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shardminds · 4 years

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it’s yours, it’s mine (CSJJ DAY 11)

pairing: emma swan/killian jones rating: g but maybe t wc: 3276

Sometimes, Emma loves Killian Jones— well, all of the time, really. ‘Til death do us part and all that. Sometimes, however, in situations like these, as Whale pulls the thick glass shard from her palm, she really wishes he’d shut up.

He won’t. He never does.

if i’ve done my job correctly, this little number will warm up your january morning with a little bit of fluff and banter between our favourite star crossed couple! shout out to the @csjanuaryjoy team and discord server for all being such diamonds and a big back-breaking hug to my girl @thisonesatellite who's tenacity, support and mad beta skills encouraged me to polish this off, even when i was mostly dead (but still slightly alive).

tagging @itsfabianadocarmo, @teamhook, @kmomof4, @superchocovian, @darkcolinodonorgasm, @artistic-writer (if you wanna be added to the list just shout up!)

available on ao3 ♠

it’s yours, it’s mine

“Breathe through it, love. It’s just a routine extraction.”

He won’t. He never does.

Modern medicine fascinates him, in practicality and in fiction. It’s her fault really, showing him early on the wonders of Netflix. Storybrooke really isn’t as action-packed as it once was, leaving her plenty of time to hook (ha!) her husband on hospital dramas. They’re currently six seasons into a Scrubs marathon but his favourite is, by far, House. That Cameron lass looks an awful lot like you, love He says, every time she questions him on it. It’s gonna blow his tiny mind when he finds the sexy doctor outfit she has tucked away in her underwear drawer, complete with stethoscope and clipboard.

A slick squelch and nauseating drag as Whale slides the glass from where it embedded itself in her hand snaps her from her thoughts, drawing out a hiss she can’t bite back. It’ll leave a nasty scar, that much she knows.

“Fuck!”

“You did a real number on yourself, Emma, but the worst part is over.” Pressing an antiseptic gauze pad over the wound, Whale offers her a wink. Despite the land being free of curses and peace all around blah blah blah, he still manages to catch her last nerve with his cocky demeanour, pressing down on the now stained gauze with some force. It stings like a bitch.

“I’m pretty sure the worst is yet to come, Doctor.” Killian chimes in, leaning over to see the tools laid out on the sterile tray resting on Emma’s bedside table. She had protested the bed, claiming she could take the stitches standing or sitting or anything but laying down. The nurse looked as if she was ready to wrestle her down if she refused. The bed had been the lesser of two evils. “What type of stitch will you be using?”

“Killian—” She starts but isn’t able to argue with the fascination in his eyes. He’d seen hospitals before, of course, been on the receiving end of their services on more than one occasion, but he never held the same kind of enthusiasm then as he does now, watching as Whale inspects the gash on her hand.

“Actually, Captain Jones, your wife is lucky. I think it’s just shallow enough that a few steristrips should do the trick.”

“Thank God.” Emma mutters under her breath, not missing how Killian gives her non-injured hand a reassuring squeeze.

Whale applies the strips with practised ease, allowing each one to gently seal the edges of the wound closed. There’s a tension where the adhesive tugs at her skin on either side of the gash, uncomfortable but not unbearable. She’s dealt with worse.

It takes eight strips in total, each one taking less than a minute to apply. Whale talks through it, trying to distract from each uncomfortable twinge but it’s all background noise. Emma lets herself zone out, focusing only on the slow drag of Killian’s thumb across her knuckles.

Emma rolls her eyes at Whale and his insistence that she take it easy. “Take a few days off, Sheriff. Doctors orders.”

“Oh please,” She scoffs, flexing her palm and feeling the discomfort as she does so. Not that Whale needs to see that. Killian smirks, pressing a kiss to her cheek as the doctor calls him over. “I could use magic to heal this in a heartbeat if I wanted to.”

“Is that so?” He hands over a bottle of painkillers to Killian, nothing fancy, and a few extra dressings for the wound. Killian tucks them in his pocket, taking a look at the chart at the end of her bed. He’d look good in a lab coat, hair pushed back, glasses, using his authoritative voice to order two week’s bed rest… wow, now she’s the one with a fantasy.

“Then why don’t you?” Whale teases, one eyebrow raised. His hair is lighter than it had been when they’d first met. Someone had clearly discovered peroxide in the land without magic. It’s stupid. He’s stupid. The childish retort sticks in her throat.

“Someone’s got to check everything’s up to standard here, mate.” With a wink, Killian pats the doctor on the shoulder, the brace of his hook catching his shoulder blade with a dull thud. Whale winces away from it. He drops the subject of Emma’s magic and returns, grumbling, to disposing of the bloodstained gauze into the fluorescent biohazard waste bin.

