Authors: Me & Goodform2011
Disclaimer: We own nothing.
Notes: Idea came to us after reading that Emma was originally supposed to have three kids.
-d-d-d-
"Ian?" Emma breathed out in her shock when she got a look at the survivor they'd uncovered. She'd been by the tower when Aurora had discovered him. He was on his feet by the time she'd made it over to where he was standing with her mother, Mulan, and Aurora. She studied him for a moment before she drew her hand back and punched him square in the nose.
"What was that for?" Killian's hand went to his face as he picked himself off the ground, having not immediately recognized his assailant.
"Emma!" Mary Margaret looked at her daughter in shock before she looked back at the stranger who chose that moment to look her directly in the eye. She gasped slightly. She knew those eyes. She'd seen them every day for almost a year. They were the same shape and shade of blue as her youngest grandson.
"Emma!" Killian gasped as his eyes locked with Emma, "What are you doing here?"
"You two know each another?" Aurora asked.
"No, I've never met him in my life," Emma stated as she turned away abruptly and started for the towers again. "It'll be dark soon. We should try to find some place to set up camp in case Cora comes back."
"Emma," Killian called out again.
"Leave her alone," Mary Margaret warned as she walked off to catch up with her recently reunited daughter.
"Emma," Killian called out once more, "I can expl..."
"I believe you were told to leave her alone," Mulan pointed her sword at him. "Now, Emma called you Ian. That's not the name you were using when you first came around. Who were you lying to?"
"Myself," Killian muttered as he watched Emma walk off as he was being tied to a tree.
"Emma?" Mary Margaret found her daughter looking at her cell phone again. She peeked over her shoulder and smiled. "I thought Austin got his eyes from your grandmother. I guess I was wrong."
"I don't want to talk about it," Emma stated as she powered down her phone abruptly.
"Okay," Mary Margaret nodded towards her daughter's phone. "Can I see? I like looking at them too."
"I always said that Austin looked like his father," Emma conceded as she flipped to a particular picture, "It was both a blessing and a curse."
"So, that was Ian," Mary Margaret nodded as she looked at the picture of herself, Emma, and Brooklyn. "She has David's mother's smile. It was so kind, and so was she."
"I never expected to see him again, certainly not in this fairytale land," Emma stated, "Who is he here?"
"I don't know," Mary Margaret shook her head.
"I think I might," Aurora approached them with a satchel. "He had this on him. I searched it."
"And?" Emma asked.
Aurora pulled out a shiny silver hook and gave it to Emma.
"Oh my God," Emma gasped.
"Captain Hook?" Mary Margaret said as she stared at the hook in Emma's hand.
"First a criminal and then a pirate," Emma grumbled, "I sure know how to pick 'em."
"Being a thief is not always a bad thing," Mary Margaret told her. "How do you think I met your father?"
"How do you think I met Neal?" Emma returned.
"He won't talk to me. He wants to talk to Emma," Mulan approached them. "He says his name is Killian."
"Not happening," the mother in Mary Margaret came out.
"He wasn't spared. He's a plant of Cora's," Emma got up. She gave her mother the cell phone, "Keep that so I won't be tempted to use them to find out what he's up to. Time me. Five minutes. If he doesn't give up the information, signal me. I'll whistle, and then we're running like hell."
"Wait," Mary Margaret reached out to grab Emma's hand, "How do you know he's a plant?"
"Because Cora is too smart not to have a back-up plan," Emma said.
"I'll give you two minutes," Mary Margaret stated.
"Five. I have to give him a little time to work me."
"Don't let him work you too much. I don't need more grandchildren just yet," Emma warned her.
"Don't worry. I know better," Emma said as she walked towards the tree.
"God, I hope so," Mary Margaret stated under her breath.
"So, Captain Hook, huh," Emma said as she approached him, "Of all the scenarios I imagined, that's one that never occurred to me."
"Emma, I can explain," Killian tried to get free of the ropes, "If you'll untie me, I'll tell you."
"Not happening," Emma shook her head. "Have you been working with Cora long?"
"Awhile," Killian admitted.
"Did she send you after me in Boston? Is that what we were all about?"
"No," Killian shook his head vigorously, "No, she just sent me to Boston. She told me I deserved a reprieve."
"Is that what I was? Good to know," Emma shook her head. "You have about three minutes. Start talking."
"Everything that I was with you was real," he insisted.
"Really, your name is Ian? Funny, how everyone here calls you Captain Hook or Killian."
"Em," Killian began.
"What's Cora's plan? What's her angle?" Emma interrupted him.
"I don't know," Killian insisted, "She just left me here and told me to fend for myself. I played dead, so I wouldn't end up dead. Then you four happened upon me."
"I realize we haven't seen each other in a while, but you have to remember that I know when someone is lying," Emma shook her head.
"I'm not lying," he insisted, "When my intentions differed from Cora, she cut me loose. I wanted to get revenge against a man that took away my first love. I told you about Milah and how she was taken from me."
"And Cora?"
"I don't know," he repeated.
Emma shook her head, "Who is he? This man you want revenge on."
"He's an evil man," Killian stated, "I don't know who he is in your world, but we called him Rumplestiltskin."
"Gold," Emma said. She turned and motioned to her companions. "Cut him loose."
"What? No," Mary Margaret stated, "Captain Hook is a dangerous man."
"He and Cora were working together. He wants to go to Storybrooke to get to Rumplestiltskin. Cora wants to get there too. We have to get there first. Hook knows how to get there, don't you, Ian?"
"Can we trust him to not betray us?" Mary Margaret spoke softly to her daughter.
"Probably not, but I want to get home to my children as much as you want to get home to David," Emma responded, "What other option do we have?"
