Chapter 1: The Contract
Ever since the dysfunctional crew of the Jolly Roger had returned from their otherworldly journey (in which they saved Henry from Greg and Tamara in Neverland and found Neal injured, but alive, in the Enchanted Forest), the dynamics of Storybrooke had decidedly shifted. The town that was so often tense and hostile and had suddenly taken on a much cooler tone as former enemies Emma and Regina had agreed to a truce for Henry's sake. Drama cooled down for once, and residents were able to take up some of the more normal tasks that they had given up when they regained their memories. Mary Margaret resumed teaching full-time, Regina resumed running the town, and Emma resumed upholding the law in Storybrooke, with her father David now at her side.
Two residents new to Storybrooke were Neal and Captain Hook. Emma had taken charge of getting them settled and, in Hook's case, introducing them to the amenities of the modern world. She had grown to crave the nostalgia she felt whenever she was around Neal and the lightheartedness she felt around Hook, so she hung out with them often (though never together, as they seemed to passionately hate each other for reasons she didn't understand). Indeed, Emma found herself in the company of Neal, Hook, Regina, Mr. Gold, and Belle more often than ever before now that they all had ties to Henry.
Henry was the true savior, not me, Emma thought as she made her way to Granny's diner where she had promised to meet her son for dinner. It's a miracle he was able to keep us all from killing each other on that freaking ship. The crew had been forced to share close quarters, with all the women in one room and the men in the other. Emma and Regina hadn't been too pleased, and neither had Hook and Rumpelstiltskin, who had to bunk together on the trip home after Hook had offered his captain's quarters to Henry. But somehow their mutual care for Henry had kept them all civil.
"Hey, mom!" Henry exclaimed as Emma entered the diner, pulling her away from her thoughts.
"Hey, kid! How was school?" She asked as she glanced around to take in her surroundings. She noticed the tables that were normally scattered throughout the diner were lined up to form one huge table in the middle of the room.
"Pretty good," Henry replied, following her eyes. "I thought we could share dinner with a few other people."
"A few? There's enough room here to sit –"
"Nine. You, me, Regina, Mary Margaret, David, Mr. Gold, Belle, Neal, and Killian."
"Do you really think that's the best idea, kid? And Killian?" Emma furrowed her brows, "Since when do you call Hook –"
As if on cue, the sultry pirate waltzed into the diner like he owned the place. Since returning, he had traded in his pirate garb for a black leather jacket, a black V-neck, and black skinny jeans. Why would you wear skinny jeans? Emma thought. That's not even fair. She had accepted her attraction to Hook almost as soon as they had set off on their journey to Neverland; she had never been able to resist a guy in leather. It's only physical, she told herself. I'm allowed to appreciate a hot guy and there's no harm in it as long as I don't act on it. Oh shit how long have I been staring?
"Emma," Hook tilted his head and winked at her before turning to Henry. "And how are you lad? Been practicing your swordplay?"
"Yep," Henry smiled. "I'll be able to beat you soon."
Hook smiled and laughed lightly. "I don't doubt it."
The bells on the door tinkled to signal the arrival of another guest, this time Gold and Belle walking together hand-in-hand. Emma watched as Hook stiffened and his guard went shooting up. He and his crocodile locked eyes for what felt like an eternity and nodded curtly at each other.
"Emma, how are you?" Belle asked in an attempt to ease the tension.
"Great, thanks," Emma replied, though she wasn't paying much attention to Belle as she focused on Hook and Gold's interaction. She lightly placed her hand on Hook's shoulder and said, "How about we go sit down and let Henry bond with his grandfather?" Hook relaxed slightly at her touch and nodded before following her to the table.
They both sat and watched Henry relating with Gold and Belle from afar. Henry seemed to be telling an animated story as he kept flailing his arms around for emphasis and Gold and Belle both looked engaged in his words. Emma had been surprised to see how quickly Henry was able to bond with his other set of grandparents when they had gotten back to Storybrooke. He had been fascinated by Gold's experiences with magic and Belle's knowledge of books from another land. He had even showed her his precious Once Upon a Time book on a few occasions.
Emma turned her attention back to Hook and saw him staring at Gold. "It's still hard for you," she said. It wasn't a question.
"It always will be," he replied seriously. Emma hated when he became so tense. It was her job to stress out and it was his job to be the fun one. She didn't know how to handle the reverse.
"At least you and Henry seem to be getting along," she said hopefully.
"Aye, at least there's that."
The bells chimed again as more people entered the diner. Mary Margaret and David looked flushed as they hurried in. "Sorry we're late!" Mary Margaret exclaimed before hugging Henry and rushing over to embrace Emma, with David right behind her.
Neal came strolling in next looking nonchalant with his hands in his pockets. Hook stiffened for the second time that night, but Emma smiled and held up her hand to motion hello. Neal patted Henry on the back and walked over to Emma, kissing her on the cheek before sitting down next to her.