Their whole trip to Storybrooke General had taken less than half an hour but, as Killian drives them home—a recent development, having only just gained his permit after years of pestering from David—exhaustion rolls over her in waves, encouraging her eyelids to flutter shut. She reaches her hand for his thigh, resting it there just to feel warmth beneath her palms. The heat in the damn car still doesn’t work, despite David’s attempts to fix it throughout fall. By October, he’d given up. She really needs to find a better mechanic.

“You okay, love?”

“Yeah, just cold.”

“We’ll be home soon.” He reassures, taking his good hand from the wheel to stroke hers atop his thigh, softly caressing her wedding band. “I’ll sweep up all the glass and you can curl up on the couch. We can watch Pride and Prejudice again if you’d like?”

In their time living together, without the pressure of being the saviour or magical prophecies or bad guys, he’d come to know her so well. Truthfully, she hadn’t expected him to adapt as easily as he did—she’d half expected him to miss the adventure and danger—but Killian had taken to domesticity like a duck to water, revelling in life’s simple things like electric blankets, text messaging and two for one offers on Ben and Jerry’s. She couldn’t be more thankful for her husband. She tried to show him whenever she could. With words, kisses and more.

“1995 or 2005?”

“Do you take me for a fool?” The smirk across his lips is the one she fell in love with. She would recognise it anywhere. “2005, of course.”

“Right answer.” She hums, content, letting her eyes slip shut for the rest of the ride.

The painful throbbing spikes in her palm, radiating through her wrist and falling short just shy of her elbow. It’s almost agony and the grunt it drags from her has Killian peering over her in seconds, a concerned furrow in his brow. Falling asleep in his lap, arguably, had seemed like a good idea at the time, with her brief nap on the ride home doing nothing to sate her tired yes. Now? Not so much. There’s a crick in her neck and a throb in her spine and her toes are cold from where the blanket hadn’t quite covered them.

“Painkillers wearing off, love?” He strokes the stray hairs from her forehead with the point of his hook, careful not to drag the tip against her skin. Anyone else would’ve questioned using his hook in such a manner, but she’d become accustomed to the addition in all aspects of their life—even the intimate ones—and, above all else, she trusts him. Killian’s been wielding the appendage for longer than she’s been alive, after all. It’s a part of him as much as she is.

“I didn’t—”

“You didn’t take any, did you.”

She shrugs.

He sighs, exasperated. “Emma—”

“I know, I know.” She leans up to kiss the frown from his lips, ignoring the protest from her aching back. This must be what ageing feels like. “I figured I’ll survive without them.”

“You’ll survive, aye, but you’ll be a misery arse the entire time.” He’s right, of course, Emma can already feel the irritability creeping in with each pulse of her hand. Why does he always have to be right? He smirks, meeting her with another soft kiss. “You’re pouting, love.”

“You’re annoying.”

“And you’re stuck with me.” He reaches over to the coffee table, bringing back the abandoned bottle of painkillers and a half-full glass of water precariously balanced in one hand. “‘In sickness and in health.”

Emma’s heart stutters, fluttering in her chest as Killian offers them to her.

Years ago, they’d promised no walls, no secrets. Then they’d promised forever.

Her walls are all but rubble now, he’d torn down each one with ease; each adventure, each endeavour, each loss and return, solidifying his place in her heart.

Their wedding day, despite the circumstances surrounding it, still stands true as one of—if not the—best day of her life. They’re working slowly on forever.

Well, maybe not as slowly as Emma had originally thought.

She’d done pretty well on the whole ‘No Secrets’ thing, for the most part, only vetoing the rule come birthdays and Christmas and the occasional anniversary, just to keep things exciting. Over their years together, the need for secrets dissipated the closer they got.

Until last week, sat on the floor of her mother’s bathroom with the fate of their future clutched in her fist.

The five-minute wait had been agonising. Mary Margaret paced, talking a mile a minute about nothing in particular as Emma clutched her knees tight to her chest, memories of the first time she’d done this flooding back. Back then she’d been trapped, alone and afraid.

Two thin blue lines.

She took three more tests, just to be sure.

Identical results.

The tears that came this time around weren’t ones of fear or trepidation, but happiness. A second chance.

Emma hadn’t been ready for a child the first time—pregnant too young in a situation too fucked up—but now, surrounded by love and trust and support, maybe she is.

Dark hair, blue eyes—or maybe green eyes, her cheeks, his smile—

“Swan? Anyone in there?” As quickly as it formed, the vision is gone, replaced with her husband’s soft smile. God, she hopes she has his smile. She? He? They? Does it matter? Emma shakes the thought away, pushing herself up on her good hand and tucking her legs beneath her. Her back doesn’t scream in protest which is a good sign.

“I was just thinking.” She shrugs, letting herself lean against his arm.

He rests his head atop hers, pressing a quick kiss to her crown. “That’s dangerous.”

“Shut up.”

