Chapter One: Secrets
As Emma slashed at the cage with her blade, she knew she was fighting a losing battle. Neal's words only told her what she was already avoiding.
"Emma." he said, stopping her frantic movements, her sword dropping the the ground at her side. She got to her knees and put her fingers around the bars, pressing her face against it to look in at her first love. "You know that's not how this works." he said sadly. "You have to tell a dark secret to get me out."
Emma sighed, her eyes filling with tears as her hands gripped the bars tightly, her knuckles turning white. She felt three burning sets of eyes on her back but she couldn't care at this moment. She had to focus on freeing her sons father.
"I don't know what to say." she whispered, her voice exhausted and full of defeat as his hands wrapped around the bars on top of hers.
"I think your biggest secret is telling people how you really feel. But you have to right now, Emma. Tell me how you're feeling in this moment and we can get out of this place. We will save Henry and go back home. Just say it." Neal encouraged, his eyes locked on her, the dark green in them full of hope.
"I can't." she said, hitting her head against the bars separating them as tears fell down her cheeks. "There has to be another way to get you out." she begged, shaking her head as she pulled at the bars.
"There isn't. Emma, please. You have to do this. We have to get Henry and go home." he urged, reaching through the bars to hold her hand.
Behind them, Hook turned his head, looking anywhere but at the pair of them. He couldn't watch their love be reunited right in front of him. He wouldn't. He turned his back to them, pacing lazily in front of the caves entrance, a few feet behind charming and the princess.
"You can do this, Emma. No one here will judge you. We all have to face things we want to run from on this island. That's what Neverland does. It destroys us by testing our limits with the people we love. To spill our secrets out in front of them. You can do this. It's for your son." Snow called behind her. Emma heard every word and let it sink in as she dropped her hands from the bars. She let her eyes drop to the ground, breaking her stare with Neal as she said the last thing she ever wanted to admit. She said it for Henry.
"I love him." she muttered, running her hands up and over her knees as she spoke, still kneeling on the cold ground.
Nothing happened
"Say his name, Emma. Say you still love Neal. Believe in the truth. We have to get him out." Charming encouraged.
She shook her head violently now, her blonde hair covering her face before she ran her fingers through it and pulled it over one shoulder frantically. She pressed her thumbs to her temple as she rubbed her forehead, feeling more defenseless then ever before.
"I love Hook." she exclaimed, running her hands up through her hair again before her eyes shot up to look at Neal. "I love Hook." she whispered, shaking her head slowly now. "I"m sorry, Neal but I do. I love him." and with her last words, the ground shifted and the cage fell apart, leaving the contained man to stand motionless in front of her. She slowly got to her feet, whipping the tears from her eyes as she let her walls build backup. She did what she had to in order to save her son. And now it was time to do just that.
"Emma, wait." Neal called as she turned on her heels and walked down the bridge with her eyes locked straight in front of her.
"I am not talking about this." she snapped, walking past the others without a word and heading towards the entrance where Hook had stopped his pacing. He was now leaning against the rocks near the opening, his head lifting as she walked towards him. Towards her escape.
"Well, that was quite a bit off what I think we all expected." he teased, smirking as she brushed right past him and back into the forest, the pirate right behind her followed by the rest of her family.
"Don't start." she hissed, turning immediately, his body almost slamming into hers. The other three stopped a few feet behind, not wanting to get in the middle of a fight that was surly on the way. They simply watched as Hook tested her.
"Oh, I didn't, love. You did. You couldn't think of another secret? You've been on the run your whole life, you are sure to have a few to pick from." he said, grabbing her arms so she couldn't turn her back on him. They were dealing with this, and they were dealing with it now.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know it would bother you so much. I'll try to think of your feelings next time we find ourselves in that situation. It's not stressful or emotionally draining at all." she spat sarcastically, ripping herself from his grasp before slamming her palm against his chest, his body not staggering at all from the blow.
"Maybe if you just told the truth more often, you wouldn't have this problem." he said, stopping her in her tracks as she turned to walk away. Her back was to him as her feet were frozen to where she stood.
"You're right. And look where the truth got me. Screaming in the forest at the man I just admitted I loved. I have no idea why I wasn't more upfront about it." she mocked, turning to look at him over her shoulder.
"Let's go." he muttered, brushing past her and onto the path they needed to stay on in order to find Pans camp. "We will rescue your son and your real true love." he enunciated. "Then we can get off this bloody island." And with those words, Hook created plenty of distance as he lead them in the right direction. He stayed many paces in front of the, Emma hanging back to walk beside Neal, in front of her parents.
"Neal, I-" but he didn't let her get any of the words out.
"Don't Emma. What's done is done. We just need to focus on getting Henry back and then we can deal with your stupidity." he said, rolling his eyes. Neal kept walking even as Emma stopped at his words, her parents right behind her in their surprise.
"How dare you." Charming hissed, moving past his wife and daughter until he slammed his hand against Neal's shoulder, turning him around.
"Don't talk to my daughter that way." he threatened.
Hook, who was a few feet ahead of them, stopped his movements when he stopped hearing their footsteps behind him.
"Come on, lads. No time for chit chat. I have so many things to do today. Appointments and such." he breathed with annoyance, tapping his wrist where his watch would be. He walked the few paces backward to the group, standing beside Emma as she grabbed her fathers hand.
"David, come on. Don't do this." she begged, pulled him away from Neal.
"I'm sorry if I upset you, sir. But I meant what I said. Emma has clearly let this island take a hold of her because she isn't as strong as she thinks she is."
She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to continue. "Excuse me?" she said, still very aware of the pirates close presence as she felt his body heat radiating off of his skin beside her.
