Title: The Impossible

Author: Liza Cameron

Note: This is a post ep for New York City Serenade. It picks up right where Emma left off with her parents and explores a couple of scenes that might have taken place that night. In contains no spoilers and I wrote it before the sneak peek so it diverges from that.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; this is for fun and no money.

"Who the hell would have done this?"

Emma's question hung in the air for a long moment as the three of them contemplated a question for which no one had an answer. Finally David motioned to the living room. "Why don't we sit down?"

As Emma followed her mother into the living room, Mary Margaret shook her head and said, "We don't know who could have done this, we really don't know anything."

"Where's Henry?" David called from the kitchen where he was filling several glasses with water.

Emma motioned towards the window. "Sleeping in the car."

Mary Margaret looked alarmed. "We don't know what's happening… it might not be safe for him out there. Especially alone."

Emma waved off her concern. "He's fine. He's with Hook."

"Hook?" Mary Margaret asked, her voice a mix of confusion and concern. "How is he with Hook?"

"Yes, you said Hook found you? How is that possible?" David asked his curiosity evident as he sat the water glasses in front of Emma and Mary Margaret.

"He did find me, but I don't know how." Emma looked contemplative for a moment as she realized it was the first time she'd had a moment to really think about that. How had he found her? But she wouldn't figure that out without his help, so she shook it off, took a deep breath and began sketching the basics for her parents.

"Henry and I have been living in New York. Everything was good, really good. Then two days ago Hook showed up at my door. I thought he was crazy. A stalker. He followed me on a date with my boyfriend… almost fiancé, who by the way it turned out was a monster." When she saw the rise of her mother's eyebrow, she clarified, "A literal your world kind of monster. Anyway that happened later after I had my memories back. Before that Hook gave me an address. I don't know why I went… he must have gotten through to some part of me and I was curious. It was Neal's apartment. I found Henry's camera there and it really freaked me out so I had Hook arrested. But I also had the pictures on the camera developed and there were a lot of pictures that I couldn't explain. So I bailed Hook out, he convinced me to take the memory potion and we're here. But he didn't have enough of the potion for Henry."

"So Henry doesn't remember anything?"

"No. And I'd like for it to stay that way until we can ease him into this reality. He thinks Hook is a client and we've come to Storybrooke to work on a case."

"Then who are we?" Mary Margaret asked lightly.

Emma shrugged. "Old friends of mine…" she paused before adding with an optimistic smile, "That hopefully we're staying with while we're here."

"Of course, this is your home," Mary Margaret replied quickly. "But Emma…"

"What?" At Mary Margaret's tone, Emma's reply had a slightly defensive edge.

"Lying to someone you love is never a good idea."

"I know. But what's the alternative? I want to protect him from this for as long as possible. And how would I convince him of the truth? I thought… I thought Hook was a madman when he approached me in New York." She wondered to herself if she'd really thought he was a madman or if her cursed mind had just been struggling to protect itself as the truth began to dawn in her subconscious.

David looked up from where he'd walked over to peer out the window. "Well right now you have a man dressed in black leather with a hook for a hand standing guard over him. He's going to figure out pretty soon that things are not normal here. Does Hook have his memories of the last year or was he cursed as well?"

"He has his memories. He says you all landed in the Enchanted Forrest together after Pan's curse."

"Does he remember anything that might help?" David asked eagerly.

"It's probably best to ask him yourself. Is it alright if he stays tonight?" Emma blushed lightly before continuing. "He hasn't answered my questions about the Jolly Roger except that it's not here. We'll figure something else out tomorrow."

"I don't know…" Mary Margaret began.

"Of course," David finished as he gave his wife a meaningful look. "He can have the couch."

Emma looked to her mother expectantly. "I put him through a lot in New York. I at least owe him a place to sleep tonight."

Mary Margaret relented. "Fine, but I don't think this should be thought of as a permanent solution."

Emma nodded in agreement and David headed for the door. "I'll go get them."

When the door closed behind him, Emma turned to her mother and surveyed her growing belly. "So that had to be a shock."

Mary Margaret nodded, "You have no idea."

"How do you feel?"

"Good, I guess. A bit tired, but if I remember correctly that's to be expected. Oh!" Mary Margaret's eyes went wide and her hand flew to her stomach.

"What?" Emma asked in alarm.

"The baby kicked." Mary Margaret smiled and then looked almost shyly at her daughter. "Do you… do you want to feel?"

