Originally written for the Once Upon a Time Captain Swan, Vol 2. Written as a collaboration with hellomommanerd, hollyethecurious, and winterbaby89.

4x15 Poor Unfortunate Souls

Heart and Soul

A deleted scene that starts just as Ursula stops Emma and the others from saving August.

Emma gritted her teeth in frustration. You would think that fighting on the side of good would make things go your way. The plan to rescue August had started out smoothly enough, with Snow getting the jump on Cruella, and August, adult August, being released to put an end to whatever Gold had up his sleeve. But no. Ursula appeared and Emma's heart sank.

"No one is going anywhere," Ursula said, and her tone sent a chill through Emma's spine.

This could not be happening. Killian had told Emma he was sure he could help Ursula with whatever the problem was that put the sea goddess on the side of the villains, but now she was here and he was not.

"Where the hell is Hook?" Emma demanded. "What did you do to him?" Multiple scenarios flashed through Emma's imagination, and none of them had a good outcome. That pirate was so sure, so confident that he could survive anything, and all Emma could think was that once again, he'd marched right into danger.

Ursula sneered at her. "Sorry, sweetheart, your boyfriend is shark bait."

No. NO.

The witch grabbed her mother, winding her tentacles around her neck and the meaning was clear. She'd taken Killian and now she was going to take her family. Panic and rage surged through Emma, and she raised her hands, willing to do whatever her magic allowed to defend them.

But Ursula was having none of it. "Drop those hands or your mother here is going to need gills to breathe."

Every ounce of her being wanted to lash out, but Emma knew the other woman had power. If what she said was true, then Hook… Hook was. No, she couldn't give into that, and so she dropped her hands and tried reason, telling Ursula that she really didn't want to do this. Hook and Regina had wanted to change, and maybe she could convince this woman, too.

~~~cs~~~

Killian closed his eyes and breathed in the familiar sea air. It had been far too long since he'd stood on the deck of his ship, feeling the motion of the water and the sound of the breeze in the sails.

He could hardly believe his luck that Ariel had turned up for him at the exact right time, and with the exact right talent for what he needed. It was taking longer than Killian had wished for Ariel to retrieve the Sea King, but he was grateful for her assistance nonetheless. After everything he'd done he still couldn't believe the mermaid had agreed to help him, much less save his life. He couldn't help but smirk as he touched his cheek, remembering her enthusiastic greeting as he'd woken up earlier. Aye, he deserved that slap, and the others the mermaid had bestowed on him over the past year, just as he had deserved his dunking in the sea that Ursula had given him today.

After giving Ariel the sincere apology she had coming, Killian had laid out his plain, and she had been willing to do whatever he needed. He supposed some of that was gratitude for being freed from the bottle that had once contained the Jolly Roger, but, in truth, he knew it was because she was a hero who had always been open to doing the right thing. The other mermaids most certainly hated her for that, and his chagrin over his past betrayal of her rose a notch.

On that thought, he heard a loud thump on the deck behind him, and turned to see the pretty red headed woman and an angry, glowering Sea King. Poseidon was on board, and Killian was well aware as he watched Poseidon raise his trident that he was undoubtedly about to be killed.

~~~cs~~~

Emma could not give into her emotions, not when there was so much saving to be done, but nothing was going right. Ursula would not be reasoned out of her rage. What had the woman done to Killian? Could she really have drowned him? It didn't seem possible that a man who had survived hundreds of years and was constantly rushing into danger could be gone just like that, but she pushed the thoughts aside again. It was just too much to deal with, that she could somehow lose him. There had to be a way out of this mess.

Panic had even taken hold of her father. David's hand kept twitching, wanting to use his sword, but afraid of losing his wife if he fought back. How could these villains keep using love as a weapon? Did being the Savior mean that she would never have love in her life because it made her weak?

