The Journey Back Home – Chapter Two: Anchor
Summary: The Jolly Roger makes it back to Storybrooke but Hook still struggles with accepting Emma's deal. Neal's arrival in town comes as a surprise to David and Snow, who fill Emma in on Cora and Regina's evil schemes.
Word Count: 3,713
A/N: Since the first chapter was met with such kind and encouraging reviews here's part two! The chapters probably won't be as long now that I plan on continuing the story, but I hope you still enjoy! Thanks again to GABE (spooloflies) for her awesome beta. It takes a lot to edit a fic this long and she was with me all day doing this one. Seriously, she's the BEST.
Early the next morning a burst of sunlight appeared, welcoming the new day and illuminating the still sleeping Storybrooke in front of Hook's tired eyes. It had been several hours since he sent Emma and Henry off to bed, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Well, one thought in particular - Emma's deal.
While he hadn't agreed or disagreed to her proposition, the way they had left things seemed to suggest his compliance. Again, Emma Swan managed to work her way into Hook's plans and completely ruin them, for it had been twice in the past twenty-four hours that he felt his expected course diverting. He solemnly wondered what she could manage to do to him in an entire week.
Hook was torn. As he approached the small sea side village he felt an overwhelming distain for its inhabitants, and the new lives they had there, but when his thoughts drifted to the beautiful woman currently on board, his mind immediately softened. He kept telling himself that it shouldn't, that he was an almost three hundred year old pirate, and one woman's actions did not have to decide his fate. And anyways, the last time he truly let a woman into his life it had resulted in death and decades of unhappiness.
As the ship made its way into port, Hook reset his mind while busying himself with the difficult process. Docking, while usually easy for the practiced pirate became cumbersome without a crew or magic, and with only one hand. In fact, he was making so much noise, that he found it odd none of his passengers came out to ask what all the fuss was about.
After skillfully tying the large ship to Storybrooke's quite inadequate dock, Hook felt awkward about still being the only one awake. He supposed that many years of sailing during the night had trained him to not require much sleep. But, with his mind now set again on leaving, he begrudgingly went to wake the others so he could start his journey. He didn't even know where he would go, Hook just knew he couldn't stay.
Three hard knocks on the cabin door yielded no response from Emma or the boy and after leaning his ear up against the wooden panel it was clear both were still asleep. Hook turned the ornate brass knob slowly, not wanting to startle anyone, and stepped inside.
While he remembered sending Emma and the boy into the captain's quarters last night to rest, the image he saw before him caught him completely off guard. There she was, her slim build looking comfortable sunken into his dark sheets, with her blonde hair spread out like a wreath around her peaceful face. The boy too, looked content nestled in beside her. They had both removed their jackets and boots as well, having placed them neatly on the chair which sat in front of his grand working desk in the corner of the room.
For some reason, while knowing they were in his room, he had forgotten exactly what that would mean and he stood there for a long moment not knowing what to do. As he watched her sound asleep on his bed his mind unconsciously brought back images of himself and Milah, her lying in on Sunday mornings while he worked at his desk or her face looking up at him with love as they were consumed with passion during the night. Shaking his head Hook brought himself back to reality. This was Emma that he was looking at and they would never be together like that, despite his utter longing.
Just then a sunbeam cracked its way through one of the cabin's small windows and fell across Emma's face, causing her to stir. Attempting to look inconspicuous, Hook bolted over to his desk and began fiddling with some sheets of paper which were strewn across its top.
His staring was not lost on Emma though, for she had been aware of his presence in the room for several minutes.
"Hook?" she questioned, while rubbing her eyes and looking around the room.
"Um, uh, yes. We've docked so…" he failed to find the right words to wake her with, for he had originally planned to practice a curt 'good morning' before his thoughts had again, decided to run away from him.
She raised her arms above her head, stretching her shoulders and back, "What time is it? Do you know?"
"Not sure, just past dawn I would assume," he replied, not able to look her in the eyes for her shirt had risen, exposing a patch of skin just below her navel. She didn't seem concerned, though she could feel his eyes on her.
Noticing her unwillingness to get up, Hook reminded her, "Look, someone better hurry up and get the crocodile off my ship, for as much as I'd like to watch him bleed out slowly, I don't want it all over my decks."
His harshness surprised her and she gave him a pointed look, glancing over to Henry, still asleep beside her.
