Storybrooke was a quaint little town, nestled far in the corner of Maine. Unrecognized by maps and unnoticed by tourists, the residents content to live quietly amongst themselves. It wasn't the type of place where people simply showed up. Every time a stranger had come into town, trouble followed. That was why, on this day, when Mayor Regina Mills spotted an unfamiliar car pull to stop in front of Granny's Diner, she paused to take notice. She watched from a distance as a young woman stepped out of the vehicle and looked around, apparently taking in the new surroundings. Regina knew this had all the makings of a mess and abandoned her morning breakfast routine in favor of seeking out the town's sheriff instead.
"There's someone new in town," Regina hissed, finding Emma right where she knew she would and practically cornering her in between a row of filing cabinets.
"Well, hello to you too, Regina," Emma greeted her, an air of sarcasm in her voice as she tried to maneuver herself around Regina.
"I don't have time for pleasantries. You heard, what I said, right?"
Emma rolled her eyes, "There's someone new in town, yeah...I heard."
Regina backed away slightly, giving the blonde room to move. "I don't have to remind you what happens when strangers show up…"
Emma sighed a bit as she shoved some folders into one of the cabinets. "No, no you don't. I'll do a little digging. What does she look like?"
"She's about your height, dark hair," Regina replied. "She was wearing a black jacket, jeans."
"Well that sure narrows it down," Emma huffed sarcastically.
"She'll be the one you don't recognize. You're good at finding people."
"I need something more to go on than just dark hair and jeans," Emma perched herself on the corner of her desk.
"She's driving a red Ford. A new, red Ford. Find her, Swan. Get rid of her," Regina called as she walked out of the office.
"I'll see what I can do," Emma called back, annoyed. Tonight was supposed to be date night.
Killian didn't seem to mind when Emma called him to change their plans for dinner and asked him to meet her at the Rabbit Hole instead. He was slightly more curious when she told him he probably shouldn't wear his hook, and that she would explain when he got to the bar.
"Hello, love," he smiled, placing a kiss on Emma's temple upon finding her tucked into a corner table. He pulled out a chair across from her. "Might I ask what you have planned for tonight that requires this?" he asked, with a small wave of his fake hand. Emma knew he hated wearing it but he supposed she must have a reason.
"Regina cornered me at the office today all paranoid about a stranger in town. I figured if date night was going to be tailing someone, being introduced to a guy with a hook hand might be a bad first impression.
"She seems innocent enough though," Killian replied with a shrug turning his gaze toward the bar, clearly not interested in Emma's plan for the evening. "It's supposed to be our night. Do we really need to concern ourselves?"
Emma raised an eyebrow, "It can still be our time. Tonight it will just consist of questioning a random stranger."
"Well then I suppose…" Killian started, trailing off when he realized Emma was already up and halfway across the room, leaving him behind. With a sigh, he got up and followed.
"Hi," Emma said, taking seat next to the stranger at the bar. "I'm Sheriff Swan."
The stranger turned to Emma, eyeing her suspiciously for a moment before shaking her hand. "Cordelia. Nice to meet you."
"So, what brings you to Storybrooke?" Emma questioned further.
Cordelia took a sip of her beer, hoping to delay answering the question for a few moments. She'd never been any place where the local law enforcement sought out strangers and introduced themselves. In fact, she seemed to recall a few horror movies that had started out this way. It was then that she noticed the man clad in a leather biker jacket take a seat next to the blonde woman. He ordered two drinks, taking one for himself and sliding the other to toward the sheriff.
"I'm looking for someone…well, two someone's actually," she finally replied cautiously. "Maybe you can help?"
"Maybe. I'm really good at finding people," Emma spoke. "Who are you looking for?"
Cordelia pulled a tattered Storybrooke postcard from her pocket. "I'm looking for a guy named August. Do you know him?"
Emma swallowed hard, taking the card. How was she going to explain that August used to be a man, turned to wood, and was now a 7-year-old child? "I'm sorry, but August…he passed away," Emma lied. "About two years ago."
Cordelia's face fell a bit, the only link to her real purpose for coming here seemingly gone. "That's too bad, I'm very sorry to hear that."
"How do you know August?" Emma pressed, hoping to get the girl to divulge more information.
"We met a long time ago. At a bar in Thailand," Cordelia replied cautiously. "We got to talking about family and I mentioned I'd been casually trying to locate my birth father. He said he might be able to help."