“Sorry, go on.” He chuckles, warm and deep, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and letting his fingers caress the exposed skin between the strap of her vest and the edge of the blanket. At some point, he’d put the pill bottle and water back on the table, most likely when she was thinking of—

“There’s a reason why I haven’t used magic to heal my hand and why I haven't taken anything for the pain.”

He nods, the movement of it ruffling her hair slightly. “I figured as much.”

"It's just that it's a lot to take in and I wanted to think of some big extravagant way to tell you because I know you'd have done the same for me, so I planned out a nice evening; home-cooked italian food, a couple pints of ice cream and your favourite rum, which is why I was elbow deep in the glass cupboard trying to find the tumbler Henry had engraved for you before he left, you know, the 'world's best dad' one. I found it but I slipped and— yeah, you know the rest."

Silence rests between them for three heartbeats as she allows it to sink in, half confession, half explosion. She doesn't want to be the one to break it.

"Can I ask," He starts, voice husky and quiet. Emma turns to face him, taking in his features as he calculates what it is she's saying. "Why you'd need that particular glass, love?"

She smiles, letting the warmth of it radiate through her, pain in her palm almost forgotten. "Isn't it obvious?"

His eyes, hopeful and oh so blue, sparkle in the low light. Every time she looks, she finds so much love there, enough to fill them both so completely and she hopes so much that he sees the same in hers. Starting a family is something they’d talked of in passing; hushed conversations, wrapped in the warmth of each other, neither one wanting to surface back to reality as they discuss the fantasies of the future, both frivolous and not. It’s not something they’d actively pursued, but sometimes these things happen.

Accidents happen.

Maybe even happy ones.

"I'm pregnant."

It takes a few seconds for him to respond, the only indication that he hasn’t completely frozen is in the widening of his eyes and the lingering patterns his fingers draw on her shoulder — they slow, pressure barely there at all, but never stop.

“Are you certain? I thought— your protective pill?”

“I know, I was surprised too. I’m sure though.”

Emma hadn’t even noticed her hand sinking down to her stomach, resting over the place she would soon swell, until Killian placed his own hand atop hers. There are tears in his eyes, darkening his lashes as he tries to blink them away, and they’re soon mirrored in her own. God, she loves him. This man, who’d come into her life on the back of a hurricane, broken and hell-bent on revenge, had become part of her world and more, tearing down his own walls along with hers until they were nothing more than two bare souls, open and honest and joined by a love they’d both thought impossible. Who would’ve seen it coming?

(Mary Margaret says she knew right from the beanstalk. Emma always refutes it but, then again, her mother does have some kind of sixth sense when it comes to true love.)

“We’re having a baby?” His voice catches on the word, so impossibly full of love that her heart almost bursts. He’s not looking at her, only focused on where their hands are joined. She can see the thoughts running through his head, clear as day. Baby. Babybabybaby.

“We’re having a baby, Killian.”

“We’re having a baby.”

“Yeah.”

The smile that breaks out across his face seconds before he lunges for a kiss is one of pure elation, relief and joy and delight all at once, and it meets her lips in a ferocious kiss, not the gentle press she’d been expecting. Before rational thought can stop her, she’s straddling his thighs, injured hand resting on his shoulder as his hook caresses the length of her spine. Every time she breaks for air, takes a second just to register the response she’s getting, he looks at her with such adoration. Praises on his lips, promise in his eyes.

She hadn’t expected it to go this way but, then again, she hadn’t expected to spend almost an hour in the hospital awaiting a glass extraction after her original plan had gone awry.

Killian’s tongue in her mouth more than makes up for it.

“Wait,” He pauses, laughing as Emma chases his lips for another kiss. Instead, he offers her his cheek. She pouts, sitting back and wincing at the throb in her hand as she grips his shoulder with her injured one. Gently, he removes it from his shoulder, turning it over to look upon the bandage. The telltale inkblot of red casts a shadow on the dressing, she’d probably tugged it at some point, causing one of Whale’s magic strips to tear. Killian presses a kiss to her palm. “I’ve watched enough of your hospital dramas to understand the reluctance to take your prescription while in such a delicate state but why not indulge in magic?”

In the past few days, between finding out and confessing, Emma spent a lot of time worrying about the magical side of things. Despite Mary Margaret’s comforting and reassurance that everything would be okay, magic or no magic, the weight of her gift sat like lead in her stomach. If Zelena hadn’t skipped town for the Enchanted Forest with Robin all those months ago, Emma would’ve bombarded her with questions. Her next option, Regina, was either too busy to answer the phone or ignoring her calls, burying herself in work after Henry’s departure. Emma never felt like leaving a message. Pregnancy announcements are probably best not left as a voicemail.

She’d tried the library without much luck, only managing to find a few dog-eared copies of What To Expect When You’re Expecting and one horrifically detailed article on birthing techniques from Agrabah. She didn’t want to let slip to Belle either, not before Killian knew.

Emma had shouldered the weight of her doubts, abstaining from magic altogether. It’s honestly surprising that Killian hadn’t noticed sooner.

