Chapter 13

"My, god. Killian," she turned to him. "I can't believe this."

"Swan, I know you've wanted a new place for while now, and I thought we could live here. Together."

Emma was scanning the entire place as a few tears escaped her eyes. The house was huge. He had to have been saving every coin he had ever gotten since he got to Storybrooke.

"I-" she attempted to gather herself. "I would love that."

Her hand reached for his face as she leaned in for a passionate kiss. He continued to kiss her, proud of himself for the gift he got her.

She stopped him for a moment. "Hey, I love this," she smiled as he stared at her. "And I know it's my birthday, but I have a gift for you. Well, for both of us. I couldn't resist."

"Whatever you say, it's your birthday," he grinned.

"You are going to love this. I just learned it, so you have to trust me, okay?"

"It's a good thing I don't trust anyone as much as I trust you," he said, making her smile ear to ear.

"Take my hand. I don't bite."

"Well, you did last ni-"

"Killian! Stop flirting, I'm trying to show you my gift," she tried to demand as she was laughing a little bit.

"I love it when you're tough."

Her heart melted, but she attempted to ignore him. He grabbed her hand finally as she mischievously grinned.

"Ready?" she asked excitedly as he slightly smiled back suspiciously.

"Maybe."

Emma laughed at his fear, "Come on, I'll protect you," she faked a manly tone.

"I'll do the protecting, thank you. Although I have no idea what's happening."

"Good enough for me," she squeezed his hand so tight, he glanced at her nervously. She gradually lifted her opposite hand higher into the air, level with her eyes. Her palm faced away from her, as a light began to shine brightly from it.

"Swan," he started.

"I got this," she closed her eyes, concentrating.

Soon, he couldn't see anything but his love next to him. He was frightened, truly, but he was okay with her. White space surrounded them for about ten seconds. They both worried for each other, but still felt each other's grip, each barely visible to the other. Relief passed over them as the white faded and objects began to appear. As their eyes began to focus, taking in the new area, their hands remained intertwined.

Emma's face seemed to be filled with delight, "I did it." She scanned her surroundings and quickly turned to Killian, "Are you okay?" She placed her hand that she had used to wield her magic on his arm.

He became less tense at her touch, looking back at her. "Aye. What did you do?"

"Remember when we went back in time?" she asked, her face still overly cheerful.

"Again?" he questioned her. "Swan, as much fun as that was, it was a struggle."

"Oh, I know. That's what's great about this. I learned how to do something like that, but better."

He cluelessly stared at her, trying to understand. He noticed how she directed her gaze to their left and flicked her head, signaling for him to look that way. As he turned his head, she moved next to him, facing the sight now in front of them. Killian's eyes went wide as his mouth dropped open. He was speechless.

A little less than one hundred yards away was an enormous, green beanstalk. "Well?" she asked him, proud of herself.

"Is it...the same?"

"Oh, yeah. Look, that's us," she pointed to a group of people at the very bottom of the beanstalk who seemed to be discussing something.

"Wow, that's amazing," he rotated his head back toward her. "This isn't time travel, though?"

"No, you see, it's kind of like a dream. We don't have to stay hidden because it isn't real. We're not actually here, I just made the image of us appear. We're really still back in Storybrooke, holding hands," she explained as he nodded along. She paused for a moment, "You want to get closer?" she asked, a smile once again on her face.

"Hell yes," he exclaimed. Emma swiftly flicked her hand in front of them, wielding a cloud of purple smoke that surrounding them. At once, they had transported. Both of them looked up, noticing the people in front of them.

"How do we know you're not just using us to get the compass for Cora?" Mulan asked, highly suspicious.

"Oh, I remember this," Killian whispered as he softly chuckled.

"You don't have to whisper, we're not really here," Emma explained, purposely raising her voice playfully. Then, she too became interested in the scene before them. She took Killian's hand, enjoying his reaction.

"Because you four are far safer company. All I need is a ride back. I'll swear allegiance to whomever gets me there first," Hook responded.

"Then we'd better start climbing," Emma pointed out.

"Hah! I so hate you!" Emma realized, laughing at how different they were.

Killian examined her expression like she was crazy. "What are you talking about? You love me! Look, you're about to come with me on the beanstalk because you already know you're crazy about me." Their eyes stayed glued to the group of people near them. It was as if they were discussing a movie they were watching.

"Right, so... I failed to mention that the giant enchanted the beanstalk to repel intruders," he explained, unfortunately.

