AN: Warning, this one is not Hook friendly, at all. I've been working on this one a while and this is very ant-Hook (Original flavor Hook). David automatically forgiving Hook for murdering his father bothered me a lot, but what bothered me even more was the scene in 6x18 where Hook was incredibly rude to Snow and she was visibly upset by his behavior. I was inspired to finally finish it after reading Guilt by justanoutlaw. Again, warning, this is extremely Anti-Hook and Anti-Captain Swan. Main ship is Snowing with Swan Queen overtones and endgame.
The Key
"Emma?" Snow called, as she unlocked the door with the key her daughter had given her. She was so excited to spend the day with her daughter and discuss wedding details, but mostly just spending the day with her daughter. She was happy again. The curse was broken and she had been reunited with her husband at last. They had enjoyed their own reunion last night(and early this morning) and she was sure Emma had done the same with Killian. But it was a new day and for the first time in weeks, they were all together and awake at the same time. So after spending the morning with him and Neal, David had urged her to go see Emma.
Emma's lips parted from Killian's, as she looked surprised by her mother's intrusion.
"Your mother has a key. Good to know," Killian commented derisively.
"Mom," Emma greeted.
"I know I'm a little early, but I just woke up this morning and it hit me," Snow rambled, as she kept her gaze on the scrapbook she was holding.
Her focus on the raven haired woman caused her to miss the anger on his fiance's face. He wasn't mildly annoyed or playfully irritated, but full on angry and it showed on his face. And when Snow finally looked up, she saw it plain as day and found it startling.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.
"No," Emma replied
"Yes," Killian interjected bluntly.
"We were just making some pancakes," he continued shortly. Snow turned her head away from the scathing glare he was giving her. She was suddenly incredibly uncomfortable, but Emma didn't seem to notice the malevolence in his eyes.
"Pancakes, right. Maybe I should come back after you've made pancakes," Snow suggested. Hook's glower didn't dissipate and his response demonstrated his clear annoyance with her.
"Don't worry, I've lost my appetite. I have to go and have a quick and bracing shower," he commented rudely, as he stalked off. As his back was turned to Emma, she couldn't see the continued glare Killian had reserved for his future mother-in-law.
Once he was gone, Snow tried to forget that unsettling experience. She had interrupted them, after all. But her husband had never reacted like that before. In fact, he had been amused when Emma and Henry had walked in on them once. He was just happy to have his family and that there was, in fact, family to walk in on them. For the first time, it made her start to think about what kind of husband Killian would be to her daughter, but she quickly wished those thoughts away when she didn't like where they took her.
She shook any troubling thoughts she had away and focused on her daughter.
"So I thought we could start looking at wedding stuff," Snow said, as she started leafing through the book she had been putting together.
"Wow...how long have you been planning this?" Emma asked in amusement.
"Not long...definitely not before the first curse broke," she replied. What she wouldn't tell Emma was that she had started planning the moment Neal had walked back into her life. Deep down, though Snow didn't dare voice this opinion these days, she would have much preferred the late Neal as her son-in-law. He had made his mistakes, but ultimately, she knew how much he had loved her daughter and grandson. At his core, Neal was a good man mislead by August, not unlike she and Charming had been lied to by his father and the Blue Fairy. It still stung more than she would ever admit.
"I have missed a lot of the milestones in your life, Emma. I want to make the absolute most of this one," Snow confessed. Emma looked extremely touched and hugged her mother tightly.
"Me too, Mom," she confessed in return.
They spent an hour or so looking over things in the book. Close to lunchtime, they decided to break and meet later to look at wedding venues. Snow hugged Emma and gathered her things, as her daughter went upstairs. Just as she opened the front door to leave, she was surprised to see Killian there.
"Oh...Killian, I'm sorry again if I intruded this morning. I was just excited to start planning the wedding," Snow said.
"Clearly…" he deadpanned. There was an awkward pause and Snow reached for the doorknob.
"I'll...I'll see you later," she said, but he held the door shut and she looked at him in confusion.
"The key," he stated. Her brows furrowed.
"What?" she squeaked.
"Your key...hand it over," he repeated. She swallowed thickly.
"But...Emma gave it to me," Snow replied.
"Which she did without consulting me. This is my home too, after all," he argued.
"Killian...I really am sorry I interrupted his morning. I promise it won't happen again," Snow apologized.
"No...it won't, because you won't have a key," Killian replied. The hurt on Snow's face was unmistakable, as she handed the key to him.
"What are you going to tell Emma?" she asked curiously.
"We don't need to tell Emma anything. I think we both know when the chips are down that Emma's going to choose me over you, no matter what," he replied nonchalantly. Snow's eyes widened and she looked up at him, as his words burned into her. Her first instinct was to deny that statement, but she found she couldn't truthfully do so.