Emma was starting to become a little more intrigued. She wondered what the girl could have said that would lead August to believe he could help her and what it had to do with Storybrooke.
"But then it got kind of weird," Cordelia continued.
Killian was bored, only half listening to the women's conversation and brooding to himself over being ignored. He moved a little closer to Emma and reached out to rest a hand on her thigh in hopes of reminding her he was still there.
Emma looked over, not quite taking his gesture as he intended. Instead she introduced him to the stranger. "This is Killian," she said, moving sideways so he could shake Cordelia's hand.
"Nice to meet you," Cordelia replied.
"Likewise," Killian replied with disinterest.
Emma cut back in, casting Killian to the side again. He scowled, wondering if she'd even notice his displeasure with the situation. She didn't, and continued on with her conversation.
"So you were saying things with August got a little weird."
"He started going on about some place called the Enchanted Forest," Cordelia shrugged. "Like something from a fairy tale."
Emma and Killian both perked up at the mention of the Enchanted Forest. They exchanged glances with each other that went unnoticed by the stranger. Killian was moderately more interested now.
"The weirdest thing about it was that when my mother got sick, she used to ramble on about the same thing. A place called the Enchanted Forest," Cordelia continued.
"What else do you know about your father?" Emma pressed.
"Not much, like I said, my mother told me very little about him. Just that he was a sailor," Cordelia replied. "Oh, and he might be missing a hand."
Killian suddenly choked on his beer. It went up the back of his throat and into his nose. Tears forming in his eyes, he sputtered and coughed while both women watched him with raised eyebrows.
"We'll be right back," Emma said suddenly, grabbing Killian by the arm and pulling him outside, leaving Cordelia confused at the bar.
"Bloody hell!" Killian sputtered, still trying to recover from choking as he and Emma stepped into the alley. His eyes were still watering and he rubbed at them with the sleeve of his shirt. Emma was staring daggers at him.
"You don't think…" she mused.
"I don't think what?" Killian replied, coughing and clearing his throat. It took a raised eyebrow from Emma for him to finally catch on to her train of thought. "You surely can't mean-"
"Do you know any other one-handed pirates?" Emma eyed him.
"Missing appendages are not uncommon in the pirating world," Killian snorted.
Emma smirked, "Not to mention…I know your reputation. Don't forget, I had a chance to see the kind of company past Captain Hook kept."
Killian looked at her, appalled at her insinuation. "While it may be true that I have bedded a few women in my time, I fancy myself to have been a bit more careful than-"
"A few?" Emma interrupted, chiding him just a bit and rolling her eyes. "You've been around a long time. Who knows how many mini Killians there could be wandering around out there."
"Emma!" Killian's eyes widened, both from shock, annoyance, and a slight hint of fear as the thought of Emma being right crept into the back of his mind.
"Like a spider…or...a jack rabbit," she mused. "Plus, it's not like they had condoms in the Enchanted Forest."
"Ohhh, you're…" Killian sputtered, embarrassed and irritated, as he wagged his finger at her. "There are other methods…of preventing this sort of thing," Killian shot back, feeling the flush creep into his face.
"I don't think your 'method' is as effective as you think. Maybe we need to spend some time on the internet."
Killian guffawed. "I can't believe you're entertaining this notion!"
"People don't just come to this town without a reason," Emma replied. "We should probably get back inside before she takes off."
Killian stood fast, absorbed in his thoughts, wondering if it just might be true that he had fathered a child. Snapping himself out of his reverie and dismissing the notion he followed Emma back inside.
"Sorry about that," Emma smiled, taking her seat at the bar again.
"No problem," Cordelia replied with an air of suspicion edged in her voice.
"So, maybe if we knew a little bit more about your mother it might help finding your dad."
Cordelia squished up her face as she absent mindedly scratched behind her ear and fidgeted uncomfortably. She'd learned long ago that brevity in giving information was important. Spilling secrets about her mother's past to strangers might not be the best idea.
Emma caught the gesture, pressing a finger to her lips as she glanced from Cordelia to Killian to see if he had noticed, but it had apparently not caught his radar.
"I don't know a whole lot about my mother's past," Cordelia lied. She took notice now that the dark haired man seemed much more interested in what she had to say. "Her name was Matilda; she worked in a bar, and apparently had a thing for sailors."
Emma pursed her lips. It wasn't much to go on.
"Wait, I do have this," Cordelia rummaged in her pocket and produced a ring threaded on a chain. "This is the only thing I really have of hers. It probably won't be much help."