“I know how it sounds but I just— I don’t know how, or even if, it’ll affect the baby.” The admission comes with a wave of guilt, simmering just slightly below the surface. The first time she’d done this, there had been no one to tell, no one to turn to for comfort, nothing but the four walls and cot in her cell. Killian’s hand and hook, caressing her injured palm, pull her back from the edge of that thought. She’s not that girl anymore. She is no longer lost.

He is her true north.

“No one can blame you for being cautious, love,” He smiles and it makes every part of her ache to kiss him again. She doesn’t, instead, letting her free hand tuck his hair behind his ears. She wonders, with a soft smile, if the way he leans into her touch is intentional or instinctive. “But Henry turned out fine. Better than fine, in fact. Henry’s fantastic. Though your magic was dormant then, it was still there. Just like it’s there now, protecting our little one.”

“Do you really think so?”

Nothing settles her as much as Killian’s knowing smile does. He nods, certain.

“Aye, love.”

Any qualms she’d had about this earlier drain out of her in a sigh; each niggle of doubt, tug of anxiety, flash of fear. All gone. Here, with her husband by her side, she is safe. Whatever happens, they’re in this together. Whatever life throws their way; villains, monsters, tragedy, pregnancy— they’ve got this.

She’d promised him forever, after all.

Between them, her palm glows bright white.

Alice Margaret Jones comes, kicking and screaming—all 7lbs 6oz of her—into their lives and she is magical. Killian cries, of course, and Henry comforts him through it, both of them completely enamoured by the newest addition to their family. She’s pink cheeks and blue eyes and a shock of blonde hair but it’s far too soon to see which parent she’ll favour. Emma doesn’t care, too choked up with the love she holds for the angel latched to her breast.

She doesn’t have words for this emotion and can’t begin to even comprehend the gravity of it. Alice, for nine whole months, was her companion, her guide, her conscience. Reassuring her with soft kicks, heartbeat thrumming like a butterfly’s, always hiding from the ultrasound wand on their appointments. Now, she belongs to the world. Now, everyone else gets to experience the purest soul Emma has ever known.

Alice’s tiny hand clutching Killian’s finger in a vice grip is the last thing Emma sees before sleep finally claims her, truly content.

There is no scar on the palm of her hand but Killian kept the shard of glass, a reminder wrapped carefully in the velvet box in which he stores all his treasures.

#cs fic #cs ff #captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #ficminds #csjj2020

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tomeandflickcorner · 7 years

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OUAT Episode Analysis- The Song in Your Heart

So, it’s finally here. The long-awaited musical episode. While I have seen some people who were not thrilled with the decision to have a musical OUAT episode, believing the notion to be corny or too goofy of a concept, I felt it was a great idea. Granted, I’ve only seen three shows that did a musical episode (Psych, Even Stevens and Malcolm in the Middle), but they always seem to have worked out. And considering OUAT was a show with strong ties to Disney and its classic animated movies, not including a musical episode seemed like a wasted opportunity.

The episode opens with Emma trying to decide on a wedding dress, having it narrowed down to two choices. Come to think of it, I find the fact that she still hasn’t made a definite choice despite the wedding taking place that evening to be a bit problematic. The show writers do realize that wedding dresses usually have to undergo some alterations, such as if the train is too long, don’t they? But I guess I have to remember Emma has magic. As such, she can make all the necessary alterations herself by just snapping her fingers. Regardless, that’s when Snow stops by, practically bubbling over in excitement. It seems Belle had managed to locate Snow’s wedding dress buried away in the back of Gold’s shop. (Speaking of Belle, was she invited to the wedding? She and Killian are still friends, aren’t they?) Snow offers to gift the dress to Emma for her own wedding, something that Emma is ecstatic about. But when Snow returns from picking up the dress from the cleaners, it suddenly begins to turn black before everyone’s eyes.

With that, the Black Fairy makes her ongoing presence in Storybrooke known to the Nevenger women. Which seemed like a boneheaded move to me. Personally, I think it would have been smarter of her to continue keeping to the shadows. That way, the Nevengers would be totally blind sighted when she unleased her final attack. But I guess Black Fairy is just one of those villains who needs to gloat.

Anyway, Black Fairy announces that she’s set up a new Dark Curse within the clock tower, and has pretty much set it up to be unleased at 6:00 that evening. Which is pretty much just adding insult to injury, as that was when Emma and Killian’s wedding was supposed to take place. Before teleporting off, Black Fairy instructs Emma to surrender her heart. It’s not really clear what surrendering her heart was supposed to accomplish, though. Was Black Fairy going to deactivate the Dark Curse if Emma agreed to surrender her heart? If not, then what’s even the point? If Emma’s loved ones and the rest of the town were going to be affected by Blacky’s new curse regardless, why should Emma even bother giving up her heart? Either way, when Emma sees the Dark Curse timebomb, she decides to have her final confrontation with the Black Fairy now. But because she’s unwilling to risk the safety of her loved ones, she decides to go it alone and take out the Black Fairy before the Dark Curse forcibly separates her from the rest of the Nevengers. (Now did Black Fairy have to crush a heart to enact this version of the Dark Curse? If so, whose heart did she use? Do I even want to know?)

