Storybrooke was a disorienting place.

Killian Jones was reminded of that yet again, as he asked for coffee to go along with his moderate breakfast of eggs and toasted bread.

"Whole milk, 2%, or skim, for your coffee?" asked Granny Lucas.

"Cow milk preferably, or if that's not available, freshly drawn goat's milk," said Killian, with a blank expression on his face.

"You think I have time for your sass?" The matron placed one hand on her hip and pushed her spectacles back up her nose.

Clearly that was meant to be a rhetorical question, so Killian did not bother to answer. He grinned. "Whatever the lady wishes."

Rolling her eyes, Granny warned, "Don't complain later."

"I wouldn't dare," he replied, with another wide smile.

In truth, Killian Jones had answered jestingly because had still not figured out in what respect the different varieties of milk people added to coffee varied (2 percent of what?). He generally tried to catch Ruby's attention when giving orders at Granny's Diner. The young werewolf remembered that Captain Hook had not received a download of cursed memories to help him navigate the modern world, and was careful not to throw meaningless words at him without explanation. Granny, however, never did.

Whenever Killian travelled to a new realm, one of the first things he did was study the stars of the unfamiliar sky, and get acquainted with ones useful for navigation. It helped him get oriented, and would guide him back if he went off-course in unfamiliar waters. He had done the same when he had originally arrived in Storybrooke. He had mapped out prominent celestial objects. The North Star had caught his attention in particular. Every now and then, he looked up at the night sky, and the sight of the unmoving star gave him some measure of peace. However, becoming familiar with the stars over Storybrooke was of little help when trying to navigate day to day life.

The coffee arrived, and Killian ate his breakfast while reading The Daily Mirror. He'd taken to perusing the local rag as a way to try and make some sense of the town. The front page announced the marriage of Mr. Gold to Belle French in huge lettering. Killian could not help an involuntary shudder, and turned the page quickly. He may have given up on his revenge, but certain reactions were instinctual.

As he was finishing his coffee, Killian caught a glimpse of Emma's blonde hair through the window. He craned his neck to see her walking past the diner with her parents and their newborn in tow. Immediately getting up from the table, he walked out and drew Emma apart for a talk.

"How are you this morning, Swan?" A smile, not yet in full-bloom, tugged at his lips.

"I'm fine! And how are you this morning, Hook?" Emma looked at him shyly.

"Still devilishly handsome, as you can see."

Her eyes brightened with hilarity, and she teased, "And still humble as always, I can see…"

"Aye!" he grinned. "And what are you doing today?"

"I am spending the morning with my parents and my baby brother."

"And after that?"

"I hadn't really thought that far ahead." She did not ask him why he was prying. They both knew.

Killian scratched behind his ear with his hook. "Want to get lunch at an establishment that's… not Granny's Diner?"

Emma giggled at that. He knew he must look idiotic, but he did feel like a young lad asking a girl to join him in some clandestine activity.

"Yeah. Not Granny's Diner sounds good," she replied a little breathlessly. Killian felt slightly relieved. He had been half-afraid that Emma would regret the previous night's vulnerable moment, when she had reached out for him and kissed him. He had spent a sleepless night spent tossing and turning on his lumpy bed while his mind kept replaying that lovely kiss beneath the stars. Their kiss in Neverland, which seemed a life time ago now, had been raw, passionate, and incredible (it had also been the moment he had realized that he had fallen in love with Emma). Their kiss last night had been filled with passion certainly, but it had also been tender and full of promise.

He yearned to kiss her again.

"What about Henry? Do you think the lad would like to join us?"

Emma gave him a warm smile that went right to his heart. "He's spending the day with Regina. I thought that might help, you know, after the fiasco last night with Marian..."

Freshly arrived from the past, Robin's wife had discovered that her husband was seeing the Evil Queen—the woman who had been about to execute her back in the Enchanted Forest. She had not taken the news well, and there'd been a tense scene outside Granny's Diner that left everyone feeling uncomfortable. Killian had stopped Emma from rushing into the milieu (It is not your responsibility to make peace everywhere, Swan). Marian had left with Roland, and Regina had walked away alone. Robin had followed after his wife and child.

"That should keep Regina from doing anything rash, at least for now," agreed Killian.