"How're you doing?" Neal asked her in his deep voice. Emma had never been able to resist that voice. It was always so rough, yet so sincere. She felt herself reddening.
"Good," she said simply before turning away from him and pretending to focus her attention elsewhere. God, Emma, what are you seventeen again? She asked herself. As much as she tried to deny it, Neal had this indescribable effect on her. He left me. She reminded herself. But first love never dies. And he gave me Henry. She snuck a peak at him and saw his hand resting on his knee. She wished she could grab it and they could go back to how things were and be together and raise Henry like a proper family. He left me. He never even tried to look for me.
"Okay!" Henry announced, bringing her back to the present situation. Emma noticed that Regina had slipped in while she wasn't paying attention and everyone had taken a seat. "Now that everyone's here," Henry continued, "I guess you want to know why I brought you here." He looked around for a response and a few of them nodded. "Everyone in this room is a part of my family," he noticed eyes wandering towards Hook and added, "even if we're not technically blood related. You all mean the world to me, and I want you to all get along."
"We are getting along, Henry," Regina told him earnestly.
"Not killing each other isn't the same thing as getting along. I want a family, a real family. One that works together and loves each other and can get together for Thanksgiving without it being a huge deal."
Hook leaned towards Emma and whispered, "What's Thanksgiving?"
She chuckled and rolled her eyes, mouthing, "Tell you later."
"Well we seem to have gathered here just fine," Gold said, sounding confused, "Forgive me, Henry, but I don't see the issue."
"This," he waved his arms and motioned to all of them, "is not a family. This is a group of people barely tolerating each other. You and Killian can't say two words to each other, Neal and Killian won't even look at each other –"
"Well it seems to me like all our problems would be solved by getting Hook to leave," Neal snickered as Hook glared at him.
"It's not just them," Henry said, exasperated. "It's Emma and Regina, and Mary Margaret and Regina, and Killian and David. It's all of you!"
"Look, Henry," Emma said in her 'mom' voice, worried about her upset son, "we all love you, and we're trying really hard for you. But you can't force people to be friends, all you can hope for is that we tolerate and respect each other."
Henry laughed. "Well you barely tolerate each other, and you definitely don't respect each other. Look at them!" he motioned towards Hook and Neal, who were both glaring at each other around Emma. If looks could kill, she thought.
"If I could fix this, I would, Henry," she sighed. "But I can't. None of us can."
"Yes you can. That's why I have you all here." Henry took a square of paper out of his pant pocket and unfolded it to reveal a foot-long document covered with words in the tiniest font imaginable.
"What is that?" David asked.
"A contract," Henry replied, smiling towards Gold, who looked confused but proud that his grandson was following in his footsteps.
"What do we need a contract for?"
"I want you all to agree that you'll do everything in your power to make us a family."
"Do we really need to sign for that, kid?" Neal questioned.
"Yes, because you don't break a deal with me," Henry grinned mischievously. Everyone chuckled at how much he was acting like his grandfather.
"I think it's a great idea!" Mary Margaret exclaimed encouragingly. "Where do we sign?" Henry took a quill out of his other pocket and the contract made its way around the table as everyone signed their names on the dotted line, despite the fact that the words were too small for them to read what they were agreeing to.
"All right, Henry, we've written our lives away to you," David joked after everyone had signed the contract. "Now what?"
"Now you all need to pack your bags."
All side conversations immediately halted as everyone turned towards Henry.
"Excuse me?" Belle said, with raised eyebrows.
"Our family was the closest when we were forced to live together on the Jolly Roger, and I want to recreate that. I've already arranged for us to live in a big house right off the church grounds together."
"All of us?" Mary Margaret said, disbelieving. Henry nodded.
"No!" Regina cried. "Henry, I love you, but I am your mother and I decide what's best for you, not the other way around."
"Then I guess you shouldn't have signed the contract," he replied. The eyes of everyone in the room grew an inch wider.
"Henry…" Emma started cautiously, "What did you do to the contract?"
"Well, I didn't do anything. Mother Superior did. She agrees with me that we all need to bond, so she enchanted the quill you signed with and found the house we're going to live in."
"What happens if we break the contract?" Gold asked quietly, "if we refuse to move in together, to cooperate?"
"That stays between me and Mother Superior. But trust me, it isn't good." The table went quiet as everyone absorbed this new information.
"Well," Mary Margaret chirped, "let's look on the bright side. I think Henry's right, this will be an opportunity for us to bond and become a true family." Everyone around the table groaned except for David, who just stared at his optimistic wife in disbelief.
Hook turned to Emma and said quietly, "Your family is bloody mental, you know that?" Normally she would argue with his insults, but she couldn't deny that her son's plan was insane. There was no way they would last five seconds of 'family togetherness' without someone getting seriously hurt, physically and/or emotionally.
"So when do we move in?" Belle asked, remaining relatively composed as she turned towards Henry.
"Tomorrow morning."
"And for how long?"
"However long it takes us to become a real, loving family."