Graphic here: tmblr . co/ZVRwvr1SC6jva

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: So, I'm really excited about this story and I hope you guys like it! It will have 2/3 parts and I'd love to know what you think! 33

Her hand shakes as she gently brushes the hair off his forehead. He looks so pale, it's all she can do to not crush him to her chest, give him some of her warmth.

"You need to believe, sweetie. It will work."

She vaguely hears her mother's voice and feels her hand on her shoulder but his voice is ringing in her head, drowning out everything else.

"Mom!"

She watches as a tear escapes her and drops onto his cheek.

(It will work, it will work, just because it didn't work for Regina doesn't mean it won't work for her, he will be fine, he will be-)

Her eyes close and she presses a kiss to his forehead, pushing every bit of love and magic she possesses into it, willing for it to work.

(It doesn't.)

"You are the next best thing we have to Maleficent herself and you will tell me how we can fix this!"

Regina has got Gold up against the wall, holding him there by the lapels of his coat. Her voice rises with every word and Emma would be right up there with her if it wasn't for the fact that her legs had pretty much buckled after her failed attempt at waking Henry up. She's sitting now on a chair facing the bed where Henry lies, with Killian's hand on her shoulder the only thing keeping her upright.

"There might be a way, if you would unhand me please-"

Regina relaxes her grip. Gold shrugs out of her hold and continues speaking, his eyes fixed on Emma.

"But, we will require Miss. Swan who being the product of true love is the literal personification of the only thing that breaks a Sleeping Curse-"

"Then, why didn't her kiss work?", Regina interrupts while glaring daggers at Emma, like it was her fault that the kiss hadn't worked.

"It didn't work because Maleficent cast it. A mere True Love's Kiss is not enough to bring back the boy. True Love will have to travel to the boy and bring him back herself."

She stands up, Killian moving with her, his hand still on her shoulder.

"Where do I have to go?"

She feels Killian's grip tighten and the eyes of everyone in the room on her.

Gold looks at her and then at Henry, his face grave.

"The nether-realm, the land of fire that all who are under the curse visit. A treacherous place, preying on a persons's demons and deepest desires, doing anything to capture another soul."

The room erupts into conversation.

"She doesn't have to go alone, does she?"

"I'm going with her!"

"Oh no you're not, he's my son. I'm going with her."

The arguments continue but, she doesn't really hear any of it, her eyes immediately meeting Killian's.

"If you think that you're going there without me, you've severely underestimated my powers of persuasion darling."

His voice is a murmur, only meant for her ears. Her face breaks into a little smile as he comes around to face her, his hand grazing her arm and taking hers. He drops a kiss on her knuckles and pulls her closer.

"We will get him back, love. I promise you."

He's looking at her with such sincerity that she wants to break, to cry, to let him comfort her. But, this is not the time.

They need to get her son back.

Gold lets them know that he can only send two people over at the very most and even then only with Regina's help. So, when it comes down to it, it doesn't take much convincing to decide that Killian will be the one to accompany her.

"How would we return?"

When Killian speaks is when she realises that the thought had never even occurred to her, too caught up in trying to find a way to wake Henry up.

"Once you find the boy, Miss. Swan will use her magic and the spell I will teach her now, to open a portal so you can return."

She feels herself stiffen. Killian steps closer to her and takes her hand.

"You can do it."

She meets his eyes and gives him a small smile and a nod. She wishes that she could believe in herself and in her abilities as much as he does, but for now, his trust in her would have to be enough.

Gold teaches her and she tries to burn every instruction into her memory. When they finish, or rather, when he tells her that she is as ready as she will ever be, they say their goodbyes. She hugs her parents, kisses her little brother. She watches as Killian and her father exchange a brisk handshake. She watches her mother envelope him in a hug that seems to shock him into stillness.

"Bring them home, ok?"

"You have my word, milady."

Her eyes blurry with tears, she turns to Regina, who for the first time since this whole thing began, looks close to breaking down herself.

"You take care of him alright? And look for another solution in case I- in case I don't make it."

Regina only nods before letting a concerned Robin take her into his arms.

She kisses her son a last time on the forehead.

Now they stand, facing the open portal, already feeling the heat from the flames on the other side. She looks at Killian and reaches for her gun. She doubts it will be of much use in there but it comforts her a little, lets her think that she's still in control.

"Ready?"

He flashes her a grin.

"Always, love."

Heat.

