Title: Time Enough for Love
Summary: Neverland's unofficial motto: what's the point of faith if it's never tested? A near drowning and a mysterious illness will push a family's faith and hope to the limit.
Spoilers: Set post-2x22, "And Straight On 'Til Morning."
Rating/Warning: T, for language, mostly. Here be danger and angst and the obligatory Charming Family moments.
Disclaimer: Once Upon a Time and its characters were created by Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz and are owned by ABC. I'm just playing in someone else's sandbox.
Author's Note: You may not believe it, but I swear to you that I had the idea for this little adventure-in-Neverland piece long before the premiere promo pics came out. Feedback makes my little day. Enjoy!
Emma Swan had thought that getting off the damn ship and stepping onto sweet, dry, steady land would lead to cooler heads among the ragtag team that made up their rescue squad. Emma Swan had never been more wrong in her entire life.
"Tell me again why you're the one going with my daughter?" Prince Charming seethed at Captain Hook.
Which was a sight Emma would never have imagined that she would see, by the way. If anyone had told her a couple years ago that one day she would be watching Prince Charming threaten Captain Hook with nothing more than his presence, she would have laughed in that person's face. And yet here she was, watching Prince Charming threaten Captain Hook with nothing more than his presence.
Of course, the fact that they were, fundamentally, fighting over her was enough to send her anger level through the stratosphere. She had to keep reminding herself that David's agitation was coming from a fierce desire to protect her. And on some level, she appreciated it; honestly, she did. There was a little girl somewhere inside her that was thrilled to pieces to have her daddy come to her rescue. Unfortunately, that little girl's desires were frequently overruled by the independent adult who did not need anyone to come to her rescue, thank you very much.
If the insanely long trip to the island had taught her anything, though, it was to keep her mouth shut. The countless confrontations between the two of them on the Jolly Roger – usually because Hook had directed innuendo at Emma or because David didn't like the way Hook had looked at her – had taught her that there was no arguing with them. All arguing did was make Emma angry, too.
"I'm going with your daughter because there is no better person to go with her, mate," Hook shot back, a smirk on his lips.
Emma knew that smirk. That was his I'm-right-and-you-know-it smirk. She hated that smirk.
"I know this island," Hook continued smugly. "If anyone can keep your precious little girl safe, I can."
All right, that was the absolute last straw. "Hey!" Emma hollered, giving Hook her best death glare. "That precious little girl is a grown woman, and she's standing right here. I am more than capable of keeping myself safe. My kid is out there somewhere and we're wasting time."
She spun on her heel in the direction of the Neverland jungle. Yeah, she was antsy. Sue her. They'd finally reached land after being on the open ocean for … she didn't know how much time, exactly, but it was far too long. Time moved differently here. The nights felt as if they lasted forever and entire days would pass by in what felt like a couple of hours. It was disorienting, and Emma didn't like it in the slightest.
Also disorienting was the palpable magic surrounding them. It made the air heavy, like a humid summer day. The self-destruct in the mines had been sucking the magic from Storybrooke, leaving the air too thin, as if not enough to fill Emma's lungs. The air here was the exact opposite, too thick to breathe.
It took her a moment to get used to the steady horizon and the firm land underneath her feet as she stomped off towards the trees. Her sea legs had taken a while to find; she certainly hoped it wouldn't take as long to lose them.
"Swan, wait," Hook called after her.
She stopped but only because she could hear her parents calling for her, too. She didn't turn around, though, not until a cold metal hook caught her around the wrist. She whirled on her heel, ripping her arm from the pirate's grip and glaring at him.
"I know you're anxious, darling, but we need to be smart and stay safe," he said, his tone brooking no dissent. Not for the first time, Emma caught a glimpse of the pirate captain charged with keeping his men safe that he truly was.
She still kind of hated him, though.
"As much as it pains me to admit it, he's right," David said, approaching her carefully as if afraid of spooking her and sending her running off into the trees. "I know that the only thing on your mind is getting Henry back. We will find him, Emma, and that little boy will be devastated if you're hurt or worse when we do."
That cooled the steam pouring from Emma's ears a bit. It was Snow who brought her back down to earth completely when she stepped up to her and slipped her hands into Emma's. "Promise me you'll stay with him, Emma."
Though the independent adult still resented her parents treating the situation as if Hook were her damn chaperone, she couldn't deny how much the parental concern radiating from both Snow and David touched her. If she had to send Henry off with someone she didn't trust as far as she could throw, she would probably be threatening that person just as much as David was threatening Hook and begging Henry to be careful just as much as Snow was begging her.
It's not just me anymore, she realized with a sudden jolt. She had people who cared about her now – people who loved her – and she owed it to them to be careful, be safe, and to come back to them in one piece. "I promise," she said after a beat, squeezing Snow's hands.
Snow squeezed Emma's hands back, smiling in relief.
"You take good care of her, pirate," David said, his eyes full of warning.
"I'll guard her life as if it were my own, Your Majesty," Hook promised, giving David a curt little nod.
And all of a sudden, Emma was annoyed again. "Can we just go, please?" she huffed, rolling her eyes.
After all his years spent in this godsforsaken realm, Hook had grown accustomed to how time moved in Neverland. As such, he could say with utmost certainty that he and Swan had been wandering through the overgrown jungle for hours now and had found no sign of life whatsoever.