"You were stupid, Emma." he repeated, enunciating his words as he stepped up to her, toe to toe, his breath hitting her lips with each word.
"All you needed to do was be a mother for once in your damn life and focus on saving your flesh and blood. Your son. And you couldn't even do that? You had to go around falling in love with pirates while Henry was scared for his life? He probably doesn't even think anyone is coming to save him. Why should he? You gave him away once, why would he expect any more from you." Neal yelled, his face inches from Emmas. Her eyes filled with tears but she quickly blinked them back, replacing her stare with anger and disbelief. She opened her mouth to tell him off but never got more then a breath out.
Hook side stepped in front of her, shoving Neal's shoulders back with enough force to send him slamming into a thick tree trunk, his body sliding down it until he was crumpled against the base of it.
Mary Margaret covered her mouth to silence a gasp as she stepped back quickly against Davids chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her back away from the brawl. He then stomped over to the tree where Neal was getting to his feet and slammed his fist against his jaw, knocking him down again.
"Don't you ever talk to her like that again, are we clear? You might be Henry's father but you do not get speak to her any way that you please." he threatened, drawing his sword and pressing it against the side of his neck.
"Come on, mate." Hook smirked toward Charming, heading back to the path through the forest, his body brushing against Emmas as he moved.. "We don't need him to get out of here. I know the way out of Neverland. Lets find the boy."
Mary Margaret grabbed her husbands arm calmly, pulling him over to follow the pirate. Emma, however, stepped in the opposite direction, kneeling down in front of the injured mans spot on the ground. Hook turned to watch her movements, impressed by her strength and the calmness in her words.
"You don't know anything about me, Neal. You left me, pregnant, in jail while you went off doing god knows what. I was the one who had a life to think about. A child to think about." she reiterated. "I did what was best for him and I don't regret that for a second. And I have been nothing but focused on saving him since the moment I noticed he was taken from me. So don't you dare come into this thinking you know all the facts. Because you don't. You're mad about what I said in the cave and I get that. But even if I didn't love him." she said, unable to say his name again in the same sentence as the word love." I still wouldn't love you." she seethed, standing up calmly and walking over to the rest of the group as they headed into the forest.
"So, you finally got to play the protective dad card, David. How did it feel?" she teased playfully as they heading to Pans camp, only half a day away now as the light disappeared from the sky.
"I'll be honest, it felt pretty damn good." he smiled, hugging his daughter to his side as the walked, kissing the woman's head before him and his wife quickened the pace, walking ahead of Hook and their daughter.
"And you." Emma started, taking his wrist and pulling him back so he would match her pace and walk beside her. "Thank you. For responding when I couldn't find the words." she said sincerely, looking up at him .
"Let's set up camp here for the night. We will be with Henry by tomorrow at dusk." David said, gathering a arm full of firewood and throwing it into the center of the small clearing they had now found themselves in. Mary Margaret threw two large blankets on the ground close enough to the fire to keep warm through the night. Each on opposite sides of the flames.
"We will scout the area." Hook offered, grabbing Emmas wrist and pulling her quickly behind him into the forest. She walked ahead of him, thinking they were really doing as he said. Hook, however, stopped her movements by wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and pulling her back against his chest as he turned her around, her body slamming against his.
"What are you -" but he cut her off, his hooked arm tightening around her waist while his hand cupped her cold cheek, darkness spreading over the forest.
"I can't be this close to you these past few days and not touch you. It's driving me mad, love." he admitted, his voice angry at this fact. At his own emotions.
"I'm sorry you are stuck here. This isn't your fight and somehow you still got dragged into it." she sighed, resting her hands against his chest before leaning her head down to fall under his chin. Her hair smelled intoxicating as he breathed in, holding her in his arms.
He grabbed her chin with his hand, pulling it up so she would look at him again. "That's not what you should be apologizing for, lass." he said, lust taking over his blue eyes.
"What should I be apologizing for?" she whispered, her breath against his lips as she spoke, her eyes never leaving his.
"For making me believe it was a one time thing when we both know well enough it will never be." he breathed firmly, pressing his lips against hers with more force then he intended. His hook cupped her side as his hand pressed down her back, gripping the edge of her shirt.
"I have to have you. And I have to have you, now." he said through clenched teeth, ripping the shirt from her body and tossing it to the ground.
She pressed her chest against his as she wrapped her around around his neck, her fingers raking through his hair, pulling him down harder against her. She let his bottom lip fall between hers as she sucked on it, running her tongue lightly over the swollen flesh, a masculine groan escaped his throat.
Hook spun her around, pressing her backside hard against a nearby tree. She hitched one leg up his side, pressing her knee to his waist. Hook trailed open mouth kisses down from her lips to her pulse point, sucking on the sensitive skin there, earning a soft moan from the blonde savior. He took his hand and hoisted her other leg up, forcing her to wrap her ankles around his waist. She threw her head back with a shaky breath as he moved to the top of her shoulder, nibbling at her flesh gently.
"Well, you sure moved on fast." a voice called from behind them. Emma gasped in surprise, letting her legs fall from around the pirate as he held her back in his palm, easing her feet onto the ground. She whipped her head back to see Neal standing a few feet behind them, his face bruised and bloody from their encounter earlier.
Hook grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back slightly so he was a step in front of her.
"What are you doing here, mate? I believe her dear old father made it clear you were to stay away." Hook questioned.
"I'm afraid that's impossible. See, Emma's mine. And she always will be." Neal replied, his voice a threatening tone as he stepped close to them. He smirked in their direction as he drew a blade from his side holster, a dark purple liquid dripping down the length of it.
"Nightshade." they both whispered, taking a step back as he advanced.
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