She was waiting.

Rooted to the same spot for who knew how many hours, she was incapable of moving. Her eyes fixed on a dark, foggy meadow in the distance, and beyond that, the unknown. Her heart was hammering in her chest, her breathing hard; the only thing that kept her from falling to pieces was hope. Hope to see him, them, again. Hope that some deity would listen to her prayers and spare them.

Yet as time went by and nothing happened, her thoughts started to run wild. One after the other, horrifying images of what her life would be like without Henry – and without Hook – ran through her mind. Her breathing was ragged, her heart was beating faster than before, and tears started pooling in her eyes. She was panicking. A sensation of dread filled her, spreading quickly through her veins like fire. She was falling.

And then, walking steadily toward her through the mist, his leather coat swinging and her son cradled in his arms, she saw him.

Relief flooded her. The tears were falling freely now, but she didn't care. "Henry!" she screamed, and ran to them, laughing through her tears. Her feet, her whole body hurt, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered right now, except them.

She stopped when she was close enough to look him in the eyes. "Killian," she whispered, one hand touching his cheek gently, the other rubbing soothing circles on Henry's back. Killian was still cradling him against his chest; Henry had his arms looped around his neck, his head resting on Killian's shoulder, as the pirate's hooked hand supported him. "Is he okay?" she asked, moving closer and dropping a kiss on Henry's hair.

"He's fine. Just tired and a bit weak."

He watched as she kept caressing Henry's hair, a worried line on her forehead, sadness in her eyes. He knew she felt guilty, thinking it was her fault that this had happened to her son, and that, even if everyone around her tried to convince that it wasn't, she still felt responsible. He moved his free arm from his side and brought it across her waist, pulling her in, breathing her scent. Lavender, sea, and something else, something that was just her. It smelled like hope, like home. He smiled as he felt her relax into him, cuddling closer, her free arm linking around his waist.

She sighed and turned her head to look at him. "You scared me to death," she whispered, closing her eyes. Just the thought of losing him was too much to bear. "You both did." She looked at Henry then, her hand moving from his back to comb through his hair.

At her loving touch, Henry stirred. "Mom?" he said, voice heavy with sleep, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Captain Hook saved me."

She looked at the pirate – at Killian – then, her eyes full of love, his of promises and devotion and desire. Desire for her, for a new life, for being part of something. She couldn't help the single tear that ran down her cheek, and she inched closer to him, their noses touching, their breath mingling. She closed her eyes.

"Yeah, kid. He really did."

A kiss that tasted like forever.