Before going off to face the Black Fairy, Emma makes a detour to the Jolly Roger, where Killian and Charming are studying a possible groom’s suit. Killian is clearly not taken with the outfit, as it’s a completely white suit. Apart from the days when he was still Lieutenant Jones, I don’t think Killian has ever worn anything that white. (Although, I suppose the Royal Navy uniform was more cream colored than white. I didn’t study art or fashion design in school, so I can’t really identify various color shades.) When Emma appears on the ship, Killian is visibly flustered, trying to avoid looking at her. Because he has to uphold that tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. But when he hears the tone in Emma’s voice when she asks Charming if she could have a moment alone with Killian, he pushes his superstitions aside.

When Charming steps outside, Emma informs Killian that the Black Fairy is still at large, and Gold hadn’t banished her like they’d believed he did. She proceeds to fill him in on what the Black Fairy is planning to do in regards to her curse. Of course, Killian is having none of that, and he’s not going to stand for the Black Fairy ruining their wedding day. But just as he’s about to head out with her, Emma stops him telling him that this is something she needs to do alone. Killian is visibly frustrated, asking her why she even bothered to stop by if her mind is made up. Emma states that she just wanted to tell him not to worry, and that she’ll be there to marry him at the appointed time. However, Emma is, and always will be, an open book in Killian’s eyes. As such, he quickly realizes that she’s not being completely honest with him, and he calls her out on that. After studying her face for a few seconds, he realizes the real reason Emma came to see him is because she wanted to say goodbye in person, just in case she didn’t make it out of this alive. And I dare anyone to watch Killian’s facial reactions to this revelation and not see how much he loves Emma. He is horrified and devastated at the very idea that he might lose Emma, and that is echoed in his voice as he begs Emma to let him help her. Despite his pleas, Emma simply announces that she loves him before turning and walking off to face the Black Fairy.

Killian, however, is not going to simply sit around while Emma goes off to fight. So, while he still honors Emma’s desire for him to not go after her, he heads off to confront Gold. The man is furious that his old enemy has once again stabbed them all in the back, especially when this latest betrayal could lead to Killian losing not just another love, but his True Love. But Gold, being a colossal d-bag, is dismissive of Killian’s fury, stating he was simply doing what was necessary to protect his family. Again, I have to ask- wouldn’t banishing Mama Black Fairy like he said he was going to automatically keep his family safe? I’m just saying, what makes Gold think Black Fairy won’t end up targeting Belle and Gideon again after Emma’s out of the way? But his cavalier attitude is made even worse when he states Killian wouldn’t understand the need to protect his family on the grounds that he’s just a pirate. Seriously, Gold, what do you think he’s trying to do? Your mama is plotting to kill Killian’s bride-to-be. So, therefore, Killian is trying to keep his own family safe. But again, this is Gold we’re talking about here. He always did seem to think everyone else was beneath him.

When Gold turns his back on Killian in dismissal, Killian pulls out a blowgun and fires off a dart laced with Dreamshade. Killian proceeds to remind Gold about how he once tried to kill him with the poison once before, way back in S2, and how Gold nearly died. Gold points out that he didn’t die, because he was immortal. (Technically, he didn’t die because of the two-sided candle, but whatever.) Regardless, either because of the Dreamshade antidote Gold concocted at the end of the Neverland arc, or because he’s the super-ultra Dark One now, all the Dreamshade does is knock him out.

Two things stuck out the most to me in this scene. First, Killian’s use of the blowgun. I wonder- did he get that blowgun from Tiger Lily? That’s certainly going to be my headcanon until further notice. Also, when Killian is giving his whole Dreamshade monologue, you can clearly hear Hook’s old theme music playing over the scene. I don’t know why, but hearing that tune again put a pretty big smile on my face.

But just as Killian is vowing to finally skin his crocodile, the Black Fairy pops up behind him, stating she intends to keep her son safe.

Meanwhile, Regina and Zelena have been brainstorming a way to stop this new curse. Regina even says she’s going to do everything in her power to prevent Emma’s wedding day from geting interrupted, as a way to make up for her crashing Snow and Charming’s wedding. Have I mentioned how much I love it when Regina shows genuine growth and actually takes responsibility for her past wrongdoings? As the two sisters rack their brains, Regina has a lightbulb moment. She remembers the Dark Curse she’d cast had frozen time, and speculates that they can isolate the component that kept time from moving forward. If they can do that, they can use it on Black Fairy’s new curse, thereby keeping it in suspended animation indefinitely so it will never be unleased on the town. Unfortunately, just when they have concocted the Suspended Animation potion, they are interrupted by Gold, who has apparently regained consciousness again. Before the two sisters can do anything, Gold confiscates the potion.

