Three Words

I AM BACK LOVELIES! I can't believe I was gone from fan fiction for a full two years. My main reason for being away was school, I know it's not the best excuse but it takes over my life when I let it sadly. I'm back to stay though! Thanks for those who continue to read my stories. Season 4 was not my favourite, but all the amazing, heartbreaking and tear inducing Captain Swan moments were. So here's a short chapter on their journey in the finale. Enjoy and please review!

And I know the scariest part is letting go.

I promise the truth can't hurt us now.

So let the words slip out of your mouth.

The darkness was sucking the light from Regina, and the air from Emma's lungs. Her throat burned and fear gripped her entire being. The wind whipped through her blonde hair while she watched Regina become more and more consumed by the force of the magic.

She couldn't turn around. She couldn't take her eyes off of the darkness because she knew what it meant. She was too late. Too late to tell Killian what she had been thinking for oh so long, on her own terms. Every time she had tried to tell him, the words were caught in her throat. She had lost count of the amount of sentences she had started with "I…" before losing her heart to her mind as always.

Only a few hours before, Emma had been sitting on her bed with him. Giggling and playfully wrestling with him before fighting the ever losing battle. She had begun with: "I…" and Kilian's smile stretched across his face. It was the smile she loved waking up to and falling asleep watching. But she was still too afraid to take the next step, to make their relationship that much more real.

So she continued with: "wanted to thank you for sacrificing yourself," instead of what she had really wanted to say for so long. She had grasped his cheek in her hand and let their breaths mingle, sea salt meeting heat. Her head pounded with the word "love" as if her heart were beating solely for him. She knew that it was, sure as the moon and stars in the sky. But no amount of celestial bodies could provide her with the courage she needed to speak what she had been trying so desperately to say.

Emma stood near the darkness now after addressing her parents with tears clouding her vision. Over the roar of the darkness she heard Killian's voice pierce the night.

"EMMA, EMMA PLEASE!" He ran up to her and spun her to face him. His hair whipped around his face as he stared into her green eyes that were already losing light.

"No, don't do this," he can barely get the words out in a whisper, almost lost amidst the roar of the magic. Her eyes are completely full now, and a sob catches in her throat. But she's ready. She knows that these are the last words she will speak as Emma Swan, without the darkness to cloud her name. Her mind is a blur of memories, Hook telling her about trading the Jolly Roger away, their adventure in Neverland, their first kiss, sword fighting and even the lazy Saturday mornings of just lying on their bed and drinking each other in.

She can hear her own heartbeat in her ears as she lets three words slip from her lips: "I love you."

Emma knows this is not how she wanted the words to be spoken. She wanted it to be in a different place, a quiet moment where she could bask in the truth and warmth of what she has said. But she knows that these are the last three words she would have ever wanted to say to Killian Jones. The circumstances don't matter. What does matter is that the swan, no longer a lost little duckling, has been found. She holds his hand, presses her forehead to his and looks down at his lips. She knows that she can't taste him just one more time because she needs to act fast.

Emma instead pushes Killian away, knowing that she has said all she needs to. She thrusts her hand towards the darkness and allows the dagger to absorb it. She can barely see amidst the storm, but she fights against it and turns to look at Killian one last time. Even though she can feel something strange taking over, she doesn't worry. She sees fear in Killian's eyes but she holds onto her own words in both her heart and head.

Even if these are her last memories or moments of Killian Jones, she knows the three words she has just spoke are the only ones she would have ever wanted to last say to him.