"I'm sorry if I offended you," Snow said quietly and he smirked, further unnerving her.
"Offend isn't really the right word. It's more that you're annoying and infuriating most of the time. But I know you can't help it. After all, you have nary a life nor friends, so it's understandable that you cling to what you do have. I can hardly believe your husband can even stand you most of the time," Killian said to her quietly. She looked at him in disbelief, scarcely believe the words he was speaking to her. And then she saw it. The glimpse of the man he used to be...or rather still was. Killian Jones hadn't changed nearly as much as he had fooled them into believing.
Every instinct in her screamed to march upstairs and tell Emma everything. But somehow, she knew tattling to her daughter would do little. In fact, it could make things worse.
She clutched her book to her chest and walked out of the house without another word into the cold winter air. The tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She would not cry...she couldn't let on that his words had pierced through her like needles. She would not admit that his words had just preyed on every insecurity she had; that it lay those demons that lurked beneath the surface of her optimism and hope bare on her skin like open wounds.
She considered just going to pick up Neal from daycare early and calling it a day, but they had already made plans to meet in couple of hours to scout out wedding venues. Canceling would only let on that something was bothering her, so she found herself back at the loft soon. She looked at her reflection in the mirror, staring at someone she barely recognized.
She didn't know how long she'd been standing there when she saw her husband behind her in the mirror, his voice snapping her from her daze.
"Snow...hey, are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she said, turning away.
"I said your name three times. Didn't you hear me?" he asked.
"No...I guess not," she replied.
"Snow...what's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing," she answered.
"No, it's not nothing. Did you forget how well I know you?" he said, as she tried avoiding eye contact with him. One look into his blue eyes and she'd spill everything to him. That's how it was, for he was the only one that ever saw her damage and the cracks in her armor. She sniffed, as he hugged her close and she breathed in his scent.
"I don't know how you put up with me sometimes," she uttered. His brows furrowed in confusion, as he pulled back so he look at her.
"Put up with you? What are you talking about?" he asked, as he held her beautiful face in his hands. She shook her head.
"It's probably nothing. I'm sure I'm overreacting," she lamented.
"No, you're upset and I want to know what upset you so I can try to make it better," he said, as he gazed into her eyes.
"When you're hurting...I'm hurting. We're a team, Snow and I will always fight for you, just as I know you will always fight for me," he said passionately. Her face crumpled, as she finally broke down in his arms. Hook's cruel words were still there, but he was wrong about her husband. Charming didn't just tolerate her. He loved her with all his heart and soul...her true love; a concept she was beginning to think Hook had no inkling about.
"I don't want to push you, but I'd really like to know what upset you so much. Maybe I can help," he suggested. She sniffed.
"I should just forget it. I don't think talking about it is really going to change anything," she replied dejectedly.
"Maybe not, but can you at least tell me so I know what you're talking about?" he pleaded. She sighed, as he sat down and she let him pull her down into his lap. Gods how she had missed these simple moments when she could go to him for all the love and comfort she needed. Never would she take being together for granted again.
"You're not going to like it," she said.
"Whatever it is...we'll face it as we do everything. Together," he implored. She took a deep breath and explained everything that had occurred that morning. How she had accidentally interrupted Emma and Hook, leading to Hook's subsequent anger. How she had brushed it off at first and enjoyed her time with their daughter. But then she explained her confrontation with him and by the end, as she suspected, Charming was seething. She watched her husband pace like a caged animal.
"I can't believe he said those things to you! I can't believe I am even trying to forgive that damn pirate for what he did to my father! He obviously doesn't deserve it," he raged.
"David…" she started to say.
"I may have let what he did to my father go...but I will never let him get away with speaking to you like this," he growled.
"You have to," Snow said. He looked at her in disbelief.
"Snow...he can't talk to you like that! We have to tell Emma," he insisted.
"She won't pick us," she blurted out in return.
"What?" he asked in confusion. Snow sniffed.
"She'll pick him. When I gave her the poppy and I told her to use it to find Hook instead of waking us. I did it because I knew she wanted to pick him and I felt so guilty...about not walking through that door when we had the chance. So I told her to take it and find him instead, because I couldn't bare taking anything else away from her. Deep down...I think I hoped she would choose us. But Emma's changed," Snow rambled and David's heart sank, because he knew he couldn't refute that statement.
"I know...I think we've been in denial for so long, because we're afraid that if we speak against her, she'll reject us," he admitted.
"What do we do?" Snow asked, at a loss. And he realized he was just as lost as she was.