He chose not to say anything else as he stared back at her with a similar expression and she turned to wake her son. In an attempt to get them onto dry land faster, he picked up their coats and went to stand by the door to usher them out. Watching as they gathered their things, Hook noticed Emma lean down to whisper something in Henry's ear but he couldn't make it out.
"See ya later, Captain!" Henry chimed with a smile as he took his coat and bounced out of the room, turning back to give Hook a big salute on his way. Confused by the odd gesture, Hook didn't notice Emma had approached him until he turned back and saw her face right before him.
"Thank you," she started hastily before he could speak. He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something - to tell her that he was leaving - but she stopped him with a finger on his lips.
"Honestly," she continued, directly connecting with his blue eyes, "I know how much it must have taken for you to do what you did last night. I'll be forever grateful." Emma took her hand away and Hook just looked at her, his lips tingling from the sudden contact.
"Our deal still stands, right?" Her voice broke him out of his trance and he tried to regain some of his dignity.
"Only if you plan on replacing that finger of yours with something a little more enticing," he replied with a grin as he leaned in closer to her face.
"You wish!" she countered with a genuine giggle, stepping back and snatching her coat from over his arm. She looked at him with an unexpected smile and left the room quickly, leaving a stunned Hook in her wake and the smell of her sweet perfume hanging in the air around him.
The sight of the Jolly Roger pulling into the Storybrooke harbour was enough to jolt Mary Margaret and David out of bed and down to the docks. After they had learned about Hook's excursion to Manhattan, they feared for Emma and Henry's safety.
They reached the ship and were greeted first by an overzealous Henry running ahead to meet them. "Mary Margaret! Gramps!" he shouted as he wrapped his arms around both of them in a tight hug, throwing the two of them off balance.
"Oh, thank god you're okay, Henry," Snow sighed, running her hand through his hair and kneeling down to inspect him for injury.
David took a step back and surveyed the area. "Henry, where's Emma?" he asked, concerned after noting the lack of anyone else around them.
"They're coming," he squeaked, squirming as Snow examined a small bruise on the inside of his left arm.
He was about to question Henry further, but stopped short when he noticed three figures emerging from the ship's deck and staggering down the gang plank. Emma and another man, who he could only assume was Gold's son, were supporting an almost unconscious Rumplestilskin, whose pale skin and bloody clothes sent David into a panic.
"Stay here," he yelled back to Snow as he rushed towards them. "What happened?!"
"Hook. He met us there and ambushed Gold," Emma wheezed, out of breath.
"Right," David said, an annoyed expression coming over his face, "You get Gold to the hospital and I'll take care of Hook," starting down the dock, all too eager to arrest the damn pirate, his hand already poised on the holster of his gun.
"Wait!" called Emma careful to mask the desperation that rose up within her chest. "I've taken care of him," she finished, with more ease.
David looked at her skeptically, "what do you mean, 'you've taken care of him?'"
"Look, he's agreed to stay out of trouble, okay?" Emma replied, her patience waning, "now let's get Gold the hospital. I don't want the ten hours I just spent on a frickin' pirate ship to be for nothing."
"Yeah, he's not looking too good," piped an out of place Neal from Emma's other side.
"Uh, who's this?" David asked, still caught in mid step towards Hook's ship.
Emma started walking again, forcing Neal and Gold to pick up their feet as well. "His son," she said shortly.
David moved to follow them and heard the man answer, "Yeah, right. That's all I am now, I guess," resentment thick on his tongue.
"Save it." Emma shot back, "David, we have to get Gold to Dr. Whale immediately. Did you bring your truck?"
David, while confused for a moment, sprang into action and replaced Emma's position at Gold's side and quickened their pace. "Yeah, it's just up ahead on the road. Call the hospital Emma, and let them know we're on our way."
Emma pulled out her phone and began to dial as David and Neal continued forward towards the, now visible, blue truck.
Both men hoisted Mr. Gold into the cab and David ran over to the driver's side, jumping behind the wheel. "You coming?" he asked Neal, learning over the seat to shout out the passenger window.
"No, man. I'm only here for the kid," he said, backing away with his hands raised so David could pull away.
Not knowing how to respond David put the keys in the ignition and, as the engine started, saw Emma approach the car. She threw Gold's cane into the bed of the truck and came back to the window.
