The Ever After of Captain Swan

Chapter 15

The next two days passed in a flurry of excitement and anxiety. Killian was attempting to take care of Sayloire without Emma's help, because she was barely home when he needed her. Snow came over to check on them twice a day to make sure everything was okay, and Henry was there most of the time too. Regina and Emma, on the other hand, had barely been seen since the night they decided to battle Gold.

Killian knew he should be thankful that his wife loved him so much that she was willing to fight like this to save his happy ending, even if his life wasn't necessarily being threatened. However, he couldn't get past the fact that if she lost, the Crocodile was not the forgiving type and would most likely kill her for attempting to fight him. He couldn't live without her, especially not with a newborn baby.

Then he remembered that if Emma died, there was a high possibility that he would too. Tomorrow was the fight, so if he was going to convince Emma to change her mind, it would have to be tonight. Apparently she was willing to risk his life in the process of saving it, but what if he brought Sayloire into it? You can't leave a baby that is only a few days old to live without ever really knowing her parents. That was going to be his best bet at changing her mind.

When she got home, she was exhausted. "If I'm going to win tomorrow, I need to get some really good sleep tonight," she said, trying to lighten the mood. "You know there's no such thing as sleep at night with a newborn screaming every few hours," Killian responded, handing Sayloire off to Emma. She had basically set herself up for the pep talk that was coming.

"Swan, you know that if you die, I die," he began. "Killian, I don't want to hear any more about that. I think I can win," she told him, trying to end the conversation there. "Let me finish, love," he tried again, "If you lose, not that I think you will, and then you die, which would kill me, what would happen to Sayloire?" Emma considered this for only a moment.

"If I don't fight, what would happen to Sayloire?" she retorted, throwing his words back in his face. "Either way, she's not very safe. There's no way to guarantee her safety, but this could work. If we do nothing, she will definitely be taken by Gold and used for his stupid curse," Emma began, turning to Henry who was still there. "Kid, do you remember what I told you when you asked why I gave you up for adoption?" Henry nodded. "You said you wanted to give me my best chance," he responded with a smile, "Just like you're giving Sayloire her best chance by fighting my grandpa."

Emma looked at Killian. "See? This is the best thing I can do for her, and for you. So, for tonight, let's just enjoy being a family, so no matter what happens tomorrow, we know we didn't spend what could be our last night together fighting," she pleaded. Killian nodded with tears in his eyes, going to hug his wife and child, pulling Henry in along the way.

After supper, Emma left Sayloire to be put to bed by Killian while she went to tuck Henry in, even though he reminded her he was too old for that. "Shut up kid, I'm being sentimental tonight," Emma said with a smile as she lay down beside him. "I love you mom," Henry told her. "I love you too, kid," she said, kissing him on the forehead. "I'll be gone before you wake up in the morning, so I just want to let you know that I really think Regina has prepared me for this, and I can win," Emma told Henry. He nodded. "I believe in you," he told her, filling her heart with joy.

After the kids were asleep, Emma and Killian met back up in their bedroom. They were lying there in silence, until Killian spoke up. "I'm sorry, love," he apologized, "I shouldn't have tried to talk you out of this. I really do trust you with my life, and I just want you to know that I wasn't trying to talk you out of it for selfish reasons, such as my own life. I'm glad we're connected this way, because I don't ever want to live without you. If you die, I'm glad I'll die with you."

Tears were streaming down their faces as Emma kissed her husband passionately, trying to make up for the time they had lost the past two days. "I love you, Killian Jones," Emma whispered. "And I love you, Emma Jones," Killian responded, kissing her cheek where a tear was resting. The couple took full advantage of what time they had left together, only breaking apart because Emma knew she needed to rest tonight. They fell asleep with their limbs tangled together, as close as two people can possibly be.