Killian's face paled, and for a moment Emma thought he might keel over right there at the bar.
"She didn't tell you anything about it?" Emma questioned, turning the ring around in her fingers.
"I don't know where it came from. I just kind of assumed it belonged to my father. It looks like a man's ring." she replied, taking the token back and clutching it in her hand. "The only reason I have it is because it was in her personal effects when she died…and the hospital gave me the bag."
Emma noticed Cordelia looked a bit sad talking about her mother. "You know, we have an excellent librarian here. She's really good with research. Maybe if she takes a look at it, she can find something in her records."
Cordelia's face brightened a bit and she tucked the necklace back in her pocket. "Sounds like a good place to start."
Emma smiled at her and then suddenly noticed Killian's weight getting heavier against her back. She realized he seemed to be using her to steady himself and looked like he might just keel over any second. He was leaning so hard against her that she was afraid if he toppled over he'd take her down with him. "I'm sorry," she said to Cordelia. "Excuse us just another minute. Killian doesn't seem to be feeling well. I'm just going to get him some fresh air and we'll be right back."
Emma steered Killian into the alley for the second time that night and gave him a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking, "I'm guessing by your expression you remember her mother?"
Pacing, Killian raked his hand through his hair. "I remember that ring, and I remember when it went missing."
"But you don't remember the woman…"
His head whipped around and he stared at her wide-eyed, "I've been around for 200 years. I don't remember every woman I've bedded! Do you remember every man you've been with?"
"Point taken," Emma put her hands up in surrender. "But...I have to ask. Does this mean you're entertaining the idea that it could be you know, true?"
"I don't know," Killian grumbled, resuming his pacing. "The woman who pilfered the ring could have easily sold it. Perhaps that's how it came to be in her mother's possession."
Killian scowled at the notion of someone stealing from him. Whoever this woman was had been lucky that he was out of port before noticing the item was missing. Stealing from Captain Hook was a quick way to a short life. He wished he had his hook. Driving the metal into a random inanimate object would surely make him feel better about this entire situation.
Emma sensed he was grasping at straws, anything he could cling to that might lead him away from the idea he had fathered a child with a woman he couldn't remember.
"I can't be this girl's father, we're the same age!"
"She and I appear to be about the same age," Emma corrected him. "You may look 30-ish, but, you're not. Also, are you forgetting who my parents are?"
Killian's eyes darkened and his jaws clenched. Emma braced for him to lash back at her with something abrasive or snarky. When he didn't, she decided to change tactics. It had been almost amusing at first, watching his flustered reactions while she enjoyed a bit of good natured ribbing at his expense. They had more information now though; more proof that it was a strong possibility he was the father of the young woman sitting inside at the bar. She wandered up to him, pressing herself against his chest and sliding her hands up his back. It took him a minute to accept her gesture of affection. Finally, with a heavy sigh and some reluctance, he hugged her back.
"Bloody hell, Emma, what am I going to do?" he mused out loud.
"We'll figure it out," she replied. "Together. Maybe you could talk to David."
"This is no time for humor, Swan," Killian grumbled, pulling away. He crossed his arms over his chest and sulked.
Emma knew at this point there was no reasoning or rationalizing with him. The only thing she could do was ride out the storm that was moody Killian. "We should get back inside," Emma spoke, waiting a moment to see if he was going to join her. When he made no motion to move, she left him with his thoughts and went back on her own.
Emma reached the bar as Cordelia was paying her tab and gathering her things."Oh, you're leaving?" she asked, knowing they had probably scared her off.
"Yeah," Cordelia replied slowly. "It was a long drive and I'm pretty tired. Figured I'd head back to that Inn by the diner and see if I could get a room. Then maybe tomorrow see where my search takes me."
"Well, it was really nice meeting you. Feel free to stop by the Sheriff station if you need any more help and I can introduce you to our librarian," Emma smiled.
Cordelia nodded. "I'll be sure to do that. It was nice meeting you, Sheriff Swan," she said, shaking Emma's hand.
Killian returned to the bar just in time to see the brunette leaving. "She took her leave, I see?"
Emma nodded.
"What do we do now?"
Emma slowly reached out and pulled one of Cordelia's empty beer bottles toward her, rolling it in her hand and mulling for a few moments. "I think I may have an idea…"
Killian sighed, watching Emma walk away as she tucked the bottle into her purse and resigned himself to the fact that date night was not going to end in his favor tonight.
TBC