by the smells alone but gave up when David poked his head through the window then pulled himself into the room from the fire escape grinning like a fool.

"What did Whale say?" he asked wiping his hand across his brow, he looked like he'd been working hard at something.

Killian furrowed his brow, how had David known that Whale had been here?

"I saw him down on the street when I looked over the edge of the roof... when I was... uhm... checking the guttering"

"Guttering?" Killian asked raising an eyebrow high on his head "What are you really doing out there?"

"Fixing a leak" David reiterated with a shrug "Now what did Whale say?"

"He said that I'm making good progress and that I can finally get out of bed" Killian answered looking back at the ceiling again before closing his eyes with another sigh

"Well that's good then, what's with the face?"

Killian didn't want to sound ungrateful, the Charmings had done so much for him and he truly did appreciate it but he was going stir crazy stuck in the loft all day. Now that he was feeling better he was desperate to go outside but with his balance issues Swan had said that it would be too much for him so soon after the migraine and he was inclined to agree, just the thought of all those stairs made him feel queasy.

"I just... I just miss everything. I miss my ship, I miss feeling the wind on my face and the smell of the ocean. I miss dropping into the station and surprising Swan with lunch, I miss doing research with Belle in the library and acting stupid with Henry...I even miss sparring with the Crocodile. David I feel like a trapped animal and I know that sounds stupid but I fear that I am going to lose my mind if I don't get my life back soon."

"Right, on your feet Pirate" David was suddenly at Killian's side grabbing his slippers and shoving them where he could easily step into them.

"What? Why?"

"You want to know what I was doing on the roof? Well come on"

David helped him struggle to his feet and into his slippers letting him catch his balance for a second and while he was standing there composing himself Emma suddenly appeared back at the top of the stairs.

"What's up?" she said casually eyeing her Father.

"It's time" David answered with a smile

Emma grinned back as she came up to Killian's side "Really? Great work Dad. Here let me help him, you go ahead"

"Swan, what's going on?" Killian asked as she started leading him towards the window.

"Just wait and see" she grinned back.

Getting out the window onto the fire escape was not as hard as he thought it was going to be but the vertigo that hit him when he looked down through the metal steps was new and he clamped his eyes closed against the feeling.

"It's OK, I've got you. It's just your funky balance thing, come on don't look down and you'll be fine"

Swan was right, once he raised his gaze and looked up instead of down his head settled and they started to move slowly up the one flight of stairs onto the roof. It was getting late but it looked like it was going to be another warm evening as the sun fell in the sky sending out a warm rosy glow across the evening sky.

Just before their heads came up over the edge of the roof Emma suddenly stopped and gave him a wide smile.

"Close your eyes"

"Love?"

"Just trust me" she giggled

And he did, of course he did, so he just did as Emma had asked and let her guide him the rest of the way. The drop from the final metal step to the roof top was bigger than he had anticipated and he stumbled slightly but Emma gripped him tightly to stop him from falling and held him steady until he got his bearings.

"You good?" she asked and he could practically hear the smile on her face

"Aye" he replied with a chuckle "Will you let me look now?"

"Just wait Pirate, have patience" she giggled in reply

They took a few more steps forward until Emma finally stopped and stood by his side.

"OK Dad, you ready?"

"Two secs... yip, done"

Killian was beyond curious now, what had David been doing up here?

"OK, you can open your eyes" Emma whispered

He drew in a deep breath and let it out opening his eyes at the same time only to gasp in surprise at the sight before him. There in the middle of the roof was a bed, not just a mattress but a whole bed made up with beautifully embroidered bedding but that wasn't all, there were little lights on strings strung out in long swags all around a dining table that had been laid out for a meal.

"Swan? What? How? I don't... "

Killian looked back at Emma in confusion, how had they got all this stuff up here? Emma grinned widely at him.

"You said you wanted to see the stars so I figured that if we were going to do it, we'd do it in style"

Killian blinked his eyes, he couldn't believe what he was seeing, Emma tugged his hand and pulled him towards the table showing him to sit down and just as he was lowering himself into his chair soft music started playing from somewhere off to his right, Killian looked to the side to see David standing up and smiling widely at him.

"I'm confused, how did you get all this stuff up here?" he pointed at the bed still not believing that it was there in front of him before looking back to Emma for answers.

"Let's just say I've moved on from mugs of hot chocolate, getting it up here was easy... Dad setting it all up quietly was much more... challenging shall we say" Emma grinned raising an eyebrow at him and he couldn't help it when a grin split his face, they had done this for him?