"I don't know...like you said, if we protest the wedding, she'll just reject us and marry him anyway," he said, trying to recall when things had gone so far off the rails.
"Neal's death," she said suddenly.
"What?" he asked.
"You're trying to remember where things went askew and it was Neal's death," she answered. He squeezed her hand, always relishing how they could practically read each other's minds.
"I think all we can do is press on. Trying to tell Emma that she's making a mistake would fall on deaf ears," Snow reasoned.
"I still want to punch that pirate for talking to you like that," David growled.
"Don't...you know it will only make things worse. I can't lose Emma again," Snow fretted. David sighed and reluctantly agreed to let on like nothing had happened. But deep down, though he loved his daughter, he wondered where the real Emma was sometimes. He didn't like to admit that she was different with Hook. They had both pushed away their concerns out of fear of her pushing them away. And this was the position they were in now.
"Maybe we should tell Regina…" he suggested.
"Charming...I don't know," she fretted.
"Regina has always had a way of getting through to Emma. She won't pull punches with her and I think that's what we need. We need to save our daughter...even if it's from herself," he decided. Snow looked into his eyes and then took out her phone. She swallowed thickly and dialed her number.
To say Regina was thrilled to hear about the pirate's latest transgressions would have been an understatement. She wasn't thrilled about the words he had said to Snow; though perhaps there might have been at time she would have. But she and Snow had come a long way and were really good friends now, more than that really. They were family and the pirate didn't belong in this family; he never had. Her parents weren't the only ones to notice the changes in Emma.
Unfortunately, the talk she had with Emma didn't go over well and ended with her defending Hook, refusing to believe he had really said all those things to her Mother.
But she was Regina Mills and she didn't give up. Moreso, Regina wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done and that was to set the pirate up. If her plan went accordingly, he would show his true colors without realizing Emma was seeing all of it. Regina Mills was staging an intervention to open Emma Swan's eyes and give Captain Hook just enough rope to hang himself.
That afternoon, Regina had everything in place. Snow and David were on board with the plan, though while Snow was worried about it backfiring, David was ready to charge ahead. That didn't really surprise her. Snow's insecurity about being rejected by Emma was making it difficult for her, but David had started off loathing Hook. Charming was someone who would do anything for his little girl and slowly letting the pirate in had made her happy. So he had let him in for her and it clearly was a mistake. He had forgiven so much, but the way he had treated Snow was the last straw. He absolutely wouldn't let this one go and neither would Regina.
"Good...you're here, because we need to talk," David snapped, as the pirate waltzed into the station. He took careful note of how Hook looked around to see if Emma was there. As suspected, Emma's presence or rather lack thereof would make a difference in his demeanor. He smirked.
"I gather by the way you're all hot and bothered that your wife told you about the words we had," Hook stated.
"You damn right she did. How dare you say those things to her?!" David yelled, but Hook only rolled his eyes.
"Mate…" he started to say.
"I am not your mate," the prince growled back.
"Forgive me, I thought we were friends. But I guess your wife's big mouth has ruined something else," Hook shot back. Snow gasped at that. It was low. It was going for the jugular. She had carried the guilt of Daniel's death with her for her entire adult life and the wound had always been close to the surface, yet again being torn open.
"You Son of…" David growled, but his wife held him back.
"No…" she held him back. He looked at her and knew if he went about attacking Hook, it would defeat the purpose of what they were trying to do.
"You know, you two are easier to deal with when you're apart," Hook continued. As Regina listened from the interrogation room, she smirked with satisfaction. She knew Hook well. She'd given him just enough rope and he was well on his way to a noose.
"I have to give it to you. Together, you're a force to be reckoned with. In my considerable years, I've never seen anything quite like it. Now I see why Regina separated you during the curse," Hook said. Regina narrowed her eyes.
"Keep digging yourself a hole, pirate," she growled under her breath.
"So what...now you're trying to compliment us?" David asked sarcastically.
"Well, if getting in good with Emma means buttering up her parents, then alas, that's the cross I shall bare. Still...it's a pity that curse was broken. Who would have thought the Evil Queen would have saved Snow White and Prince Charming?" he said.
"So...when you offered to drink that potion first, that was just for show?" Snow chimed in. He smirked.
"I knew it would look good to Emma. Now...she will be here soon, so let's put all this nasty business aside. We don't want Emma finding out that her father was ready to attack the man she loves, do we?" Hook asked. David clenched his teeth, raging internally that he hadn't seen this sooner.
"Now...shall we discuss wedding venues?" Hook suggested.
"No…" a new voice said. Hook spun around to see Emma in the doorway, holding her phone in her hand, and looking at him in disbelief.
"Emma…" he started to say.
"I saw it...I heard everything," she said.