She couldn't accept that.

~~~cs~~~

Once again, Killian owed Ariel his life, for Poseidon had lifted his staff as a formal, if reserved, greeting. Before bringing him to the Jolly Roger, she had gone so far as to inform the sea king that Killian's intentions were pure in his desire to unite him with his long-lost daughter. "You have my thanks," he told her.

She smiled at him. "Any time, captain." And with a soft splash off the port bow, she was away to be reunited with her prince.

As the men hastened toward the cabin to try and locate Ursula, Poseidon informed Killian as to why they'd been unable to extract the voice from within the shell, and assured him that he was more than ready to help right the wrong for which they were both culpable.

As they approached the cabin Killian could hear the raised voices. First Emma's, and then Ursula's, and then silence. Poseidon's expression grew grim, and his hold on this trident tightened. Killian raised his hand and they stopped.

"Let me go first," Killian suggested.

Poseidon didn't seem convinced. "If Ursula decides to act against them, you won't be able to stop her.

Killian nodded his understanding, but he had thought this through. "You and I both know that she doesn't want to do harm, she's just in pain, and with you here, I can help with that." Poseidon stepped back, granting his approval.

"That's where you're wrong," he heard Ursula argue as he approached the door. "I can't have him leave with you – not when the Author is the only one who can give me what I want."

Killian pushed the door open. "That's not true," he called out as he made his way into the cabin. Emma turned anxious eyes toward him, and her shoulders dropped as she released the breath she'd been holding. The shift from tension to relief at his appearance a palpable transition that seemed to ripple through the room.

"How are you still breathing?" Ursula exasperated, drawing a smirk from his lips.

He spared a quick glance Emma's way, wanting to go to her, but knowing that right now that couldn't be his priority. He was here to make things right. "I'm good at surviving, or you're bad at killing. Either way, you don't need the Author to get what you want." He approached her, knowing that at any time she might choose to end him for good this time. Best to be on about it. "I know why you couldn't release your voice from that shell. Only the one who enchanted it can do that."

"Wait, you don't mean…" Ursula whispered in hopeful hesitancy.

"Aye," he confirmed and her father made his entrance.

Killian stood transfixed at the sight before him as father and daughter reunited and lay to rest the misery he'd had a hand in causing. Overwhelmed by the knowledge that he had restored another's happy ending, he glanced over and caught the eyes of his. Emma. The happy ending, he never thought he'd find, the happy ending he wasn't sure he even deserved.

She moved over to him, tucking herself against him, and he pulled her closer, resting his hook against her hip. He couldn't help but take a moment to enjoy how good it was to hold her and feel how thankful he was to be with her, again.

All too soon they had to deal with the realization that one of their quarry had slipped away, and a silent nod of gratitude from Ursula, the team of heroes hurried themselves in retreat from the cabin, but Killian found himself unable to join their ranks. He may no longer be a villain but he was far from a hero, and now more than ever he felt haunted by the words Regina had spoken at the helm of his ship.

Villains don't get Happy Endings.

~~~cs~~~

Emma had never been a touchy-feely person, but here she was holding onto this pirate, half afraid that if she let go she would lose him again. Something had changed inside of her and it didn't matter that her family or anyone else was around to see how she felt about being reunited with him. She let her hand drift over his chest and the leather of his jacket, still feeling traces of dampness there that let her know Ursula hadn't been bluffing about his fate. She could sense that Killian was still uneasy, could feel the tension in his body as he held her. Despite the happy turn of events, he wore a look that she could only describe as brooding as he walked away from her. The feeling of loss was immediate. Emma Swan, who had spent her entire life building a shell around her heart so that she couldn't, wouldn't ever rely on anyone else, had become a woman who needed people in her life – Henry, her parents, and this man.

She finally let her guard down and let what had just happened wash over her; the fear and the anger and the panic and the sheer relief and happiness that it was over and that he was still safe. Killian, though, didn't seem happy or relieved at all. She moved to him, not understanding. "Hook, what's wrong? You gave Ursula everything she wanted."

"But I almost didn't, love." His words were soft, but honesty was in every syllable. "I was so desperate to figure out what the Crocodile was up to, I almost became the man I used to be. You have no idea how easy it is to fall back into the darkness." She could hear the venom laced with despair in his voice as he spoke, and though it wasn't aimed at her, it still sent a chill down her spine. It's wasn't until he'd almost finished speaking that he finally turned to look at her.

Filled with the overwhelming urge to reassure him, that he was a hero, Emma got as close as she possibly could to him and stated with confidence, "Whatever mistakes you made with Ursula, you fixed."

"Aye, but it's a stark reminder of something."

At the ominous tone of his comment Emma's defenses piqued causing her to take a step back, as she questioned, "What?"

"With all this talk of authors and the book, we've never discussed one fact. I was a villain."