It consumes her until it is all that she can feel. Killian's hand is tight in hers. They'd realised early on that losing track of time and distance was all too easy here and losing each other was not an option.

Initially she had been able to make out details of the landscape, a tree here, a hill there and they'd made some vague attempts to navigate. Picking a flaming tree and making it a reference point, they had made their way but soon enough, they'd realised that it was nearly impossible to separate one tree on fire from another. After which they had just tried to walk in a straight line as much as possible, hoping that the land itself would somehow lead them to Henry.

The burning never stops. They never find piles of ash or places where the foliage had burned all the way through. All there is, is the constant burning.

She glances at Killian and even though he's trying his best to hide it, he's having trouble walking. They both are. They walk hunched over, a hand in front of them to protect themselves from the flames licking at their bodies. The lack of water (they'd run out of the little bit they had brought with them very fast) was causing her throat to feel like there were knives stabbing her every time she took a hard, gasping breath.

But they push on, the only thing they can do.

(Despite the fact that they don't know if they were getting closer or further from their goal.)

He had tried to take off his jacket in the beginning because it had become too oppressive but the only thing that had done was allow the heat to get closer to his skin. He's not sure how long it's been that they have been trudging along this patch of path. It's the first one in a while that hasn't required for them to jump over or navigate around some or other piece of their landscape blocking it.

Emma stumbles, her grip on his hand tightening as she tries to hold herself up. His other arm comes around her to keep her steady. She was struggling, taking in shallow breaths and holding on to his arms for support. He wasn't doing too well himself, leaning on her a little bit as soon as he felt he could.

They needed to rest. They needed water. They needed a breeze, something to give them some respite.

"How about we sit here, love? We're due a little bit of a rest."

Her head snaps up to look at him.

"No, we need to keep going. We're gonna end up at the burning room sooner or later and that's where Henry is!"

"But, you can hardly stand, let alone hike for who knows how long to a room in a building that we're not even sure exists."

He takes a breath. Speaking was sapping the meagre energy he had left.

"All I'm saying is, we have a better chance of actually reaching the lad alive if we stop here and allow ourselves to rest until we can walk again."

She opens her mouth and by the set of her shoulders and the scrunch in her eyebrows he knows she's about to argue but there is a sudden crashing noise and he jumps, turning to find the source. It's tree falling over, its branches snapping as it hits the ground. When he turns back to look at her, his arms still around her waist and her hands still on his biceps, she looks resigned, her shoulders slumped and more of her weight leaning on him. She nods and moves to sit down right where they stand.

They sit there propped up against each other to keep themselves upright and he feels himself drifting off. His eyelids flutter as he tries to keep himself awake, his body feeling heavy. His arm goes around Emma and she leans into his chest.

Her hair still smells like lemons. He lets himself rest his eyes, just for a minute.

He wakes with a start, jerked out of his dreams by a sudden sensation of falling. He opens his eyes and the orange and red sky fills his vision. He scrambles into a sitting position, his eyes darting about looking for Emma, his stomach churning when he can't locate her.

"Good Morning sleepyhead, or night, or whatever time of day it is right now."

He feels a hand on his shoulder and relaxes. He looks up to see her smiling softly at him and his face cracks into an tiny answering grin. He still sees the anxiety in the way her hands grip his shoulders and in the way her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes but he is glad that she is in better spirits. Maybe now they will be able to make better time.

He stands up and takes her hand, dropping a little kiss on her forehead.

"Hello, love."

They continue their journey, still not sure where they were headed. He can see that Emma is beginning to panic and to be perfectly honest, so is he. They don't know where they are and they don't know how long Henry would last in here. The thought of him being hurt causes an ache in his chest that doesn't go away.

He is about to suggest they take a turn and find a different way when he notices an odd protrusion on a hill up ahead. He wouldn't have even noticed it if hadn't been for the fact that it was not covered in flames.

"Uh, darling? I believe we've found the room."

He points in its direction and watches as Emma's eyes light up and she breaks into a run. Her optimism is contagious it seems, because he finds himself running after her, a shadow of a laugh on his breath.

They reach the foot of the hill. She stops to look back at him and begins to speak but before she can get any words out, the earth shakes beneath their feet and she is falling. He is frozen as he watches her disappear into the ground, her mouth open in shock.

He can only see her fingers grasping at the lip of the hole. He attempts to run to her side but he crashes into some sort of invisible barrier just before he can get close enough to pull her up. He slams his shoulder into it again and again but it doesn't budge. He tries using his hook but to no avail.