"I don't understand," he replied.
"Well, then let me spell it out for you," Regina interjected, as she walked out of the interrogation room and fished a small hidden camera out of the plant on Emma's desk.
"You set me up," Hook said, enraged.
"Not really. I just made sure there was a camera to record you this time when you showed your true colors," Regina replied.
"Emma…" Hook pleaded.
"I defended you...I yelled at Regina when she told me about the things you said to my Mother," Emma said.
"I was angry...I can fix this," Hook pleaded.
"So you didn't take the key that I gave my Mother?" Emma questioned.
"Emma...please…" Hook begged.
"Answer the question," Emma snapped.
"Yes, I asked her to give the key back, but it was only because I felt we shouldn't be interrupted in our home," he said firmly.
"So...what, are you going to take Henry's key the next time he barges in? It's his house too and I gave my parents a key, because they are welcome any time!" Emma yelled.
"You're right...I shouldn't have done that. Can we just forget this and move on? I'm sorry," he said, trying to convince her.
"Sorry you got caught," Regina muttered.
"I...I can't do this right now," Emma said, as she stormed out.
"Emma!" Snow called, but her daughter didn't stop.
"If you've ruined this for me...there will be hell to pay," Hook growled, as he hurried after her.
"Do you think that was enough to get her to call off the wedding?" Snow wondered.
"If it wasn't...then the Emma we know is truly gone," Regina stated. Snow turned to him and he cupped her face in his hands.
"Did we do the right thing?" she asked.
"Yes...Emma will come back to us. I have faith," he replied.
They returned to the loft that evening after dinner at Granny's with Regina and Henry. Emma's presence was clearly missed, but they knew she had to figure her life out. After putting Neal to bed, they found comfort in each other, as they did many nights. They were still very much making up for more lost time after the curse and made love into the wee hours of the morning, before falling asleep together, entangled beneath the sheets.
The next morning was subdued, as Charming made them breakfast and they enjoyed each other's company and that of their son.
"He's growing so fast," David mentioned fondly, as Neal's chubby hands picked up torn pieces of pancakes and he ate eagerly, giving his parents a toothy grin.
"I know...when we were cursed, I kept wishing time would stop, you know, just for a little while. I was afraid of missing his milestones or experiencing them without you," she replied. He squeezed her hand.
"Me too," he agreed. They were about to broach the subject of their daughter when the door opened, revealing an Emma that looked like she hadn't slept much.
"Emma…" David said, with relief in his voice.
"I'm...sorry," she breathed and they were off their feet and at her side in a second.
"I...I don't even know who I am anymore. You guys would have died if Regina hadn't figured out how to break the curse and it would have been because I chose him," she sniffed.
"Oh baby…" Snow soothed, as they hugged her between them and Charming cradled her head.
"I almost caused Neal to grow up without you, just like I did," she sniffed.
"Can you forgive me?" she asked, as she pulled back. Snow and David exchanged a teary looked.
"We already have," he assured, as they hugged again. Snow, not being able to help but push, asked the next question they were both thinking.
"What about Hook?" she asked. She shook her head and showed her ring finger, which was now void.
"I told him I couldn't marry him, not now...probably not ever. I'm a mess and I need help," she admitted.
"And we're here to help you get that help," Snow assured.
"How did he take it?" David asked. Though he didn't say it, her father was also asking if they were going to have to worry about a revenge minded pirate.
"He was angry. I offered him a bean though and he took it. He left," she replied with a deadness in her voice. She had been so entranced by the idea of true love and wanted what her parents had so badly that she had tried to forge that path with Hook. But it wasn't anything like what her parents had. She was finally seeing how toxic her relationship with Hook had been. She wasn't okay yet, not by a long shot. But with her parent's love, her son, Regina, and some counseling sessions with Archie, she eventually would be okay again.
A few years later
As it turned out, Emma would be better than okay within a year after Hook left. Individual sessions with Archie and some family counseling with her parents and their family was stronger than ever. And now Emma was ready to walk down the aisle again, this time knowing for certain that she had truly found true love this time.
"Are you ready?" Snow gushed excitedly. She was wearing a beautiful dress and her father donned a tux. Emma nodded, as they hugged her between them. Neal toddled up to her and she bent down to hug him gently.
"Okay buddy...now just like we practiced," David said, as he handed the pillow with the rings to him. They and all their guests chuckled, as they watched little Robin drop flower petals, while Neal walked beside her, trying to remember not to walk too fast.
Snow and David then escorted Emma down the aisle together, their faces aglow with happiness. And at the altar awaiting her next to Archie and Henry was Regina. They had truly come full circle and their family was more complete than any of them ever thought possible. This was truly a happy beginning for all...