Emma looked distressed. "You were right, you know—I should have left Marian in Regina's prison. But I couldn't just leave someone to die, when I had the power to save them."

"That's true. You usually leave a blood-thirsty giant to guard them," he teased.

"You're seriously going to bring that up?" Emma's eyes opened wide in challenge. "First of all, Anton is not blood-thirsty."

"Beg to differ. And so would your father, I daresay…"

Emma rolled her eyes. "And don't forget you left me and my mom in an inescapable magical prison in retaliation."

"What an arse I was… Good thing you did manage to escape from that inescapable prison," he smirked.

"Arse is not the word I would have used." Emma gave him a pointed look.

"Doesn't my surviving on Granny's lunches and dinners make up for it, Swan?" he cajoled.

"Well, you did come back to rescue me from Regina's prison. So, I suppose I can overlook your original offense," she said in a mock-serious voice and smiled.

"Even if you didn't really need my dashing rescue, after all…"

Emma's smile faltered. They had circled back to the reason for Marian's current presence in Storybrooke.

Killian raised his hook and tucked a loose strand of Emma's hair behind her ear. He said gently, "You did what you do best, Swan—you saved a life. And you reunited a mother and son." Emma's face lightened.

"Yes… I am glad about that," she confessed. Killian smiled at her softly.

Emma took an involuntary step closer to him, and tucked both her hands into her back-pockets. An inviting stance if ever there was one. Captain Hook was not loath to take it. He placed his hand on her unresisting waist and drew her close. She leaned forward, glancing at his lips.

He bent his head to hers, and was a hair's breath away from kissing her, when they were interrupted by someone shouting, "Crazy ice queen! Crazy ice queen on the loose!"

Killian and Emma broke apart as they turned to look at the source of the interruption. The damned dwarf Grumpy or Leroy—whatever his name was—ran towards them, wheezing, and stopped when he had reached the curb. He bent down to catch his breath.

Killian sent him a dirty look, which went unheeded.

The dwarf started explaining the predicament. "Me and the boys we were walking down the city center, when this young woman comes up to us and asks for Rumplestiltskin. She was waving around a newspaper with a photo announcing the wedding of Mr. Gold and Belle."

"Wait, Mr. Gold and Belle are getting married?" interjected Emma.

"You are way behind the times, sister! They got married last night. Archie officiated the wedding," announced Grumpy.

"Well…" said Emma, a little taken aback, and glanced at Hook. "Good for them, I guess…"

"Who was this woman?" Hook asked.

"Well… she was wearing Enchanted Forest clothes, and had a tiara on her head. But none of us have ever seen her before." Grumpy added, "She asked us a lot of questions about her sister, and a place called Andennele or something. We didn't have a clue what she was on about! She got very angry, and conjured up a snowstorm right out of the blue. Main Street was covered with several inches of snow when I left."

"Where is she now?" enquired Emma.

"She's making her way to Gold's Shop right now. Sneezy told her when she threatened to bury him under six feet of snow."

Hook sniggered. Emma shot him a reproachful look.

"We'll check it out," said Emma. "Go ahead and spread the word, Leroy—tell Rufus to make an emergency broadcast instructing people to stay away from the main town area. Don't say anything about the ice queen. Just say it's some downed live wires—we don't want to start a panic."

"I'm on it, sister." Grumpy took off.

Emma was right, thought Killian wryly—there always was some looming crisis in Storybrooke.

"There go my plans for a quiet day," sighed Emma. "You want to come along?"

"Of course."

David and Mary Margaret came up to them, pushing the baby on the stroller. They greeted Killian.

"What's going on, Emma? We saw Leroy tearing down the street," said Mary Margaret.

"There's some kind of witch freezing down the town center, apparently."

"Zelena's back?" Mary Margaret instinctively tugged the stroller closer.

"According to the dwarf, it's someone new," said Killian.

"It's only been ten hours since the last crisis!" groused Emma. Mary Margaret shook her head in commiseration.

A sudden blast of cold air had them all shivering for a moment. Mary Margaret anxiously checked to make sure baby Neal was well covered.

"Killian and I are going over to see what's happening," said Emma.

"I'll come with you both," offered David.

"I have my magic back. It should be okay. You guys should take the little squirt home. If the weather gets worse, it could be bad for him." Emma bent down and gently caressed her baby brother's cheeks. He gurgled in response. Mary Margaret gave an adoring look at the sweet sibling moment, and Emma fondly rolled her eyes at her mother.