"Mulan, make sure his h-arms are tied together," Mary Margaret turned to the warrior. "And keep him in front of you. He's going to help us, or we're going to leave him dangling from a tree in the most ogre populated place you know of."
"He's coming with us?" Mulan's eyes widened in surprise, "Are you sure that's wise?"
"No," Emma shook her head. "But we need some help, and right now he's the only one around to give it."
Killian smirked slightly as he was tied up.
"Don't make me wipe that smug smirk off your face," Emma warned him.
"This violent tendency of yours is new," Killian said. "I like it."
"Wanna see my violent tendencies?" Mary Margaret gave him a shove.
"Like mother, like daughter," Killian stated.
"You have no idea," Emma murmured, remembering the story of how her parents met in Henry's book.
-d-d-d-d-
"What are you thinking about?" Mary Margaret asked Emma as they stopped to rest for a bit as nightfall approached.
"That I hope Henry is smarter about asking for help than his grandpa," Emma admitted. "Two four year olds and a ten year old is enough to drive a person crazy."
"Ruby and Granny won't wait to be asked," Mary Margaret assured her. "They'll barge right in."
"I hope so," Emma stated, "Poor Brooklyn. She won't know what to do with that much testosterone."
"That's an odd name," Aurora chimed in. "Why did you choose it?"
"It's the name of a place I lived for awhile, and right after I found out there were two babies instead of just one, I was sitting in a diner-"
"A diner?" Aurora interrupted, confused.
"You'd call it a tavern, I guess," Emma said. "Anyway, I was sitting at a table and the song playing as I looked at picture of them was Brooklyn & Austin. That's when I knew."
"I had the same feeling when I decided on your name," Mary Margaret smiled wistfully.
"You must miss them terribly," Aurora stated.
"I do. I just got Henry back," Emma shook her head.
"Back, where was he?" Aurora asked, not understanding what Emma could possibly mean.
"I guess you don't have adoption here," Emma looked at Mary Margaret.
"No, we do," Mary Margaret said, "Sort of, anyways."
"Anyway, I was very young when I had Henry, and I gave him up for adoption. Though I guess I should have been more selective with the adoptive parent."
"I don't understand," Aurora frowned.
"Regina adopted my son," Emma explained.
"The Evil Queen," Aurora looked shocked.
"Yes," Emma nodded.
"How awful!" Aurora gasped.
"That was before I knew how awful she was," Emma replied.
"And now?"
"I don't know. That's why I need to get home before Cora does. She is not getting near my kids."
"How old are the youngest ones?"
Emma looked ahead and said quietly, "Almost five."
"We'll get you home, Emma," Mulan stated, "Cora will get nowhere near them."
"Thanks, Mulan," Emma smiled. "So, Hook, where are we going?"
"That depends," Killian stated, "Where is home?"
"Maine," Mary Margaret stated.
"If we can get to the Jolly Roger, I should be able to navigate us back to your world. If I remember correctly, Maine is a seaside state."
Emma glared at the back of Killian's head and then looked at the sky, "We should stop for the night."
"I'll start looking for wood to build a fire," Aurora stated.
"We'll take turns keeping watch," Emma stated.
"I'll take the first shift," Killian offered.
"We're watching you, Pea Brain," Emma scowled at him.
"Emma, I'll take the first watch. You look exhausted," Mary Margaret said. "Go to sleep."
"I don't know that I'll sleep much, but I'll try," Emma nodded.
Killian watched Emma take her jacket off and bunch it under her head as she lay out near where the fire was being built. She caught his look and very deliberately turned her head from his gaze.
Killian continued to watch her, his mind flashing through all the moments that they shared together, all the happiness.
Mary Margaret sat down next to him, "So you're Ian."
"Once upon a time," Killian nodded.
"Did Cora send you after my daughter?"
"No," Killian responded honestly, "I had no idea she was your daughter until a few hours ago. She was just Emma to me back then."
"My grandson has this book of stories. It has tales about the lives of many in this land. Your story was in there. The woman you loved," Mary Margaret gave him a look, "Milah."
"One of two women that I loved," Killian glanced towards Emma again, "She was Rumplestiltskin's wife before he was the evil man he became. When he found us together, he ripped her heart from her chest and crushed it to dust in front of me. Then he took my hand in the ensuing fight.
"And that's when you went to Neverland," Mary Margaret nodded. "So you'd have all the time you'd need to plan your revenge."
"And during that time I became entangled with Cora," Killian nodded.
"Can we trust you?" Mary Margaret asked him.
"I left your daughter behind once because of Cora. I'm not going to do it again."
"You're still in love with Emma," Mary Margaret realized.
"I am," Killian nodded.
"If you do anything to hurt her or keep her from our family…"
"She found the son she gave up?"
"More like he found her," Mary Margaret smiled. "He's like his grandfather."
"Is there anyone in her life?" he asked hesitantly.
"There was for a moment," Mary Margaret smiled sadly, thinking of Graham.
"I didn't want to leave her," Killian confessed, "Cora pulled me back to Wonderland in the middle of the night. I went to sleep with Emma and woke up alone in some foreign place. It felt like my own heart was ripped out."
"Cora's good at that," Mary Margaret said shaking her head sadly. "She ripped out the heart of the man her daughter loved right in front of Regina."
"Like mother, like daughter," he growled.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Mary Margaret suggested.
"I don't know that I want to," Killian admitted looking at Emma.
"You're not dreaming. She's not going to disappear."
"I don't know if I'm willing to take that chance," he replied.
Mary Margaret thought for a moment and then pinched Killian's arm.
"Ow. What the bloody hell was that for?"
"To prove you weren't dreaming."
"Must have picked that up in another realm," he rubbed at his arm.
Mary Margaret giggled, "Sleep, Captain. She'll still be here in the morning."
He nodded as he propped himself up against a tree. For the first time in over five years, he felt hope.