Relief surged through her at his statement, because she had already determined that this was something that she could assuage his guilt on, by saying, "But you're not anymore."

"Neither was Regina, but she still lost her happy ending. If we are to believe the rules of the book, then It's only a matter of time before I lose mine."

She really hadn't known what he was going to say, but hearing that this was about his happy ending took her by surprise. Killian had been through so much, and had given up so much that had meaning to him. He'd left his life in the Enchanted Forest, his crew, and even his ship. He loved the sea, and yet here he was in a tiny town, talking about losing something that was precious to him. "Wait, if you're afraid of losing your happy ending, that means you found it. What is it?"

She could see the tears beginning to form in the corner of his eyes as he confessed, "Don't you know, Emma? It's you."

She was overwhelmed by feelings she wasn't ready to name as well as how this man constantly wore his heart on his sleeve for her. And as she listened to him tell that nothing, in all the years of his life, meant more to him than she did, caused the tears that she had been holding at bay, to spill from her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was hearing words that she had never expected to hear. In that moment, she knew that she felt the same way. That this man was in her blood and the thought of ever having to go on without him was terrifying.

Unable to fathom a response, she closed the distance between them and kissed him, slowly and tentatively, the tears still spilling down her face. She savored his taste and the soft touch of his breath on her skin. Deepening the kiss, she tried with her actions to show him how she felt, even without words. As she went in for another kiss, she could finally feel some of the tension ease out of Killian's demeanor, just as they were rudely interrupted.

Poking his head back in through the open door, David cleared his throat and said, "Uh… guys. Not to ruin the moment, but Gold is probably already on his way back here… we should really get going."

"Your father is right, love," Killian said, his voice still low, but rough his emotions – their emotions. "We should depart before the crocodile comes back." Holding onto his arm, they made their way through the front door, and down the porch steps. She should probably go back with her parents, but couldn't seem to let go of her time with Killian. "I guess we should go to the loft," she said, reluctantly.

He seemed to feel the same way, as he added, "I do need to go check on the Jolly, I only had moments with her."

Emma paused mid-stride. "Wait, the Jolly is back?" She turned to gauge his reaction as she asked her question.

A beautiful smile bloomed taking over his handsome features as he responded with a wistful, "Aye."

~~~cs~~~

As they left the cabin and began walking toward the docks, Emma kept replaying the last few hours in her mind, and the ones that played over and over again were that Hook almost didn't come back to her and his confession. Essentially, he had bared his soul to her and what had she done? Slammed up those walls on the words just like she always did and kissed him. Not told him how she felt when Ursula had said he was shark bait. And more importantly, not given him the words that were swimming in her head when he told her she was his happy ending. Something told her she needed to remedy that and now.

"Killian," his name still felt new on her lips even though she had thought of him that way for quite some time. "We need to talk." She stopped walking to wait for his answer.

"Aye, love. We can talk on the Jolly Roger."

Emma watched him take a few steps before realizing that she hadn't followed, but it felt wrong somehow to talk on the ship. They needed to go somewhere alone, other than the Jolly Roger or his room at Granny's, and the loft was where they were taking August, "No, can we go somewhere else to talk?"

He tilted his head staring intently into her eyes, making her feel as if he was seeing inside her soul and pulling all those emotions that she was keeping close right out of her. "Sure, Swan," he finally answered his voice sounding perplexed, "lead the way."

When he answered, his blue eyes were swirling with things that in the past, she would have chosen to ignore, but tonight, her goal was to find the words to take away any questions that he might be having. She was in this with him and he needed to know that.

~~~cs~~~

As he walked beside Emma with her hand in his, he wondered what she wanted to talk about, because in his experience when a woman said they wanted to talk, it usually wasn't a good thing. Had he said too much? And did she understand what he was really saying to her? That he loved her but that he knew she wasn't ready to hear those three words yet. She hadn't said anything back to him, but he hadn't really expected her too, after all he was sure she was worried about August and her mother.

Perhaps he should have waited to tell her, but in that moment, he couldn't hide anything from her. There had been too much of that already.

He recognized the terrain, and that she was taking him down to the bench by the water, a place that he personally thought of as their bench. It was where she'd run to before they'd been pulled into the time portal, and he knew it was where she liked to be alone. This might indeed be a conversation that didn't bode well for him, in spite of her soft kisses and their loosely linked fingers. He waited for her to sit, and then settled beside her, careful to not crowd her. She reached over to run her fingers along the curves of his hook and looked uncertainly into his face.