"You sure you're okay?" David asked her, concern etched over his face. He knew something was going on that she wasn't telling him.
"Yeah, I'm fine. We'll talk later."
He gave a short nod of his head in response and hit the gas, the blue truck speeding away down the road, leaving behind a thick exhaust. As the smoke began to clear, Emma was left standing face to face with a frozen Neal on the other side of the broken pavement, his face just visible through the foggy grey remnants of the vehicle's haste.
As she saw Neal begin to step towards her, she broke contact with his face and turned, walking back to Mary Margaret who, standing next to Henry, welcomed her home with a warm hug.
Back at the apartment, Emma was still at odds with Neal, and had sent him upstairs with Henry while she discussed yesterday's events with Mary Margaret as they stood on either side of the kitchen's long island. At first she was wary about the two of them being alone together, but after receiving some good feedback from Henry about their time on the ship as they walked home from the harbour, she felt he could handle it.
"He's Henry's father?" gasped a shocked Mary Margaret, when Emma had answered Snow's inquiries about the stranger. "And he's Gold's son? But I thought his dad was–"
"I lied to protect him, obviously," interrupted Emma, ashamed of her faults. "I was hoping never to see him again, and I definitely did not think we'd be running into him on a mission with Rumplestilskin."
Mary Margaret's face softened. "I understand," she said with a smile, reaching across to give Emma's wrist a reassuring squeeze. "Do you know what you're going to do yet? How you're going to handle this," she gestured with her head to the metal staircase in the middle of the room.
"No idea," Emma groaned, shifting to set her elbows on the tall counter and placing her head in her hands. Mary Margaret could only just make out the muffed speech coming from Emma as she sighed, "Can't we go back to when our biggest problems were chasing down evil wraiths and dispelling town mobs? This stuff," again motioning to the ceiling, "is hard."
Snow replied with a strained laugh, "Well I'm afraid this seems to be the least of our problems."
"Why? What happened?" Emma rose quickly from her slouched position on the counter.
"David and I had some problems with Regina yesterday," Snow started with an anxious expression. "She was out doing her mother's bidding trying to find Gold's dagger."
"Wait. What?!" Emma replied, her hands raised in questioning. "Regina and Cora are working together? Since when? And what dagger?"
"We're not sure, but Regina wasn't trying to hide anything yesterday. It seems as though something reawakened her dark side. She's reverted right back to the way she was before the curse. I'd never seen her act like this here." Mary Margaret paused, searching for the proper words to describe Rumplestilskin dagger.
"Back in the Enchanted Forest, Rumplestilskin is also known as 'The Dark One,' and he has this dagger that apparently holds all of his magical power."
"Oh, like in Henry's book," Emma realized.
"Yes!" Snow chimed, glad she didn't sound crazy to her daughter's often doubting ears. "Well, it's said that whoever wields the dagger, can control The Dark One, and it's also technically the only way he can be killed."
"So Regina and Cora want to kill Gold," Emma surmised. "Why?"
Mary Margaret shook her head, "No clue. But I wouldn't doubt that it has something to do with Cora, or Regina would have been planning this a long time ago."
"Well where are they now?" asked a panicked Emma, realizing the possibility that her trip with Henry may have sent Regina back into her mother's manipulative arms.
"We don't know. David sent the dwarves out this morning to scout the town's perimeter, but nothing so far. And with magic on their side, they could be anywhere. And the dagger is still out there somewhere."
The two women were quiet for a moment, each allowing the other to process all the new information. Emma was rubbing her temples, nursing the headache she could feel developing, when a loud banging could be heard on the other side of the apartment door. They both rushed over to the noise and Emma swung the door open to reveal a disheveled Ruby, her face tear stained and in shock.
"Ruby!" gasped a concerned Snow.
"Oh, thank god you're back," she said, her voice quick and gasping, "there's been a fire! A fire at Granny's. We don't know how it started, it just came from out of nowhere." Her one hand was on the door frame, the other on her hip as if she had run all the way there.
At that moment Henry and Neal clamoured down from the second floor loft to see what was going on.
"Have you seen David?" asked Snow, worry evident on her furrowed brow, clearly concern for his safety.
"Yes, he's already there helping put it out. But it's pretty out of control. We need more people down there to help."