"In that case, you and Killian take my truck," instructed David. "If the town center is frozen, it's going to be harder if you're walking, and I'm not sure your car can handle freaky weather. Call me as soon as you find anything, and I'll come over once your mother and Neal are safe home."

"Be careful!" admonished Mary Margaret as they walked away.

Emma and Hook took David's truck and set off toward the town center; the temperature had dropped quite a bit, and heavy snow was falling from the sky as they got closer. Emma turned on the windscreen wiper, and Killian watched it go back and forth across the glass as it cleared the view. Emma turned on the radio. An announcer's voice warned people to stay away from the main town area because of downed power lines.

"Oh, good! He got that done fast," said Emma. She the dialed the number of Mr. Gold's shop and Belle's cell phone in turn, but merely got messages announcing that Mr. and Mrs. Gold were currently on vacation, and that they could not be reached at the moment.

They found the culprit as she was in the act of freezing the locks of Mr. Gold's Pawn Shop, clearly preparatory to breaking it open. Emma stopped the truck by the curb, and they got down. Killian came around to the other side of the truck. As Emma slammed the car door shut, she slipped on the icy pavement and started to fall backward. Hook quickly moved forward and caught her in time, her back slamming against his chest in the process.

He whispered in her ear, "Careful there, Swan! It's a good thing I was here to catch you this time."

Emma gave him a look indicating now was not the time. As she stepped away, the ice queen, as she had been dubbed by the dwarf, turned toward them.

She was a young woman, about 30 years of age, blonde, and wearing a flowing blue gown. She did indeed have a tiara on her head. The woman lifted her hand in a gesture of attack, when Emma held up both her hands. "Wait! We're just here to talk."

"Who are you?" The woman glanced at them.

"My name is Emma, and this is Killian," said Emma. "We just want to know what you want."

She waved a newspaper at them. It was The Daily Mirror announcing Gold and Belle's wedding.

"I need to find this man—Rumplestiltskin. He looks different in this portrait, but I recognized him," she grit out.

"Why are you looking for Rumplestiltskin?" Killian interjected.

"He kidnapped me from my kingdom and trapped me in a magical urn. I need to find out what happened to my sister. After that, I'm going to make him pay for what he did!"

"And who are you, lass?"

"I am Queen Elsa of Arendelle," she announced regally. Killian's eyebrows shot up.

"Rumplestiltskin was under the control of the Wicked Witch over the last year." said Emma.

"Who is the Wicked Witch?"

"Did you come over with the Dark Curse?"

"Dark Curse?" Elsa looked confused.

Killian let out a sharp breath. A glimmering of an idea occurred to him. He asked Elsa, "Where did you come from? How did you get free from the urn?"

"I don't know. The stopper of the urn I was trapped in had worked loose. I got out, and I found myself at a barn." Killian and Emma exchanged looks. "I walked until I came to this town."

"What kind of barn was it? Was there anything… special about it?" Killian was trying to clarify whether his little idea was correct.

"It had some strange circular patterns etched on its floor. Do they hold magical power? Is that why I was set free?" asked Elsa.

"Son of a …!" exclaimed Emma in dismay. Elsa looked at her, puzzled. Hook remembered the ornate urn he had taken out of a cupboard at the Dark One's vault back in the Enchanted Forest. They'd been looking for ways to re-activate Zelena's time-portal and return to Storybrooke. Elsa must have been trapped within that urn, which got pulled through the time-vortex into Storybrooke along with them.

"Can you help me find him or not?" Elsa seemed to be running out of patience.

"Look. Why don't we go somewhere quiet and talk? I know you want to find Gold… I mean Rumplestiltskin. He got married last night, and we don't know where he is, but he hasn't left town," said Emma. "But there are certain things you need to know. Could you just… stop freezing the town?"

Elsa agreed reluctantly. She looked wary when Emma opened the door to the truck and asked her to get inside.

"It is safe, I promise," Killian assured her. Still looking skeptical, Elsa got in, and Killian shut the door on her. Emma and Killian got into the truck as well.

Emma called David on the phone. "We found her…Can you meet us at Granny's?... how are they doing?... no, it's okay… for now… alright… see you soon."

