A/N: So we're starting out on this journey together! It's my first multi-chapter fic, so I'm excited to see how it's going to turn out. This, being the prologue, is a little jumpy. Setting the scene and all that. Please feel free to review! I hope you enjoy.
PROLOGUE - "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes"
"Hide him!"
Two simple words, shouted frantically from out of sight. The panicked sounds rushing around the corner in the hospital to meet him, as Mr. Gold made to follow Belle wherever the nurses were taking her. He hadn't really thought anything of the exclamation from Emma at the time, being focused far more on the agony threatening to crush his chest at the sight of Belle's confused face being led away. Now that he'd had the time to settle his thoughts and focus his scattered fury, Gold was beginning to develop a clearer picture of Hook and Miss Swan's attachment to each other. As Henry, Emma and Mr. Gold had made their way through the search for the older man's son; this idea had only been solidified. Gold could easily recall the moments as the puzzle pieces began to fall into place: when he'd threatened Hook in front of her family, her face had given it away. Her son's interest in Gold's greatest enemy had caused many a tense moment on the journey.
By far the most illuminating instance had been when Gold had made to wander into the sitting room of the two bedroom suite they'd acquired for their search, late one evening. Emma had been settled on the couch closest to the small side-table, the gaudy lamp casting light on the glittering object she was turning over and over in her hands. His Hook. Gold had watched her smooth her fingertips over it's curve, cradling the weight in her palms and admiring it close enough that the metal clouded as her breath brushed it's surface. She held it as if it were something precious, and in the sum of all those moments, Gold knew. The painful burst in his heart brought on by the look gracing her features; true love. He'd know it anywhere. Bile burned in his throat as he silently turned and crept back into his room, utterly sickened at the thought that someone such as Hook could even deserve to find his true love.
The longer he thought about it, the more disgusted Gold became; seating himself heavily on the edge of his bed and twisting his fingers in the frayed edges of Bae's cloak. The pirate had taken everything from him; his wife, his son, and in doing so, had inadvertently sent him to this land without magic, effectively stealing his magic as well. Hook was to blame for everything. So far, Gold had only managed to correct two of his problems. He'd slayed the woman Hook had loved, rendering him helpless as the Dark One had ripped the unfaithful heart from her chest and crushed it with satisfaction. He'd managed to find the one magic that still worked in this world, and used it to bring his magic back. Now, it was time to fix the last one. Gold knew the magic in the cloak wouldn't last forever and like any intelligent man with a score to settle, he'd come up with a back up plan. True love was the most powerful magic Gold could think of and he knew just where to get another burst of it to break the town-line spell. With a plan in his head, a maniacal smile on his lips, and an assured sort of calm; Gold settled himself into bed.
'Oh, he'll have his love alright. Then he'll know what it's like to lose everything he's ever cared for.'
Swan had been gone for a week, and Killian wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was getting antsy. He'd taken to spending most of his time pacing up and down the planks of the Storybrooke docks and compulsively feeding the two swans that had taken up residence in the bay with the arrival of his ship. The one time he'd approached Charming and Snow White, the Swan girl's parents he'd found out, the meeting hadn't gone well. In fact, it had ended with the prince shoving him around a fair bit; not exactly comfortable with a few broken ribs. So Hook had elected not to go that route again while trying to determine his Swan's whereabouts. Since when had she become his Swan?
His next course of action had been to check the eating establishment he'd seen her frequent, late one night. Granny's. Certainly, these people who saw her every day would have some idea as to where she'd disappeared to. As he'd approached the building, he noticed a man seated outside on one of the benches, watching the lone girl wiping down counters in the otherwise empty building. Hook purposefully let his boots fall heavily enough on the road to alert the man to his presence, not wanting to startle him. The man turned and Hook immediately recognized him as the doctor from the atrocious place they'd taken him after the metal beast (he'd learned they were called cars) had hit him.