As such, when Emma arrives at the mayor’s office to confront the Black Fairy, Ole Blacky reveals that she has successfully captured Snow, Charming, Killian, Regina and Zelena, and has used the Suspended Animation potion on them, thereby making them motionless statues. Emma is visibly murderous at what the Black Fairy has done, but it’s still managed to have the effect Black Fairy wanted, especially when the Black Fairy begins to taunt Emma. Because Emma is suddenly feeling completely alone again. Even her hand tremors start to come back.

Overwhelmed, Emma retreats back to the Sheriff Station. While there, she is approached by Henry. Have to say, the Swan Believer aspect in this episode was simply wonderful. It’s always nice when Henry remembers his bond with Emma, and how he was the one who brought Emma to Storybrooke in the first place. It just always seems like Henry spends most of his time with Regina. So seeing him interact with Emma is always a special treat.

Henry tries to encourage Emma that, even with their family frozen, it doesn’t mean Emma’s alone, and she can still defeat the Black Fairy. In the end, however, Emma decides the best thing to do is to surrender her heart to the Black Fairy, in the hopes that doing so will lead to the Black Fairy sparing the rest of the Nevengers. Emma reasons that, even if she dies, at least Henry won’t be alone. He’ll still have the others. As such, she returns to the mayor’s office to give herself up, having one final heartbreaking moment with the still-frozen Killian before allowing the Black Fairy to remove her heart.

Meanwhile, Henry is still at the Sheriff Station, trying desperately to find another solution, but to no avail. He ends up having a brief freak-out moment, shoving his storybook and a few sheets of paper off the desk in anger and frustration. But that’s when Henry inexplicitly finds a random page amidst the mess he made, which just appeared the way Page 23 did during the Frozen Arc. Through this page, he learns of something that happened in Pre-Curse Enchanted Forest.

Within the flashback portion of the episode, Snow and Charming are returning to their castle after their visit to Dark One Rumple’s cell, which was depicted in the Pilot. They’ve just been told that their unborn daughter was the key to breaking EQ Regina’s curse. In the hopes that it would help, Snow wishes on a star that Fetus Emma would have what she needs for a happy ending. The next morning, Snow and Charming immediately discover that they’re breaking out into song at the drop of a hat. Their reactions to this are amazing. Snow is all ‘whoa, what’s going on?!’ while Charming is just totally digging it. So, through their musical number, ‘Powerful Magic,’ they decide that love is the most powerful magic of all, and they announce their intention to defeat the Evil Queen through singing. Which, when you think about it, is really hilarious. Like, imagine if it was that easy to defeat people like Hitler and Stalin. Just go up to them and start singing. It certainly would have saved a lot of time and bloodshed.

However, if they were thinking that singing to EQ Regina would annoy her to death, then they were onto something. As the whole singing spell has extended to her as well. And it’s clear that it’s driving her crazy. Especially when she looks in on how happy the dwarves, Granny, and Geppetto and Pinocchio are. Even Jiminy is joining into the singing through cricket language. Which leads to her big aria, ‘Love Doesn’t Stand a Chance,’ which basically consists of EQ Regina terrorizing Snow and Charming’s friends. And then proceeds to rip Emma’s baby blanket in half. (I’m guessing Granny made her another one. After all, she had nine months or so to replace the one EQ Regina wrecked.) She even kills two of her guards on a whim. (And those poor saps were only two days away from retirement.)

Also, epic stunner moment- they actually had EQ Regina call Snow a b-word in this musical number. I’m actually amazed they got away with that, considering this is supposed to be a family show. Sure, I think they’ve used words like ‘d@mn’ before, but this was still a bit shocking to me.

Anyway, Snow and Charming begin their plan to defeat EQ Regina through the power of song. But to do that, they need to actually reach the EQ, so they decide to barter for passage there. So they hit a local tavern to seek out a ship captain. Which is kinda strange, as I always got the impression EQ Regina’s castle was located inland. Which means Snow and Charming were perfectly capable of getting there by foot or carriage. No ship was needed. But at least it gives us what was quite possibly one of the best songs in the episode. And I don’t think this is just my personal bias talking. I’ve heard from a reliable source that even the people who hate the character in question preferred his song to EQ Regina’s solo piece. And based on the rating system in iTunes, it’s currently the most popular song on the soundtrack.

