Emma felt like her world was falling apart.
Storybrooke was in ruins. Neal was pulled through a portal and was likely dead. And now Henry, her Henry, her world; was gone. Kidnapped by Greg and Tamara and taken to Neverland.
Hook had graciously offered to help her and her parents find him, to her initial surprise; and as happy as she was about it she continued to keep a close eye on him. She knew how he operated; he didn't do anything unless it would benefit him in the end but, as much as she tried, she couldn't figure out what entirely he was expecting out of them.
She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling with her eyes wide open, trying to find comfort in the rocking of the ship. She was numb, she felt hopeless; her walls were coming down fast and as hard as she tried she couldn't keep up that tough exterior. Not anymore. Emma turned furiously onto her side, staring into the dark abyss of the room, her thoughts running constantly and keeping her awake.
She wasn't going to be sleeping tonight.
Even though she was worried about Henry, about his safety and him being somewhere in an unfamiliar place, her thoughts would ever now and then fall back to him. To Hook. Ever since he found out about her situation his demeanor had changed; he was nice and comforting, completely an utterly charming, but still the devilish pirate she knew him to be. But the ruthless and revenge stricken side of him seemed to disappear; he was just Killian again. He was the man she climbed the beanstalk with. It bemused her how he could shift between the two so effortlessly. And with what happened nights before, he had been ever present in her mind.
They'd been out on the Jolly Roger for a few days now, and on the first night Emma had an emotion breakdown once everyone had fallen asleep. She could only undertake so much and with everything that happened, everything she had to suffer through, she couldn't bear it anymore. As she stood there, arms wrapped tightly around her chest, trying to console her sporadic thoughts and relentless tears, she didn't hear the faint sound of boots clapping on the deck. But in an instant she was wrapped in his arms, pressed against his chest, taking in his unmistakable scent of leather and rum, mixed with the fresh smell of the sea. She placed her hands gently on his chest and cried until she couldn't anymore. He softly spoke consoling words against the shell of her ear, telling her constantly they would find Henry, that everything would be okay. And the more he spoke, combined with the soothing feel of him running his fingers softly though her hair, she began to believe it. Her heart skipped a beat when his lips brushed the top of her head, leaving a kiss gently in her hair. But it was what he said before he left that stuck with her.
"If you need anything, feel free to come to my cabin."
Had this been another instant she would have rolled her eyes, taken it as one of his innuendos, and thought nothing of it. But this time around it wasn't that; it wasn't inviting her in for a night in his bed and for him to take away the pain in his own ways. It was a genuine request; she could see it from the look in his eyes. He felt for her. He knew her pain, he had been there. He wanted to help her and let her know she was not alone.
And with her current state of sleep deprivation, she decided that she would take him up on his offer.
Her feet quietly pattered across her room, making sure her parents wouldn't wake up. There wasn't any way she could explain this too them; as innocent as it was, there was no way in hell her father would understand. She kept her hand pressed against the door as she pulled it shut, sighing with relief as it quietly clicked shut. The hallway was completely dark, as it was falling to half past midnight, and the only source of light came from the moonlight that shown through the window at the end of the hall. She let her fingers ghost along the wall, searching quietly for his cabin, hoping the wooden flooring underneath her wouldn't creak. Her body jumped once her fingers found the door frame to his cabin and she lightly grasped the handle, turned it, and slowly open the door. His cabin was dark, save the natural light of the moon, but her eyes darted around the darkness; hoping, searching for him. Her eyes finally landed on his sleeping figure and she made her way to his bed, noting the way his bare chest was rising and falling as he slept. Before her eyes could marvel at the scars littering his torso she tore her gaze from him and placed her hand firmly against the mattress, half expecting him to wake up.
No movement.
With a heavy sigh she threw caution to the wind and pulled back the covers, letting them fall over her and engulf her in warmth, while curling against his side. He suddenly shifted, pulling his arm upwards, while looking down at her with tired eyes.
"Emma?" he questioned with a gravely tone.
"Don't ask questions, just go back to sleep. Please." She didn't want to explain it. Not right now. For some reason she just needed to feel safe, protected, to feel someone's arms wrapped around her. And as if he could read her mind he did just that. He placed his hand firmly in the small of her back, pulling her into his side. Emma let her hand fall to his chest, her head leaning against his shoulder, and relished in the feel of her body against his. She finally let out a breath she was holding in and let herself relax. Nothing could hurt her; her memories couldn't haunt her anymore. It was like his hold created an invisible force field around her being. It was entirely what she needed.
"Goodnight love," he said so quietly she almost missed it. A smile tugged at her lips and she closed her eyes, letting her body finally be consumed with the sleep she needed; all the while wrapped in his embrace.
The morning sunlight woke Emma up earlier than she was hoping. The sun was just beginning to rise and she let her eyes flutter open, an unnerving feeling growing in her stomach as she realized where she was. They hadn't done anything, nothing she should feel ashamed of, but she couldn't stop that guilty feeling pooling in her selfishly took a night to herself; to make herself feel something, to rid her brain of the haunting thoughts. And while it was exactly what she needed, she still felt like it was wrong.
She began pulling herself from his hold when she was suddenly pulled tightly against him again, catching her off guard.
"Hook what-"
"Please don't leave." His tone was so broken, fragile; nothing that had ever come from him before.
"I can't stay, I have to go back before my parents wake up. I'm sorry." She began trying to pull herself up again but he kept his arm forcefully wrapped around her back, leaving her unmoving from her position.
"Just stay a while longer."
"Why?" The question came out a little more sharp than she had planned and Hook looked at her under his dark lashes, a pain suddenly flooding his eyes.
"Because last night, for the first time in nearly three hundred years my mind wasn't plagued with nightmares," he said softly to her, her eyes widened as he did. "And whether or not you care to believe it, it's because of you lass."
She stayed silent as the realization hit that she wasn't the only one trying to find something to calm her ever running thoughts; he was too. He didn't just understand her, they understood each other. A kindred spirit element ran between the two of them but for the first time she finally accepted it, welcomed it; acknowledged it.
"Please stay," he asked again.
The pleading glint in his eyes and the invisible circles he traced on her back were enough to clear the persistent screams in her mind telling her not to, telling her to leave. For once she listened to what her heart said and she did what she wanted, what felt right, as wrong as it might have been. She leaned her body back against him, wrapping her arms around his toned torso and rested her head against his chest. He planted a familiar kiss to the top of her head, stopping her breathing momentarily.
"Thank you lass," he said quietly into her hair, his lips ghosting across the top of her head.
But he wasn't just thanking her for staying, for falling into his demand. There was so much more interlaced with the thank you. He was thanking her for helping him; for unknowingly being there and being the catalyst that caused his nightmares to stop, if only for a night.
They were both broken souls, plagued with haunting thoughts and the pain of losing someone close to them. And, as it was now, Emma began to realize they would help eventually each other mend the other's heart; this was only the beginning of whatever was bound to happen between the two of them. The idea of inevitably falling for someone again terrified Emma, considering her past history with men, but as his steady breathing lullabied her back to sleep and his arm rested firmly against her back, she shook away all doubting thoughts and left her walls behind; for a moment.
But she had no doubt in her mind that he would be the one to eventually tear down those emotional walls. For good.