"Oh. Hook, nice to see you up and around. I was a little worried when you left the hospital early, but you seem to be doing well?" Dr. Whale ended the sentence with the lit of a question tacked on, running a hand through his unruly hair and glancing back at the lights beginning to go out in the diner.
"Aye, I'm recovering well. Not fast enough for my liking, but can't really rush that." The pirate lifted his shoulder in indifference, wincing slightly as the movement caused a twinge in his abdomen. Whale watched him warily as he heard Ruby exit Granny's and lock up, quickly making her way to his side.
"Evening Hook. Emma said you might show up. Everything alright?" Ruby asked, sliding her arm through Whale's and smiling at the other man.
"Swan's precisely why I'm here. Could you be so kind as to tell me where she's gotten off to? Her and I have some unfinished business."
"Couldn't say really," Ruby responded, flicking her gaze up to Victor's face.
"If you know, you'd best tell me, girl." Hook began to take a threatening step towards the pair, raising his hook in an obvious attempt to spook them. He stopped in his tracks though, when Ruby began to laugh openly at him. Perhaps he should have tried to flirt it out of her, he'd only abandoned the thought due to the doctor's presence.
"Yeah, that seems like just the trick, Hook. Don't you think it would be counterproductive to incite Dr. Frankenstein and his Werewolf girlfriend into attacking you, after Emma purposefully left to protect y-..." Victor was suddenly silenced by Ruby's hand sliding over his mouth. In retaliation, he licked her palm and grinned mischievously as she withdrew her hand, shaking it with a grimace.
"You know what? Have a good night Hook. Stay out of trouble!" Without leaving room for further argument, Ruby used her hold on Victor's arm to begin dragging him up the street, calling out a cheery 'good bye' behind her as they walked away.
Two weeks into their journey, Gold announced he felt the magic in Bae's cloak weakening and quietly accepted the inevitability of their speedy return home. Expecting him to put up at least some of a fight, Emma was completely taken aback by the ease with which the return trip to Storybrooke took place. She wanted no part of the calculating look that had taken root in his eyes, and she knew she wanted Henry as far from whatever Gold had planned, as possible.
Mary-Margaret and David met them at the town line, immediately drawing both Emma and Henry into their teary embrace as they crossed the boundary, unable to contain their joy at having their family whole again. The whole scene was something Emma had been hoping to avoid.
"No more trips for awhile?" David asked through a relieved laugh, trying to stoically accept the fact that he was being a bit over emotional. He'd placed his hand against his daughter's cheek, thumb feathering carefully across her skin in an effort to assure himself that she was unharmed and returned safely to them, once again. Emma nodded and pulled away slightly, still not quite use to open displays of affection from anyone but Henry. Starving after their flight home, the Charming family had quickly made their way to Granny's, where it only took an hour for Ruby to find it necessary to mention her run in with Hook.
"It was no problem, Emma!" The younger girl assured her as she loaded a serving tray with drinks. "Victor was with me, and Hook wouldn't have hurt me. He was just looking for you and I wasn't sure how much to tell him..." She trailed off, raising a brow in the Sheriff's direction. "He's pretty much stayed on his ship since then." Emma shook her head and pulled a hand through her gold hair, sighing quietly. She'd been hoping to have a little more time to rest before delving back into her duties, but as she kissed Henry and told Mary Margaret and David she'd see them later, she accepted that living in a town full of fairy tales was her life now. Complete with an irritatingly handsome and troublesome pirate captain, down at the docks, for her to deal with.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan: a man returns to his apartment to find a bird perched on the desk, just inside his open window. As he goes to shoo it outside, his eyes fall on a postcard. The glossy picture on the front is of a clock tower, with Welcome to Storybrooke, Maine printed in scrawling golden letters. He turns the heavy cardstock over in his hands and finds a single world scribbled in black. Broken.
'Finally,' he whispers to himself, clutching the card as if it could be a lifeline. After waiting and running for eleven years, it's finally time for him to reclaim what should have been his all this time. 'Hold on. I'm coming for you Emma.'