"I'll get my coat," Mary Margaret turned to grab her jacket off the rack to her left.
"No," demanded Emma, moving towards Snow and continuing quieter so Henry wouldn't overhear, "this may be a trap. They might be using this as an opportunity to snatch Henry while we're not looking. You need to stay here with him."
"But –"
"You're the only one that I trust," finished Emma, looking her right in the eyes. This stilled Snow's actions. She nodded and forced a small smile, as Emma turned to give Henry a kiss on the top of his head and walk out the front door.
"I can help!" Neal said as he rushed to follow the two women down the narrow hallway of the building.
Emma looked dubiously at him as the three of them continued walking. "That's fine, but when you're finished here, Ruby will show you where you can stay at the hotel."
Neal looked hurt but Emma didn't care, and Ruby was just set on getting back to the café.
When they reached the street, Ruby turned right, to lead them to the fire whose flames and smoke could already be seen coming up from behind some of the taller buildings. Emma turned left.
"I'll be there a few minutes," she called, still facing them, "I'm going for backup," she specified when she saw they looked confused.
Both parties turned then and ran in their separate directions, two of them towards the fire, and one towards the water.
Killian Jones stared straight up at the dark wooden ceiling of his cabin as he lay on his back, listening to the shallow waves slightly rocking the base of his ship back and forth as it sat idle in Storybrooke harbour. He could have been halfway to wherever he was going by now, he mused as night had fallen and he could detect a few stars in the dark sky, looking out his window. That was something he had noticed about this new realm – it lacked the beauty and wonder of a black night sky, dancing with thousands of tiny silver stars. It did however, hold beauty in other regards.
He leaned back against the pillows of his bed basking in her scent that was still present in the room. He wasn't normally one to sit and stargaze, but Killian wasn't sure who he was anymore. Not with Emma Swan, at least. He liked their cheeky banter and frequently pushed boundaries, but his attraction for her was already out of his control, for just this afternoon he had imagined them in a hundred different positions throughout this cabin alone. His fantasies however went beyond those of lust, as he thought of her sweet smile and the innocent kiss she had given him last night. He felt his desire not only in his loins, but also in the swell of his heart at the thought of her face. At the thought of her laugh.
His dreaming was cut short when he heard a sharp knock at the door of his room. The person knocked again and Killian bolted up out of bed, attached his hook, and went to stand in the middle of the room, his stance ready.
On the third set of knocks he still didn't answer, and that was when the visitor decided to speak up.
"It's me," he heard quietly and new instantly that it was Emma but remained silent, apprehensive about what she might want.
"Emma," she added. He took a deep breath and walked over to the door, opening it to find her looking away, back towards the town.
At the sound of the creaky hinges she turned to him.
"I need your help," she stated bluntly, though her eyes betrayed the panic that she was obviously feeling.
"My help? Why?" he replied, looking at the worry growing on her brow as she shifted her feet back and forth, dancing from the cold.
"There's been a fire at the diner. You know, the one on the main street where everyone goes? People are already trying to put it out but it's getting out of control fast. We need as many people as possible."
Hook fought back a laugh as he thought about the fiery fantasies he'd been having all day. Had they made their way all into town without him, he wondered. He kept a skeptical look on his face to mask his thoughts. "I don't know, Emma. I'm not sure I'll be welcomed back with open arms the same way you were."
Emma scoffed. "It's a fire, Hook. They're not exactly going to be batting people away who want to help. Come on," she grabbed his hand and dragged him outside, not letting go.
He remained silent, staring at their clasped hands, and stopped walking midway across the deck, causing her to lurch backwards. She walked back towards him and kept a hold of his hand.
"Hey, we need strapping, able bodied men like you," she grinned, knowing just what he liked to hear.
He smiled, "Oh I'm more than able bodied, my dear."
She laughed and tugged him forward again.
"Wait," he said, letting her go and rushing over to the other side of the ship.
"What are you doing?" she followed him with her eyes as he was busy untying several complicated knots. Her hand felt like it was on fire now that they were no longer connected.
He threw something large overboard and she heard a loud splash as it hit the water.
"Just dropping the anchor, love," he said quickly as he jogged across the deck to meet her again, "don't want to be drifting away in the night, now do we?"
She smiled, for now he was the one in the lead, as he grabbed her hand and rushed them off the ship and towards the town.