That’s right, people. Snow and Charming have their true first meeting with their future son-in-law, Killian/Hook in this scene. Even though I still don’t know why they need a ship to reach the Evil Queen, I guess they’ve heard the Jolly Roger was the fastest ship in existence and decided that was the ship they needed. So of course they’d seek out the captain of that vessel. They offer Hook a hefty sum in exchange for safe passage to EQ Regina’s castle. (Show of hands, who else was listening to Charming offering Hook gold and silver, and thinking about how he probably could have simply offered his daughter instead?) But Hook isn’t interested in their offered riches, and seamlessly slips into his signature song, ‘Revenge is Gonna be Mine.’ It’s a really catchy musical number, in which Killian/Hook reminds us once again about how much he hates Rumpelstiltskin for cutting off his hand and murdering his love, Milah. It’s even more entertaining when you realize Hook doesn’t seem the least bit fazed by the fact that he and his crew are singing and dancing around the tavern. They don’t even seem to notice. Which does make a bit of sense. This is Hook/Killian we’re talking about. We’ve seen him basically shrug his shoulders in the face of monsters, magic and angry gods. Because nothing really impresses him. (Well, apart from a certain blonde Savior Princess.) So he probably noticed he and his crew were breaking into song at the drop of the hat and thought ‘huh, must be Tuesday.’

On a side note, I find it really interesting how the show writers are clearly trying to remind us about Killian’s blood feud with Gold. When you combine this with their confrontation in present-day Storybrooke, it really makes you think they’re finally going to resolve that, with Killian remembering the fact that he merely granted Gold a stay of execution during the Underworld arc. (Now if only they’ll have the Nevengers learn who really pushed Milah into the river. I don’t care if they never resolve any other hanging plotlines, like the identity of Lily’s dragon daddy, or what happened to Will after the Author arc. I just want Gold to be held accountable for what he did to Milah.)

Anyway, when Snow and Charming realize that Hook is actually singing about how much he wants to kill the Dark One, they inform him that the man in question is locked away in their dungeon. Snow promises Hook that if he helps them protect their daughter by taking them to the Evil Queen, then they’ll grant him access to his old advisory. Hook readily agrees, telling his crew that they have a date with destiny. (And as soon as he says this, the camera cuts to Snow rubbing her still-flat belly.)

Speaking of DO Rumple, he pops up briefly in this episode, too. EQ Regina pays him a visit and pretty much goes ‘make the singing stop!’ But he’s all like ‘nope!’ Although, he’s apparently immune to the spell’s power, as he can resist the urge to sing himself.

But then, out of nowhere, we get an appearance of Zelena, who had been spying on their conversation from Oz. No idea why they included Zelena in this musical flashback. She really didn’t serve much of a purpose. All she really did was sing about how unfair it was that Cora and Rumple both chose Regina over her. Again, it really didn’t serve a purpose. Although, I will admit that Bex does have a really nice singing voice. I will grant her that. Either way, her musical number, which was called ‘Wicked Always Wins,’ ends with her creating a green box from a cauldron. What’s the purpose of this box? Well, from what I gathered, it’s a magic music box that could stop the singing spell everyone was under. She then magically transports this music box to Regina so she could use it on Snow and Charming. This really made me scratch my head. Why exactly would Zelena try to help Regina here when she was just singing about how much she wanted to prove to Rumple that he chose the wrong witch to cast his curse?

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So, when Snow and Charming arrive at Evil Queen Regina’s castle, they proceed to have their battle, with both sides basically trying to out sing the other. But EQ Regina ultimately gets the upper hand when she uses the music box on Snow and Charming, which seems to absorb their songs, preventing them from using the power of music against her. As such, they’re instantly transported back to their castle. Which makes me wonder- was Hook waiting for them to come back to his ship so they could bring him to DO Rumple? Poor guy.

As Snow and Charming begin to despair over the fact that their plan failed, Shady Blue appears. She admits that she was the one that granted Snow’s wish, but the power of the song was not meant to be utilized by them. It was meant for Fetus Emma. In other words, the songs everyone has been singing throughout the flashback were being magically implanted into Emma’s heart, so she would carry the power of everyone’s song inside of her. Or something to that effect. But from a CSer standpoint, that is really cool. It would mean that, all this time, the song within Emma’s heart contained a bit of Killian as well. Even when she was just a little embryo inside Snow’s womb, she was already connected to the man who would become her True Love. That is just pure epicness right there.

Of course, Blue explains that, when morning comes, no one will remember this entire day. Because it’s necessary to ensure the song within Emma’s heart will be kept a secret until the time is right. Which would help explain away any and all plot holes and continuity errors that might have arisen throughout the flashback. But now that Henry has found the page explaining all of this, he runs to tell Emma what he’s found out.

He arrives just when the Black Fairy is discovering she can’t crush Emma’s heart like she planned to. It’s because the song inside Emma’s heart was keeping her safe. (Is this also what protected her heart from Cora in 2A?) Henry shows Emma the page he found, helping her realize that she was never alone after all. This whole time, she carried the strength of her family’s songs inside of her. To prove his point, Henry plays an old recording Emma made of herself singing a tune, back when she was living in a group home in Minnesota. (Hey, that’s where she eventually met Lily, isn’t it?) The time card read 1991, so I’d wager Emma was about 8 at the time. Unfortunately, because of a rather mean foster child, Emma decided to ignore the melody echoing in her head, believing the mean girl’s statement that no one would ever want to listen to her sing. But now, thanks to Henry and the new page, she realizes that the song she was singing that day was the result of the wish her parents made years ago. With this knowledge, Emma taps into that strength, singing the song that was always there within her. And the melody of her song turns out to be the previously lyric-less tune that has been used as Emma’s theme music since the show’s beginning.