"It's okay, love. You can tell me."

"I…"

Emma's voice trailed off and Killian waited, not knowing if her next words would break his heart or send it soaring.

"I like kissing you," she said.

His heart was amused.

"What I mean to say is," she continued, with a light blush on her cheeks and her gaze rising to look at him, moving from his eyes to his hair, glancing across the scar on his cheek, and finally settling on his mouth, "sometimes it's just easier for me to show you how I'm feeling instead of, you know…"

"You aren't much for illuminating conversation, Swan."

"Not my strong suit," she admitted.

Her hair shone in the late afternoon sunlight, and he reached out to feel the softness of it, letting it fall between his fingers. She seemed to relax at his touch and he let his thumb trace across her cheek to her mouth and linger on her bottom lip. "I rather like kissing you, too, Emma."

The corner of her lips hitched upward, and she tilted her head at him, wryly asking, "Even if I'm doing that instead of telling you what I'm feeling?"

His thumb drifted down to the cute little cleft in her chin. "You will tell me when you're ready," he said.

"What if I'm ready now?" she asked.

Killian had always had the knack for reading people, something that had saved his neck a multitude of times over the past few centuries, and yet Emma had always been somewhat of an enigma to him. He would be lying if he said that it didn't intrigue him.

~~~cs~~~

As his hand drifted along her cheek, Emma's heart was racing so fast that she wasn't sure it would stay in her chest. The words to tell him what was in her heart kept running around in her head but getting her tongue to articulate them was another story. They welled up inside but then as soon as she opened her mouth, they dissipated into thin air.

Trying to relax herself, she picked up his chains and fingered the charms hanging around his neck, "Tell me how you got the Jolly back," she finally asked, thinking if they talked about something else for a bit, the words she wanted to say would return.

His smile told her that he knew exactly what she was doing but then settling back in the bench and stretching his legs out in front of them he proceeded to spin a tale about what had transpired earlier in the day, glossing over his treatment of Ursula and subsequent dunking in the cold waters of the sea.

When his tale had wound down, Emma gave him a sideways grin, "So, not only did you help return Ursula's happy ending today, but you also helped return Ariel's too."

He looked taken aback for a minute but returned her smiled, "It was the right thing to do."

"It was." She agreed, her nervous fingers playing over the leather of his jacket sleeve while trying to decide what to say next. "Killian?"

"I'm here, love. You can say anything to me."

How can he just sit there so calmly, she wondered, as she looked into the blue of his eyes, not seeing any signs of impatience or frustration? She took a deep breath, "When Ursula told me you were shark bait something inside of me shifted, Killian. I realized that perhaps what you had been saying to me was something that I really needed to 'listen' to and not just hear."

He tilted his head, giving her a little smirk, "And which one of my prodigious statements resonated with you at that moment, Swan?"

"The one where you said perhaps I should start living my life during the crisis, or I might miss it." Twisting on the bench toward him, she gently touched his face. "I don't want to miss it any longer, Killian."

Killian clasped her hand with his and rubbed his thumb back and forth across her knuckles, "I'm happy to hear that, Swan."

"And," she took a deep breath, ready to plunge into uncharted territory, and his quirked eyebrow gave her the last bit of encouragement that she needed. "And you, this thing we have and me being with you," she looked into his eyes, "it gives me hope that I can have something I never thought I could. The idea of losing that…"

This time, he was the one who kissed her, letting her know without words that he understood. He had told her she was his happy ending, and those words had filled her heart because almost losing him had shown her that her happy ending would not be possible without him. She melted into him, and this time, when their lips finally separated, there were no tears.

"So," she said, "about the Jolly Roger…

He gave her a soft smile and straightened, putting a small distance between them. "I do need to go back. There is some information Ursula is going to share with me about what the Crocodile and the others have planned, and she needs to get away before they find her."

Once again, he seemed to understand what she needed without her telling him. "And I need to get back to my parents and check on August." Some time with her family would help her come to grips with what Killian had come to mean to her. There was one thing that she knew for sure, though – she was done hiding the fact that he was an important part of her life now.

She watched him leave, appreciating the view and the fact that he was hers.

~fin

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