No sign of human life, that is. There had been one close call with a flowering plant that shot poisonous barbs when touched. Swan had touched it. Mistakenly, of course; she'd tripped over an exposed tree root and latched on to the closest thing to her to keep herself upright. It just so happened that the closest thing to her was the plant's thick stalk. Only Hook's swift thinking as he yanked her out of the line of fire saved her from a direct shot to the neck.
He certainly wouldn't have wanted to explain that one to the prince and princess.
All he got for his troubles was her wrenching her hand from his and a mumbled thank you. Still, a thank you from Swan was practically fawning, so he accepted it graciously. By which he of course told her to keep her hands off the plant life from now on.
Not a word had been said between them since then. The more time passed with no sign of her lad, the more irritable Swan was becoming. More irritable than was typical for her, which was saying something. If there was one thing Hook did not need, it was an unconscionably irritable Emma Swan accompanying him on this trek through the jungle.
However, short of telling her to buck up, which she wouldn't appreciate anyway, he didn't know what to do. He could hear her discouragement in her footsteps, the way she dragged her feet along the ground as if picking them up required more energy than she could expend.
At long last, she spoke. "Do you have your flask on you?" Her voice was soft, weary, and defeated.
He winced. "Rum is not what you need, love," he non-answered as he sliced his sword through a vine hanging across the path.
"I don't want the rum," she grumbled. "I'm thirsty. My canteen is empty."
Hook shut his eyes in exasperation. "You were supposed to ration your water."
"Sue me for being thirsty. It's worse than the middle of the damn summer out here."
Sighing, Hook handed over his flask. "Just a sip, though, love." A wicked thought ran through his head, and he smirked. Dare he tempt fate? Ah, why not? She was already irritable. Worst that could happen was she would be more so. "I do intend on getting you drunk, darling, but not until after we collect your lad."
The look on her face was more than comical. She practically choked on her swig of rum and shoved the flask back into his hand. "In your dreams, pirate."
That one was far too easy. As such, Hook uncharacteristically let the moment pass without further comment.
He listened to her footsteps as she trudged along after him in silence. They were wearier now, growing heavier with each passing minute. Finding no sign of her Henry or the people who had grabbed him had taken the wind out of her sails, as it were. Her hope, tenuous to begin with, was dwindling.
"I thought you knew your way around this damn island," she grumbled a few minutes later. "I feel like we're walking around in circles."
"I do know my way around this island," he replied calmly, "and making you believe you're walking around in circles is one of Neverland's tricks."
She groaned, at which point he decided not to push it. Neverland had its fair share of tricks and teases, and similar and even changing terrain was one of them.
Truth be told, though, he was leading her in a circle. It was quite obvious there were no Lost Ones here, no Henry, and no Greg and Tamara, so he was taking her back to the Roger to refill their rations. Rum wouldn't quench her thirst for very long, and he would rather not have her taking off on her own to find some fresh drinking water. Also, she might be less irritable if she got some food into her system. He'd suddenly remembered from his travels with her in the Enchanted Forest how grouchy she could become when she was hungry.
"Wait!" Swan hissed from behind him. "Do you hear that?"
Hook hadn't heard a single thing, and although he'd wanted to hear a hint of hope return to her voice, he didn't like the hint that was there now. "I don't hear anything, Swan."
"It's faint but ..." She stopped walking, staring off to the side as she tried to discern from which direction the nonexistent sound was coming. Her brow furrowed in confusion, and Hook softened, knowing exactly what was happening. "I can't tell where it's coming from. It sounds like it's coming from all over."
"It's not coming from anywhere," he told her gently. "That's another of Neverland's tricks, love: making you hear what you want to hear."
"No, I hear him! I just can't figure out–"
"No, you don't, Swan." He stepped in front of her and rested his good hand on her shoulder, trying to recapture her attention. "Emma, look at me. You don't hear him."
The use of her first name finally managed to reach her. She blinked as she met his gaze. He watched the hope go right out of eyes as reality sank in; she hadn't heard her lad calling for her. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked utterly defeated. "Come on, love," he said softly, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.
She didn't argue.
Hook almost wished she had. He was used to her being feisty and fiery. He knew how to handle feisty and fiery. He didn't quite know what to do with a hopeless Emma Swan.
They trudged onward. Though concerned for her, Hook had to be content to simply listen for her footsteps behind him. She would have taken offense to his constantly glancing over his shoulder to check on her.
He expected an argument when they emerged from the trees back at the beach where the Roger was anchored, but he didn't get one. Still, he thought he might as well explain what they were doing back here before the tension between them could degenerate into an argument. "We just need to get you some rations, Swan," he said over his shoulder. "Then we'll resume the search for your boy."
There was no answer, and Hook finally realized that it was far too quiet. It hadn't registered at first because they'd been walking through sand, but he could no longer hear her behind him. He spun around and saw her standing in the water up to her ankles. She was walking in deeper and deeper, her arms down by her sides. The wind was whipping her hair across her face, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Swan, stop!" he hollered out to her. No response. "Emma! Whatever you're hearing or seeing, it's not real!"
She gave no indication that she'd heard him, and she probably hadn't. Whatever had her attention had it completely.
She was up to her waist now. Hook hurried after her, ready to grab her and bring her back to safety, but he hadn't taken more than a step into the water when something he couldn't see knocked her off her feet and dragged her under the waves.