The strange thing about it is, the Black Fairy pretty much stands there and lets Emma continue singing. Sure, she does try to fire a magical blast at her at one point, but even though the power within Emma’s song was able to deflect the attack, one would think Blacky would keep trying instead of just standing there. In any event, Emma’s song manages to break the spell that’s keeping the Nevengers frozen in time. The moment they’re free, Emma turns defiantly towards the Black Fairy, announcing that she’s not alone anymore. The Black Fairy is angry, but quickly teleports off, leaving Emma to embrace Killian in relieved happiness.

The hug in question serves as a transition to the wedding ceremony. And there are no words to describe how wonderful it is. I almost don’t even care that we don’t get to see cameos of Elsa, or Nemo and Liam 2.0. I realize they’re all in other realms right now, but since Elsa is quite possibly Emma’s dearest woman friend, and Liam 2.0 is Killian’s only remaining blood relative, it’s kinda a shame they weren’t there for the wedding. Also, was Smee and the rest of Killian’s old crew among the attendees? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised we didn’t see Tink, as Rose McIver is apparently busy with her role in iZombie. And did Henry invite his little girlfriend, Violet? I didn’t see her. But, hey, we did get a baby sighting. They finally seemed to remember that Baby Neal actually exists. I guess that counts for something. And, while I had my reservations about Archie being the one officiating the wedding (I personally would have picked Nemo), it does make more sense this time around. After all, Archie was someone who both Emma and Killian have confided in about their fears this season. And he was the first one to find out Killian planned to propose to Emma. So Archie actually does have some connection here, unlike the Rumbelle wedding. (Seriously, when did Archie ever interact with Gold and Belle?)

Anyway, the wedding commences, and it is glorious. Killian didn’t end up going with the all-white tux, which is more than fine. I just couldn’t picture him in something that white. Instead he ends up in a suit made of black silk. While it doesn’t exactly contain much of the pirate look we’ve come to associate with him, he does seem to have opted to wear the same earing he was wearing the day he first met Emma, in the destroyed refugee village. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but it’s still a nice touch

And you can just tell from the look on his face the exact moment he catches sight of Emma, as she’s escorted down the aisle by her parents, wearing the bridal dress she selected. As many have pointed out, it is quite reminiscent of Grace Kelly’s wedding dress. Which does make sense, as both Grace and Emma were essentially common civilians who became princesses. So I can see the logic behind them selecting this particular look for Emma’s wedding dress.

Just everything about this whole wedding scene was perfect. From Charming shaking Killian’s hand before taking his seat nearby (Captain Charming have come such a long way), to Emma and Killian’s heartfelt vows. And I really like how Archie switched out the traditional ‘till death do you part’ bit with ‘for all eternity.’ Because their love really is timeless. And those two have already proven that even death cannot keep them apart.

Before you know it, it’s all over, and Emma and Killian are officially husband and wife (and Killian can now officially call himself a prince consort. Not bad for someone who once swore to never answer to royalty again.) And they seamlessly slip into the reception stage, and the showstopping musical finale, ‘A Happy Beginning.’ Because, even though there’s no singing spell going on, I guess Emma has fully embraced the song inside her, and her elation is shared by the others. Anyway, the song is pretty much Emma deciding that this isn’t her getting the happy ending she’s always wanted- it’s a happy beginning, which is a million times better. While it is a great song, it would have been nice if Emma and Killian’s duet went on a bit longer. Their voices really do complement each other perfectly. But at least we got a small moment of hearing them sing together before Snow, Charming, Regina, Zelena, Henry and the rest of Storybrooke joined in.

But that’s when the celebration is brought to a screeching halt as the clock tower starts to strike 6. Somehow, they completely forgot about Black Fairy’s little Dark Curse time-bomb. Or they decided it didn’t matter and they should just go ahead with the wedding regardless. As such, they can do nothing as the new Dark Curse washes over them. But Emma is confident that, not matter where this new curse takes them, they’ll be able to win in the end. (On a side note, I have to roll my eyes on Leroy once again being all town crier on them. I’m pretty sure everyone can see the curse cloud coming, Grumpy. We don’t need you announcing it, thanks.)

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#ouat episode analysis #the song in your heart #ouat 6x20 #emma swan #killian jones #captain hook #captain swan #cs wedding #snow white #prince charming #evil queen regina #regina mills #the wicked witch of the west #zelena mills #henry mills #the black fairy #anti rumpelstiltskin #anti mr gold

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