Captain Swan One Shots

The River of Broken Dreams (Part 4)

*Runs away because it's been forever but I've been suuuuuuper busy* (Also thank you for 100k reads, what????!! <3)
This is almost 2000 words though, so like yeah. Enjoy lol!
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Their arrival at the river was met with just the amount of enthusiasm Emma suspected it would. And by that, she meant none at all.

Henry was the first to speak after a long silence spent staring at the cold, black, and murky water.

"So, do you just... Jump in...? Or, like, do we have to set the mood? Like a candle-lit bath or something? Drain out the bad stuff? Should you- you know what? I'll stop now..." He looked down at his shoes, avoiding the looks of confused amusement from his family.

Killian chuckled lightly and patted him on the shoulder.

"No, lad, I believe getting in and out as quickly as possible is the best thing to do."

Henry nodded nervously. "Be careful?" He pleaded, looking up at Killian, seemingly in the brink of tears.

The look on her son's face nearly broke Emma's heart. She'd known for quite a while now that Henry looked up to her boyfriend, but seeing him this concerned for Killian warmed her heart and chilled her to the bone at the same time.

Emma had no idea how this would go over, sending the man she loved into the river of sorrow. Honestly, she had no clue what the hell she was doing, and that probably wasn't good. It was very possible that they would lose Killian... Again. And seeing Henry's concern made her consider this, probably too much.

Seeing Henry's face in that moment made her realize something that would later be the key to getting out of the underworld. Henry loved Killian. He didn't see him as just his mom's boyfriend, he saw him as someone that would always be there for him, someone he could go to for anything, someone he never had before. A father. And if Emma knew her son at all, she knew he was petrified of losing someone like that again.

Emma wouldn't find out until much later, but she was absolutely right.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Killian's arms circling her waist, pulling her into him.

"Hey," she breathed, turning around in his arms and cupping his face with her hands. "You don't have to be in there long," she tilted her head towards the greenish river, "Persephone said you'll know when to get out but that no matter what, you need to think about what you're doing this for. Think about me, our future, our family... Whatever you need to. Don't lose sight of that, okay?"

"Got it," Killian replied shakily. "Emma?" He said, pressing his forehead to her's.

"Yeah?"

"If this doesn't work... If I don't make it out of there... Please don't blame yourself. You did everything you could. You deserve more than to spend the rest of you life blaming yourself if things don't go to plan, do you understand, Swan? Please don't let guilt control you."

Emma dropped her hands from his face, moving them to his arms, and pulled back slightly. "I won't. But that doesn't matter, because I don't have to worry about it not working. It will. And then we're going home. Together," She said firmly.

"I love you, Emma, so much. Just... Know that, okay?" Killian kissed her forehead in reply.

"Always. And I love you too, more than you'll ever know," Emma smiled up at him, "Now, stop treating this like a goodbye and go get in that river," she let out a nervous laugh, hugged him once more, and walked toward her family, who stood by the shore, as Killian approached the water.

Henry immediately came up to Emma and hugged her. "He's gonna be okay, mom," he assured her.

"I know kid. He's going to be just fine," she took a nervous breath. As much as she tried to put on a brave face for Killian, she was terrified of what could happen. Losing Killian again was just not an option.