"Alright, so how do we get up there?"

"I've got a counter spell from Cora. If you'd be so kind." Hook held up his wrists, both which were still tied together.

Mary Margaret walked over to untie him as he moved his face close to her's. "Thank you, milady," he said as she kept her solid expression of a blank face, aggressively untying him.

Emma's eyes went wide. She turned to Killian, seeing the same expression on his face. "Dude, you just hit on my mom."

"I-" he began to explain, but couldn't manage to get anything out because he was trying to contain his laughter.

Emma couldn't held but laugh as well, "That's cold," she said jokingly, pursing her lips sassily.

Hook held up one of his arms, revealing a glowing cuff. "I've got one more of these. Cora was to accompany me. So... Which one of you four lovelies shall take her place? Hm?" He smirked at the four of them, "Go on, fight it out. Don't be afraid to, you know, really get into it."

"Wow," Emma rested her hand on her cheek. "You are so full of yourself."

"Ah, but you love it," Killian declared, kissing her on the cheek making her smile. "Look at you all arguing over me," he smiled confidently.

"Killian, we're arguing over who would be most successful," she told him, clarifying.

"Mm, sure. You had such strong feelings for me and you didn't even realize. I'm so sorry, love," he spoke sarcastically. She scoffed and lightly punched his arm.

"It's me. I'm going, and I'm not going to fail," Emma confidently announced.

"See, you're throwing yourself at me," Killian said.

"Alright, if you say one more thing-"

"Okay, okay." He let up, still grinning. "Oh, look! My favorite part," he exclaimed.

"I was hoping it'd be you," Hook smirked at Emma.

"Just get on with it," she replied, uninterested.

"Put your hand right here," he instructed. Emma placed her hand on his shoulder and he snapped the second magical cuff to her wrist. "That's a good girl."

"I mean, you're the one who's flirting with me," Emma mentioned.

"Well...yeah," he responded, proud of himself.

"You're not going to deny it?"

"Oh, I was flirting, love. On purpose, too. I was already falling in love with you," he turned to her, revealing his huge smile that she loved to see.

She studied him for moment, testing his seriousness. Her blushing face became as pink as bubblegum. She rested her head on his shoulder, continuing to watch.

"Don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second," Emma said, attempting to show her fearlessness.

"I would despair if you did," he cleverly responded, continuing to flirt with her.

"There we go," Emma said as the two of them watched themselves climb.

"Off on our journey to love," Killian added, fascinated that he was watching this.

She turned her head to his, smiling brightly. "So," she started happily. "You like my gift for us?"

"Aye," he mumbled quickly before placing his lips on hers. His hand held her head delicately as she was taken by surprise. Emma giggled through the kiss, making Killian smile.

"What?" he separated their lips, but their faces were still inches apart.

"I just," she hesitated, trying not to bring the mood down. "I never imagined this for us. I mean, look at us back then," she glanced over at the area which still displayed Snow, Mulan, and Aurora. "We were practically enemies, and now we're the complete opposite."

He continued to stare into her eyes while she spoke. He loved when she smiled or talked for a long time.

"If you hadn't fought for me for all that time, it would be so different now," she said, more interested in the matter than ever before. "Thank you," she finally concluded. "Thank you for everything, Killian."

As he watched her carefully when she spoke, he almost felt tears ready to spill. He leaned in, pouring all of his love into a kiss. They stood there for a few minutes, close to each other, not wanting to leave.

"I wouldn't have everything if I didn't have you," Killian said.

"Okay, come here Captain Cheesy," Emma sarcastically stated, as she felt tears as well. Together they kissed for what seemed like an eternity. They were still in the "dream," if you will, of the beanstalk.

After a while, Emma realized it might be getting late back home. "We should get back to Storybrooke."

He nodded as she prepared her hand for the spell. The same procedures took place as she lifted her hand, creating whiteness that surrounded them. In a few seconds they were back in the same place they were when they left.

They could tell by the windows it had gotten dark already. Neither of them felt like doing anything at the moment that required leaving the house.

"Swan, do you want to watch television in our new house? I've got it fixed up, that's why I was trying to use it earlier."

She smiled at him. "Our new house," she thought. It sounded so good to have a home with Killian, the man she loved.

Agreeing to stay at home, she hopped in the new bed with Killian as they both got comfortable. The television was in front of the bed at the perfect distance.

"Netflix?" Killian asked.

"Netflix," she agreed.