"Emma! Emma, can you hear me?"

"Yeah! I can hear you! I don't know how long I can hold on, Killian!"

Her voice is faint as it reaches him and he can see her fingers digging into the dirt, slipping and grabbing hold again and again as they displace the soil, the flames at the foot of the hill uncomfortably close to her skin. His heart is thundering in his chest and his arms burn to pull her to safety.

"Darling, use your magic! I can't-I can't get past this bloody-"

He slams his body against the invisible wall again. His stomach churns with panic, his breath coming in short, shallow pants, his mind chanting a constant litany of No, no, no!

He sees her head emerge over the edge, her face twisted into a grimace as she strains to hold her weight. She's breathing heavily as she tries to keep herself from falling. He falls to his knees, his hand and hook against the wall keeping him from her.

"My-My magic isn't working! I can't feel it anymore."

Her words come in short bursts and he feels like screaming. He hasn't felt this helpless since the Crocodile had had his hand in Milah's chest. He pushes the thought from his mind harshly, not wanting to imagine Emma lying in his arms, cold and still.

"Try to pull yourself up, love. I know you can do it!"

He watches as she extends her arms, trying to get a better grip but the loose earth doesn't allow her to hold on for too long. The flames creep closer to her skin. She keeps slipping and every time she does, he feels his heart stutter.

"Emma, please- gods please love, hold on-if I could just-"

His voice cracks as he speaks and his eyes burn but he tries to break through the barrier again and again. Nothing happens.

"Killian, Killian stop. I need you to listen to me, ok?"

Her voice is tight, ready to snap, to break into a sob.

"I need you to promise me that you'll bring Henry back, that you'll get up right now and go save my son."

Even before she had gotten through her sentence, he had begun shaking his head.

"No, Emma, no. I'm going to get you out of there. You'll be-"

His voice gives up on him, his throat closing as he claws at the wall, refusing to give up, even now.

"There isn't anything-", her voice breaks as the first tears escape her, "you can do. I just- I need you to tell him that I love him and that I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save him."

"My darling, my love, please, just-"

She shakes her head and continues, her tears flowing freely now, her words punctuated by sobs.

"And tell my parents that I love them so much, that I'm-", her fingers lose their grip for a second and he lunges forward but she regains her hold,"so thankful for what little time we had together."

He nods numbly, still in denial that this was happening but ready to promise her the moon if she wished it. Anything, anything to make this stop, to feel her in his arms, to feel the warmth of her lips.

"And you."

She smiles a watery smile and laughs a tiny laugh that turns into a heaving sob as she cries. He feels the wetness on his cheeks as he echoes the sounds she is making.

"I'm sorry that this is when I've decided to say it but, I love you Killian. I love you so much. You've made me happier than I have ever been. You brought me-", an errant sob passes her lips, "-you brought me home."

He presses his forehead against the barrier and tries to speak, but his voice betrays him and the only sounds that escape him a broken sobs and half-formed words.

"I love you too, so much my darling. I can't- I can't go on without you."

She smiles and it pierces his heart that he can't kiss her, that he can never kiss her again.

"I love you, I love you-"

She repeats it again and again. Her grip on the earth finally gives way.

"Emma!"

He hears his anguished scream echo in the silence of the fiery plains and watches as she slips away from his sight.

The barrier in front of him vanishes and he falls onto the dry ground.

(He never wants to get up.)

He had broken down completely after she had gone.

At first he had cried, deep gut-wrenching sobs that left his eyes burning and his throat drier than ever. Then he had gotten angry, he had kicked and screamed, howling at the cruel demons that ruled this land for taking his love away from him. His knuckles had bled and his face had been scratched up, the heat only serving to inflame the wounds.

Now he sits, staring at the large crack in the soil, the hole extending deep, deep into nothingness. He keeps seeing her in his mind, her smile, her laugh, her kiss. She had come into his life like sunshine and taught his battered, blackened heart how to love again now that she was gone, it felt like his world had dimmed.

A few more tears slide down his cheek. He wipes them away and stands.

Despite the fact that he feels like his heart has shattered into a million pieces that pierce him every time he takes a step, he begins to climb.

He would honour her last wishes. He would find Henry.

She wakes up with a start, scrambling to stand.

"Killian?"

"I'm here, love."

He comes up from behind her to take her hand.

"Ready to go, my darling?"