"I hope you're hungry" Mary-Margaret's voice carried over from the staircase and Killian turned to see her walking towards him with two plates full of food, she smiled at him sweetly as she put the meal down in front of him then turned to David "Come on Charming, yours is downstairs, let's leave these two to it"

With that they did just that leaving Killian still sitting in shock at what he was seeing, he looked back at Emma with his mouth still hanging open.

"This is... " words failed him

"I know" Emma grinned "and at least this time when you're stargazing you won't get wet, I checked the forecast and the skies will be clear all night, now eat before it gets cold"

This was just the beginning of the most perfect night, they ate their meal and chatted then Emma helped him move across to the bed where they lay in each others arms for a while, Killian must have nodded off at one point because when he woke it was truly dark and Emma was lying on her back checking her phone.

"Sorry Love" he mumbled in a sleepy voice turning his head on the pillow to look at her.

"It's OK" she replied turning onto her side and pulling herself into his side "How's the head? You're overdue your meds"

He could feel the dull thud starting to build, he knew that she was right but he just smiled at her as he gave a stretch and a yawn.

"Come on, let's get you those pills and you can use the washroom while we're down there then we can get settled for the night"

Fifteen minutes later he was settled back on the bed except this time they were both under the covers lying on their backs staring at the night sky. He sighed contentedly when Swan's hand took hold of his stump and just held it, he loved how it didn't bother her.

"You know I don't really know the names of all the constellations in this realm Swan" he chuckled

"I know but you already know more than me and I've lived here all my life, besides it's much more fun to make up names like... look at that one, it looks like a giant kite, see it?"

"That's Pegasus Love" He chuckled but the constellation had him thinking of the sail that had once adorned his beloved ship, the sail that he himself had set ablaze to stop anyone else using it to get back to Neverland after he had lost Liam.

"What is it?" Emma's concerned voice reached through his musings and he turned his head to see her worried face

He gave her a sad smile "I was just thinking."

"About?" she asked coming up onto her elbows and resting her chin on his chest

"Liam" he replied with a sigh "When we traveled to Neverland all those years ago we used a sail that was made of feathers from Pegasus himself, after he..." he drew in a breath "after Liam died I set the sail ablaze, that way no one could ever use it to return to that infernal Island. I thought it would make me feel better but as I stood watching the flames engulf the sail I just felt empty, I had still lost my Brother, he was still gone"

He looked at Emma's face suddenly realizing that she looked worried.

"What's wrong Love? Don't worry about me, it was a long time ago. I have made my peace with all that has happened"

"It's not that, I just know how you felt back then... When we were back in the Enchanted Forest in that other reality I lost you" she looked right into his eyes and it felt like she was peering into his soul with her round sorrowful eyes.

"It's alright Love, you didn't lose me, I'm right here" he soothed not wanting this night to turn into another sad occasion

"I know but when I watched you die I made a promise to myself that if your plan succeeded and we all got home in one piece I was going to tell you something but when it came to it I couldn't do it. I broke my own promise to myself then you got ill and I thought I was going to lose you for real this time and I couldn't stop hating myself for not telling you the minute we got back"

"Tell me what Love?" He asked as his heart picked up a beat, was she finally going to admit her feelings? She had been so close on the day they returned to Storybrooke but she had not been ready and that had been OK, he loved her enough for both of them.

"Killian I have spent my life running away from everything. After Neal I refused to let anyone else in... until you. I knew from the minute I met you that we had a connection, you got me like nobody else ever had and I saw through your act to the man inside, you were hurting but more than that you were lost too just like me"

A tear tumbled down her cheek and he raised his hand to wipe it away stroking his thumb gently across her cheek.

"It's alright Love, I'm not going anywhere... survivor remember?" he gave her a crooked smile and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I know but it's time. It's time that I kept my promise to myself. I'm not scared anymore, I know that you're not going to up and leave me when things get tough, you'll be by my side always soooooo the thing I wanted to tell you was... I love you"

She actually looked scared as the words finally came out of her mouth but the minute Killian's smile split his face she grinned right back at him.

"About bloody time Swan. Do you have any idea how long I have waited to hear those words? And just in case you didn't know... I love you too"

They both grinned at each other but Killian's gaze fell from Emma's eyes to her lips suddenly realizing that they were truly alone for the first time in a very long time. Any further thought of conversation was lost on the two of them as their lips crashed together knowing that no matter what happened in life they would be fine because they had each other.