"We're the reason she's in Storybrooke. Just like Marian." Emma turned her head slightly toward Killian.

The significance of the statement did not escape Killian. Now, both the Evil Queen and the Dark One would have a grievance against Hook and Emma for bringing someone back from the past with a vendetta against them.

Personally, Hook could care less if they all went and boiled their heads.

They took Elsa to the diner, and sat her down in a booth with a cup of coffee. At that point, David joined them. Mary Margaret was safe at home with the baby, and protected from the unnatural cold weather. To start with, they explained to Elsa a little about the time-portal that had transported Emma and Hook back to the Enchanted Forest of thirty years ago.

"The Portal was activated in the barn where you found yourself last night. It seems very likely that you were brought forward in time with us when we returned to Storybrooke," said Emma.

"Time-travel? How is it possible? The Dark One trapped me mere days ago." Elsa looked bewildered.

"We don't know how long you've been in the urn before you came through the portal," said Emma.

"But how did you know I was in the urn? Did my sister send you to rescue me?"

"Emma and I were trapped in the Dark One's vault for a brief period of time," Killian elaborated. "We were looking for ways of escape—I remember taking an urn out from a wardrobe. We didn't know what it held."

"We can only assume that that urn was your prison. It must have been pulled through the portal when it opened," added Emma.

"If that's true, then I have been gone from Arendelle for a very long time. I wonder if my sister and Kristoff got married, and are now ruling the kingdom. Why, Anna must be 50 years of age!" exclaimed Elsa with dismay.

"I am sorry," commiserated Emma. "This can't be easy for you."

"Is this land far from Arendelle? I have to get back home, to my kingdom," Elsa declared.

Hook, David and Emma exchanged looks.

"Um…" began Emma, hesitating.

"What?"

"We are in a different realm, love," said Hook. "You're going to need a portal to get to Arendelle."

"Where can I find one?" asked Elsa. When no one answered immediately, Elsa started to panic. Tendrils of cold air swirled around her. They all shivered from the sudden drop in temperature.

"Portals are not easy to come by in this land," said David. "It may be hard to find a way to get you back to your kingdom. But we promise you, we will do our best to find one, and get you back to your family."

David's reassuring tone seemed to comfort the queen a little. "Prince Charming, indeed", thought Killian and suppressed a smile. When Killian turned around, he caught Emma looking at him, a smile tugging at her lips. Killian winked at her conspiratorially.

"Okay. I'll go talk to Regina, and see if she has any ideas. Dad, maybe you should talk to Blue and Tink. Gold won't like it if we disturbed him today," stated Emma.

Killian looked up, mildly surprised. He had never known Emma to call her father by that term. David looked fit to burst with happiness. Killian distinctly remembered what Emma had said when they had been trapped inside Rumplestiltskin's vault. She had confessed that she wanted to stop pushing her parents away—that she wanted to stop running, as had been her habit for years. After all the abandonment and betrayal Emma had experienced, Killian knew that it had taken courage to make that decision. He was happy to see her keeping to it. The previous night had given him some measure of hope that she would stop pushing him away as well.

"Is he your father?" Elsa looked puzzled. "You appear to be the same age. I thought you said we had travelled forward in time?"

"Long story. Killian will explain it all to you." Emma turned to him. "Won't you, Killian?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Swan?" Killian requested.

"What is it?" asked Emma, once they had stepped outside the diner.

"Why don't I come with you, and let's leave the baby-sitting to your father. He probably needs the practice, anyway," he snarked.

"Because," said Emma, "He'll have to go home and check on my mom at some point. We don't want the ice queen accidentally freezing my baby brother, do we? And, someone needs to make sure Elsa doesn't go on a frozen rampage again trying to find Gold."

"And I get the job?"

"Yes! I'll go and talk to Regina, and my dad can look into the damage the ice has caused. We have to split up the work."

"Why don't we take her along with us?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Emma demurred. "Who knows how Regina will react, especially when she finds out we brought someone else back with us from the future."

"Are you sure you want to go talk to Regina by yourself, love?"

"I'm not looking forward to it, but I can't avoid her forever. I might as well get it over with,"

Suppressing a sigh, Killian agreed to stay with Elsa, while Emma and Dave ran around trying to find portals and dealt with ice-related emergencies around town. Some things never changed, it seemed.