Oh my God guys! Thank you for all the kind words, I didn't expect this to be such popular!

So, here's the next one, full of Captain Swan sweetness. Enjoy!

Emma shouts in pain and collapses. There is something seriously wrong with the aching in her chest. She was shot two times before, once in the arm and once in the leg, but it never felt like this. She can't breathe. She can't even stand up, her whole body is on fire.

"Emma!"

Strong arms grab her and turn her to her back. She sees Hook's face above her, and he looks scared. No, not just scared. Afraid. Terrified.

"Your parents took Henry home", he tells her and she tries to nod. "Don't move now", he adds.

The look in his eyes makes her even more worried. She can feel as his shaking fingers unbutton her coat, it seems a hard thing to do with only one hand. He's not saying any innuendos about undressing her and that is also really weird. The world is upside down.

His expression turns from terrified to utterly confused.

Emma feels a rush of pain again. When it's gone, she tries to ask him something, and finally manages to whisper, "What is it?"

"Um…" he starts. "You're not bleeding."

She feels another wave, this time even more powerful. What the hell does that mean, she's not bleeding? She just got shot. Right?

Hook picks her up carefully, her head rests on his chest. She blacks out in a few seconds, doesn't even fight it.

Carrying Emma is a lot harder when she's out. She's not actually heavy or anything, but he can't get a good grip on her with his hooked hand and therefore is worried he might drop her. And the stairs that lead to her apartment! Bloody hell.

He holds her tight, then kicks in the door since he can't actually knock without a free hand, and he needs to hurry anyway.

Several voices shout Emma's name and someone steps in to take her from his arms. Hook gives the prince his daughter before saying, "Where's Henry?"

"I'm here", he says from behind. The lad's biting his lip anxiously. "What's happened? Tamara shot her, right?"

"What?" David snaps.

Hook puts a hand on Henry's shoulder. "She'll be fine", he says, because she has to be.

"What happened?" Snow asks as she helps David lay their daughter down on the bed. Emma's eyes are open and she's already trying to sit up.

"You should lay back and rest", Hook says, but his eyes are focused on David. "Tamara shot her with a gun, but she's not bleeding."

They all turn towards Emma. The paleness is starting to disappear from her face. She stands up but her legs fail her. Hook catches her before anyone else could and puts her back on the bed like she's some small child. The thought almost makes him smile.

"Told ya. You should rest."

"I'm fine", she hisses, but his arms keep her down. She's sitting on the edge of the bed and he's standing right above her. "No, you're not."

Give me your hand. It's cut, let me help you.

It's fine.

No, it's not.

Her expressions are clear, she's thinking about the same scenario.

"So, why aren't you bleeding?" Henry asks, pushing the both of them back to reality.

"I don't know, kid", Emma answers.

"I think I do", Regina says in the background. Emma didn't even notice she was there but she finds herself relieved. Regina takes a deep breath then stands up from the dining table. Everyone steps aside and lets her go to Emma, except for Hook. He doesn't move an inch, only removes his hands – well, hand and hook – from her shoulders.

"May I?" Regina asks, and Emma nods yes. But to her surprise, it's not the non-existent wound she wants to see, but her eyes.

"You are cursed", she says slowly, looking into her right eye, then in the left. "I can barely see it, but I'm certain."

Emma swallows. "How the hell did Tamara get a magical… damn curse-casting gun?"

"I have no idea", Regina answers as she straightens up. "But I guess we will know more about it in the morning."

"What if she'll be dead in the morning?" Hook snaps in an angry tone. Emma can't help but grab his hand to calm him down but her look is fixed on the other woman. "If she wanted me dead, she would've just killed me, right?"

Regina slowly nods. "It is a long-term curse as far as I can tell. Which means it is more powerful, but on the other hand, we will have plenty of time to find a way to remove it. Weeks, propably."

Emma keeps nodding at every sentence. "Alright. I'll find Gold tomorrow, first thing. But right now… I just need some sleep."

Her parents give her stressed looks before finally agreeing. Regina cleans her throat before saying, "I should propably go."

"Wait", Emma calls. A thought pops up in her head. "Is it possible that this curse… will change me? My behavior towards the people I –" she glances at Henry for a second, "the people I love?"

Regina blinks in uncertainty. "I have seen such thing, yes."

Emma nods. "Alright then. Kid, you're staying with Regina."

"But –"

"No arguments. We still have one magic bean. I could be the very one to take you to Peter Pan without even realizing it."

Regina puts her hands on the boy's shoulders. "We don't know that."

Emma smiles at that. "You agree with me."

"Well –"

"You do", she says, not looking up. "You agree that he should stay away until we find a solution."

"Yes, but –"

"No", Emma shakes her head, and she knows she had won this one. "Just take care of him. Please."

Henry runs to her to hug her one last time. Emma only notices how she's still holding Hook's hand. She lets go to embrace his son, and she leans into his hair. "It's okay, kid. Just a few days. I'm sure we'll come up with something. Plus", she adds quietly, "she's your mom, too."

"I know", he smiles. "I have more parents than anyone."

Emma returns his smile. And then he leaves with his mother – his other mother. Emma takes a deep breath and stands up. Her head is still a bit dizzy but she refuses to accept Hook's helping hand. She's not that weak.

Her parents are standing at the edge of the bed. Snow wants to say something, it's written on her face.

"I'd say you should leave, too", Emma starts, and she sees her mother's face lighten up. She won't like the end of the sentence, "but I think it's better if I'm the one who leaves."

"What? No way, Emma –"

"I really don't want to bicker about this. Look, here's the thing. I don't know what this is, this damn spell Tamara cast on me, but it could be really bad. I'll sleep at the sheriff station, then tomorrow I'll go talk to Gold, and we can figure this out. But for now I just need you all to be safe."

