Captain Swan One Shots

Tell Me a Story of Hope

Three weeks. In some cases, three weeks was a short time, a brief set of days, little time in the grand scheme of things, irrelevant compared to the years and years that life held and offered.

But in other cases, three weeks was enough time to snuff out all hope, all love and all light in someone's life. If one was lonely for three weeks, hated by the ones they loved, uncared for, then the chances of returning to who they were before were quite slim because they'd gotten used to the taste of loneliness. Of the sad power that came with it.

This is why it took Emma so long to fully return to herself after the darkness was destroyed. It was not for lack of effort, but more because the person she was before was simply too damaged by those three weeks of loneliness, of thinking no one cared or loved her.

She hadn't recovered yet, but she was getting closer every day. It had been nearly a month since the day she was saved now, but she still woke up in the middle of the night screaming for Killian, whose heart she had crushed to cast the curse, for Henry, who she had not been there for when he needed her most, for her parents who she hadn't acknowledged the whole time the curse was active, making them believe she hated them.

She couldn't express how insanely grateful she was every night that she had her pirate to hold her, to tell her it would be okay, to curl up beside and fall asleep in his arms.

And so finally, almost a month after she'd been rescued, when she finally slept through the night for the first time, she woke up that morning, a Saturday morning, beside Killian who was smiling down proudly at her and she realized that things were getting better at last.

They went for their first walk in months that morning. Usually, Killian would take the short trip to Granny's for breakfast or he'd cook for her family who came over some mornings but today, Emma felt, was different. She insisted on going to the diner with Killian, on inviting her family to breakfast with them. Killian had pulled her into a tight hug, whispering how proud he was of her into her hair.

"I've missed this, Swan," Killian said softly, swinging their hands back and forth.

"Me too," Emma replied, leaning her head on his shoulder and pressing a soft kiss to his neck. "I don't even remember the last time I was outside, honestly," she sighed.

Killian simply chuckled and kissed her cheek as they approached Granny's. She hesitated for a moment on the sidewalk in front of the diner, taking a deep breath, smoothing out her dark blue sweater. That morning she had tried to dress as the saviour everyone had known. Dark blue jeans, black leather boots, a blue sweater, though she couldn't bring herself to wear the red leather. She just wasn't there yet.

Killian laced his fingers with hers, smiling down at her gently.

"Everything is going to be fine," he promised, pressing a light kiss to her lips. She nodded and with another deep breath, they walked inside.

Aside from a few looks of surprise, a hug from Granny and Ruby, and Leroy nearly running out into the street yelling (stopped by Killian), Emma's apparent return to the public wasn't made into a big deal and she was grateful.

After breakfast with her family, Killian took Emma sailing on the Jolly Roger. The last time they'd been on the ship together, wasn't the best memory for either of them.

"Do you remember what you said? Last time we were here?" Emma asked, leaning against the side of the wheel as Killian was steering, looking down at her feet.

"Aye, and it was a blatant lie," Killian said firmly.

When Emma didn't look up at him, he reached out for her, taking her hand in a comforting, yet firm grasp.

"Emma, look at me, love," he whispered, though there was no one there to listen.

Slowly, she met his eyes. Those blue, blue eyes, full of love and admiration for her that she was sure was not deserved.

Her own eyes, watery and stormy, held just a shell of that light and love he had fallen in love with. Emma Swan had been through so much in her life, but before now, she had nothing to lose. Now, there were people she loved, people she could -did- hurt.

The guilt weighed her down and that light, though slowly returning, may never fully come back. However, the love she had for her family... that never faltered.

Killian saw this all is a brief second. He saw the hurt, but also the faint hope of healing, glimmering in her green eyes. He knew she needed to hear what he had to say, knew he needed to hear it from himself because the wait for this had been far too long.

"Emma Swan," he started, holding her gaze and taking a deep breath, "I have loved you since the moment you pulled me out of that bloody pile of bodies. When I promised you I'd never fail you, I never intended to break that promise. Just as I never stopped loving you, no matter what I may have said. You needed a reason to fight, love, you needed a reason to hate the darkness. Me saying I no longer loved you gave you that. But Emma, I swear to you, I will always love you, darkness or not. You are my world, my reason to live. I love you more than anything," Killian pledged, his eyes stinging with all the pent-up worry, anger, fear and heartache from those weeks and weeks when he couldn't talk to Emma like this.

Emma, she was momentarily stunned. Breathless and speechless from just how much this man loved her, how much she meant to him. She never imagined she'd ever feel this important to someone. Hell, if you told her two years ago that she'd be even half as loved as she was now, she probably would have punched you in the face.

"I..." Emma fumbled with her words, for a way to respond to what he'd said. She settled with and shakily emotional "Killian, I'm not good with words. But I never thought loving someone as much as I love you was possible before we met. You brought me back into the light and-" she broke down, melting into his arms. "I love you so much," she finished, just a whisper in his ear.

After that day, things slowly began to fall back into a familiar routine. Emma returned to her job as co-sheriff alongside her father later that week. Every morning, she took Henry to school and visited her parents and brother before breakfast with Killian, who moved into her new house. She'd spend her days in the sheriff's station with the new deputy, deputy Killian Jones, and her father, or out sailing with Killian, and sometimes Henry.

Life became normal again. And perhaps Emma would never quite find that woman from before the darkness, the woman whose sole purpose was to protect everyone else, never herself, always the saviour. And maybe she would never again be that woman who always saw the best in people. It was possible that Emma Swan  would never be the same again, but she preferred it that way.

This new Emma, she was still her. She was the real Emma, just with battle scars. She still had mile-high walls, she still cared too little for her own well-being, but something in her had changed for the better and everyone could see it.

This new Emma wasn't really that much different. This new Emma began to heal. This new Emma had so much love and support in her life, and between her parents, her son, her bother, and her now fiancé, this new Emma had more light in her life than before.

Things were looking up for the new Emma "soon to be Jones" Swan.

It's 12:30 a.m. on a school night what am I doing with my life? Yeah, so this is probably crap but hope you liked it. Comments?