Emma was about to shake her head when she realized what she was doing and how much it would hurt Mary Margaret to refuse. She took a breath and smiled, "Sure, of course."

Mary Margaret took Emma's hand and placed it on the spot she'd felt the kick moments earlier. As they waited for the baby to cooperate, Mary Margaret studied her daughter. "So…"

"What?" Emma gave her mother the side eye.

"You had an almost-fiancé?"

Emma shrugged and was about to reply when she felt the baby kick. With a smile she looked up into Mary Margaret's eyes. "That was a good one; the baby has excellent leg strength."

"Yes, I've noticed," her mother readily agreed, but immediately said, "But back to the almost-fiancé."

Emma sat back on the couch. "Almost is over-stating it. Walsh and I'd been dating awhile, he proposed and I left the restaurant without giving an answer. But I was considering it… mostly…" she crinkled her brow as understanding dawned. "Well I think mostly because Henry really wanted it. But deep down I knew something wasn't right."

"Emma, that's huge."

"He turned into a flying monster and tried to kill me. How is that huge? I think it sent a pretty clear message about me and relationships."

"Don't." Mary Margaret began shaking her head. "You opened yourself up to love. It's wonderful. Just because it was the wrong guy don't shut yourself off from the possibility of doing it again."

"Wrong guy?" She chuckled at the absurdity of the understatement. "He was sent to kill me… or keep me away… or something."

Mary Margaret patted her hand. "It's just a big step opening yourself up, I'm proud of you." She paused for a moment. "Neal is here. Maybe…"

Emma held up a hand to stop her. "I know you mean well, but please don't go there. I have enough on my hands right now with Henry and my memories and this curse and Hook."

"Oh." Mary Margaret's eyes went wide. "You have Hook on your hands? What does that mean?"

Emma looked blankly at her mother. "I… uh don't know."

Mary Margaret looked at her pointedly. "You just used him as an excuse not to move forward with Neal."

"I don't need an excuse not to move forward with Neal." Emma's tone was even, but it belied a wave of frustration she felt at Mary Margaret's continued championship of Neal.

"Emma, I understand this man you were dating, who was not what he appeared to be, may have scarred you but that doesn't mean you should shut Neal out. You owe…"

Now Emma felt her temper flare, but she swallowed her anger before she spoke and once again held up her hand to stop her mother. "That… is not what scarred me for relationships. Actually now that I think about it, what happened with Walsh is probably just par for the course for the savior. I have to be careful who I trust. What scarred me was having the guy I loved, betray me by sending me to jail for his crime and then abandoning me there alone and pregnant."

"What are you talking about, Emma?" Mary Margaret's face was slack and her voice was laced with horror.

"I'm sorry to spring the story on you like that, but we cannot pick up where we left off with you constantly pushing me towards Neal. Neal is Henry's birth father and I care about him and while he will always be a part of our lives, that is going to be a bit tough now with Henry not having his memories. As far as Henry is concerned, he's never met his birth father, but he knows what he did to me, how he abandoned both of us."

"Emma… I… I…"

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, but she felt lighter. It felt good to tell her mother the truth. Before the curse she never could have had this conversation, but now the words flowed. In her cursed life, what Neal had done had been an everyday reality that she didn't hide from herself or from her son.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. I didn't understand… I didn't know." Mary Margaret looked lost.

"I know. And I didn't tell you. But you understand why I need you to back off on the Neal thing and also why I may need your help in figuring out how to deal with the Henry/Neal situation?"

Mary Margaret nodded, still feeling shocked at how grossly she had misread the situation, but immensely relieved that her daughter was confiding in her and asking for her help. "Of course, I will do anything you ask." She studied Emma for a moment, assessing the situation. There was still one thing she was curious about, "At the risk of meddling can I ask you one more thing?"

Emma shrugged. "Sure."

"Hook?"

"What about him?"

"Is there something… there? Earlier you said you had your hands full with him."

Even thought she had suspected where this was going, Emma still felt unable to adequately address the question. "No. I mean, there's nothing going on… it's just… well you remember how he… uh… felt about me in Neverland? The confession in the cave."

"I do," Mary Margaret replied with caution.

"Well, he still appears to feel that way. About me, I mean." Emma crinkled her brow as she contemplated the things he'd said to her in the last couple of days and what they might mean. "That's what I meant about having my hands full."

"Is he making you uncomfortable?" Mary Margaret asked warily.

"No." Emma answered quickly, almost too quickly. "I just meant... look, I don't know what I meant. He's someone who…" she waved to the window. "I trust with my kid, which means I trust him completely. And he's made it pretty clear what he wants; at some point that's going to have to be dealt with one way or another."

"If he didn't come back with the curse that means he found another way back to you. That's not easy, Emma. In fact it's impossible."

Emma let that sink in; her mother was right it was impossible. Or rather it was supposed to be impossible. If couldn't have been easy for him, getting back to this realm, finding her, and then convincing her of the truth.

He had done the impossible for her.

xXx

"Hook." David called as he approached the pirate who was lounging against the yellow bug. "I hear you found my daughter."

Hook pushed himself off the car and into a standing position and then nodded warily.

"That can't have been easy."

"It wasn't."

"It should have been impossible," David clarified. It wasn't a statement, it was a question.

"What can I say? I'm resourceful." Hook smirked at David as he came to a stop right in front of him.

"What are your intentions?" David asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"My intentions?" Hook shook his head and spread his arms wide. "How about a 'Hello, mate, nice to see you.'"

David just raised an eyebrow at him.

"My intention was to save your life. Again. In fact I seem to be making a regular habit of it."

There was a momentary pause as the two men stared at each other. Finally David uncrossed his arms and held out his hand.

Hook let his eyes flicker from David's face to his hand and then back again before accepting the hand shake. Finally, Hook allowed a small smile as he said, "The curse must not have affected your memories."

"Actually, it did. We remember everything but the last year." David replied as he released the other man's hand.

"So I take it you've seen Emma?"

"She's upstairs with Mary Margaret. She sent me down to get you."

"The boy's asleep in the backseat," Hook said as he gestured behind him to the car. "So the new curse expunged your memories of the last year?"

"It's crazy. The last thing we remember is saying goodbye to Emma and Henry." David said as he peeked through the car window to get a glimpse of his grandson. "It's like we were parted from them yesterday."

"Lucky you." Hook said with a slight wince.

At that David stood back up and surveyed the pirate. "I take it you remember more than that?"

"Aye," Hook replied softly. He remembered every minute of every hour he had been away from her. He remembered the unbearable loneliness of going from having hope she might one day return his feelings to being completely hopeless he would ever even see her again. He remembered that no amount of sulking, brooding or rum had sated his pain.

"Anything that might be helpful?" With a slight note of exasperation, David prodded the silent pirate.

Hook shook his head to clear it. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help. When we landed in the Enchanted Forrest we went our separate ways almost immediately."

"Why is that?" David's eyes narrowed with confusion and a bit of suspicion.

"You needed to get to your castle and I needed to get to my ship. You, Regina and Snow formulated a plan to get to the Queen's castle which she had protected before the first curse. You were determined that the three of you would present a united front to your subjects. You looked to be cooperating. There was nothing amiss when I left you."

"Well at least that confirms that we did indeed go back to the Enchanted Forrest for a time." David nodded as he let the information sink in; a moment later he looked back to Hook. "You're to stay with us tonight." Before adding pointedly, "On the couch. Nowhere near my daughter."

Hook chuckled at that. "And your wife doesn't find that objectionable?"

"Having Captain Hook sleep in her living room?" David chuckled. "It's her dream come true. But it's what Emma wants," David replied before gesturing to the back seat. "Should we wake him?"

Hook nodded, but before proceeding he clarified, "In front of the lad I'm Killian." He opened the door and pushed forward the seat and proceeded to wake Henry.

Once Henry sleepily exited the car, he blinked and looked around the unfamiliar surroundings. "Lad, this is David an old friend of your mum's. You two will stay with him and his wife while you're here."

Groggily, Henry looked from Hook to David trying to get his bearings.

When their eyes met, David felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Just looking at Henry was evidence of how much time had passed. Evidence of how much time they'd lost. "You've grown so much."

Henry blinked. "Oh, have we met?"

Hook gave David a pointed look and then David shook his head. "Uh… a long time ago, you wouldn't remember."

Henry seemed to accept that. "It's nice to meet you," he said with an open smile before turning to look around. "This is a lot different from New York."

"It is at that, lad," Hook agreed.

"Killian, where's my mom?" Henry asked as if he was just realizing she wasn't there.

"Upstairs." Hook used his namesake to gesture down the street.

"What is that?" The boy almost screeched the question when he saw the sharp metal appendage.

"What… this?" He held his left arm up for the boy to inspect, hesitating since he knew he's charged Emma with the explanation. However, it clearly couldn't wait. "Well… when you've lost a hand, you learn to make do with a variety of prosthetics and attachments. I'm a… sailor by trade and I find this one to be the most useful on a ship."

Henry seemed to accept the explanation. "You should be careful. People will think you're Captain Hook."

"And that would be a bad thing?" Hook shot back immediately.

"Alright you two, grab your bags, let's go upstairs." David rolled his eyes, but smiled; happy to be reunited with his grandson, and, if he was honest, happy to be reunited with Hook. With everything that was going on, he needed people he could trust. And his gut told him that Hook was one of those people.

xXx

The adrenalin Emma had been running on for the last 48 hours had finally run out and she felt ready to crash. The reality of everything that had happened to her in the last couple of days floated over her, almost like it was the dream. She couldn't really feel any of it at the moment. She knew she needed rest, desperately. But there was something she needed to do first. So once she finished getting Henry settled for the night, she came out to the living room and found Hook sitting on the couch.

When she entered he looked up and waved the TV remote. "Before he went to bed, David showed me how to work the remote control. I'm watching something called Star Wars." He gestured to the screen, "I like this pirate fellow. Only difference from me is that his ship navigates the heavens."

That brought a small smile to her lips. She came over to the couch and took the remote control from his hand and turned off the TV. He looked over at her with curiosity, but she just sat there in silence staring straight ahead. She wasn't sure what she wanted to say, or how she wanted to say it but she knew she needed to say something.

"Luv… what's wrong?" Now she had his full attention.

"It's been a helluva couple of days." When she spoke her voice was low and had a gravely quality.

"That it has," he agreed slowly, her demeanor putting him on guard.

They continued to sit in silence. Hook studying her profile with a bit of trepidation. "Swan, say what's on your mind." He braced for the worst. When she still didn't speak he sighed and once again did something completely foreign to him. For the second time in three days he apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Emma, if waking you from that life wasn't the right thing to do."

"No." His words finally forced her to find her own. "Don't apologize for doing what you had to do. For doing what had to be done." She met his eyes for the first time since she'd sat down. "Crossing realms, finding me, convincing me… they were all impossible tasks. I appreciate what you've done."

"You appreciate it?" He chuckled without mirth. "I've brought you back to a place you don't want to be, to people you don't want to be with."

"No, you brought me home." Her eyes drilled through his and the sincerity he found there made his breath catch. It stirred something in his soul. Something that felt a lot like hope.

"Really?"

"Yes. And it's not true, that I don't want to be with these people. I'm very happy to be reunited with Mary Margaret and David."

His expression softened. "I'm glad."

"I'm also happy to be reunited with other people."

"Other people?" His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Who are these other people? The only other person you've seen is me."

She raised an eyebrow at him as a smirk danced across her lips so quickly he almost thought he'd imagined it. But he hadn't. At that his lips upturned only slightly but his eyes crinkled as if he was beaming.

"Look it's been really hard. The new memories, the old memories. Everything. But I want you to know that despite what you might think after I knee'd you in the groin, handcuffed you, again, and sent you to jail, when I drank that potion I was happy to see you… I am happy to see you."

"You did give me quite a hard time, Swan." Now his tone was entirely suggestive. "Perhaps restitution is in order."

She rolled her eyes at him, a hint of a smile at her lips. "You never stop."

His smile faded and his expression became intense. "I have no intention of stopping."

The passion in his voice and behind his words made her pulse speed up and something deep inside tugged at her heart. An emotion she couldn't, or wouldn't, define. At least not yet.

Judging by the emotions that had flitted at light speed across her face, he knew he'd hit his mark. And that would be enough for tonight. So now he shot her a sincere smile, "I'm happy to see you too, Emma."

She was feeling herself drawn into him; it felt unexpected and expected at the same time. She knew her judgment might be compromised by her exhaustion and her best course of action was to leave, she needed to get some distance from him. So even though what she wanted to do was to sink down on the couch next to him and watch Star Wars, she got up and handed him back the remote. "Don't stay up too late; we have a big day tomorrow."

"I think I'll call it a night as well," he said as he sat the remote on the table.

She was almost out of the room before she turned back, "Killian?"

He turned to look at her. "Your boy's asleep; he can't hear what you call me."

"I know." She shrugged, but offered no further explanation. "I just need to say one more thing."

"Okay," he said with equal parts apprehension and hope.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Doing the impossible."

A grin split his face in two. "Anytime, luv, anytime.