Snow opens her mouth but then closes it. "Alright then."

Her tone is questioning and higher than usual, like every time she tries to cover how insecure or hurt she is. They share a brief look with David and then both of them nods.

"Are you going to be okay, Emma?"

"She will be", Hook speaks, stepping next to Emma. "I'm staying with her."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I really don't see how that is 'safe'", David says.

"And I don't see you asking me about it either", Emma adds.

Neither of them sees the look Snow gives Hook. He nods before turning back to Emma and saying, "If any of you noticed, I was not asking a question. I'm staying with you."

"Hook –"

"Don't think I'm taking my eyes off you for a second."

She gasps. He did that on purpose, she was sure about that. He keeps mentioning her of that damn beanstalk encounter. But well, two can play at a game.

"I would despair if you did", she snaps back, giving him a look.

David cleans his throat. Emma rolls her eyes and grabs her coat from the bed. It has a little hole on it right on the front. So Tamara did shoot her with something.

She checks her sweatshirt. Another hole. Is there actually something inside her body right now? Some magical thing that keeps poisoning her, or changing her into a different Emma?

She shakes her head. "Let's go then."

He follows her down the stairs and down the street, but he doesn't say a word.

"You know", Emma starts a few minutes later, "we spent ten hours on a beanstalk, and I can't remember a single moment when you weren't speaking. Except for the parts where you let me answer, of course."

They reach the station, and she searches for her keys before looking up at him. He doesn't look like he's going to answer anytime.

She stops for a second. "Why did you come back?" she asks finally. Her voice is quiet. They are alone on the street.

"Does it matter?" he asks back, taking the keys from her and opening the door without even looking away. She doesn't break the eye contact either, not when the door's already open. She feels like she couldn't look away even if she wanted to.

He leans a few inches closer. "You might want to go inside."

She blinks. "Yeah. Sure", she says before entering the building. It's a bit cold in there but it gives her a chill and pulls her back to the real world.

"So, is there any chance there's something to drink in here?"

Emma turns to him with one of her famous looks. She managed to make two bed-like things, one on the couch and one on the floor next to it. She turned the heating on, it's autumn after all, and now she only has her jeans and a black top on. He has to admit she looks good.

Him, on the other hand, only removed his boots and the leather jacket and starts to feel really heated. A drink, yes, that's exactly what he needs.

Emma sighs. "I guess we could find something."

"Rum?"

"In your dreams, sailor. But, if I'm right", she says, stepping to the cupboards in the corner, "There should be a bottle of scotch in here."

She stops looking for a second and stares.

"What is it?" he asks, stepping closer. She was searching on the shelf a moment ago, and now she's just looking at her hand. He reaches out for it and takes what she holds in his own hands. It's a badge, similar to the one she wears on her belt.

"It's a deputy's badge", she whispers, then cleans her throat and continues louder, "Anyway, there's some wine in here, if that's okay…"

"As long as it's not poisoned", he says, still looking at the badge. She takes it away and puts it back on the shelf. Her expressions have changed in a brief second. He keeps scanning her face as she takes two glasses.

"Do we need these?" she asks, trying to smile. He grabs the bottle and opens it with his hook.

"I suppose we don't."

She smiles and puts the glasses back. "Don't drink your ass off, please. We have to talk to Gold tomorrow, and if there's one thing I hate, it's a pirate with a hangover as my company."

"Does that mean you like pirates without a hangover as your company?" he says, raising an eyebrow. She grabs the bottle and takes a sip. "I'm here with you, am I not?"

He can't help but smile. "Are you really flirting with me, Swan? Curse's working already."

Her face turns pale.

"Hey", he says, taking the bottle away a placing it on the desk before he grabs her chin with his hand. "It's going to be fine. We'll fix it."

"How do you know that?"

He sighs. Really, how does he know that? What if she'll finish him off by tomorrow? Or she'll run off just like that?

"I just know it", he says finally. "Because I believe in you."

She makes a sad smile but turns away and sits down on the couch. He follows her and hands her the wine. The corner of her mouth twitches as she takes another sip. "You should try it", she says. "It's not that bad."

He does as she says but can't take more than three sips. "You know, I think I'll stick with rum."

She laughs. She's actually laughing really loud and bites her lip to make herself stop but she really can't. He's never seen her so careless before and it makes him smile. He puts the wine down, very far from their reach and sits down next to her. She hasn't stopped laughing yet, actually, the moment she looks at his face, she continues even harder. She leans against his chest and tries to catch her breath. He doesn't even notice when he puts his hooked arm around her.

"I'm sorry", she says then. "I just…"

"Never mind. It's actually really good to see you laugh."

She leans a bit harder against him before noticing what she just did and pulling away.

"I don't know what's so funny. But it's really good to loosen up a bit, you know. I mean, Henry's completely safe with Regina, and I don't know how, but I know you won't le me do anything stupid because of this… curse."

"That's right, I won't."

"So I guess tonight is the closest to normal that I'll ever get."

Her smile is not enough to take away the meaning of her words.

"Wait a second", she says suddenly, before he could say something about breaking the curse in no time and her getting the life she deserves, "we'll meet Gold tomorrow."

"Aye, that we will."

"But you're… trying to kill him?"

He smirks to himself. He is, isn't he? But still, he hasn't actually thought of that since she was shot. The way they talk about him, the mysterious Mr Gold, it was easy to forget that he was actually Rumpelstiltskin – the Crocodile.

But why was it so easy?

"I, um –", he starts. "I guess I should stop with that."

She waits until he looks at her. "Why?" she asks. "It's not like I want you to kill him or anything, but it's really weird that you just give up on this revenge after… how much time exactly?"

"Three hundred years, give or take."

"Three hundred?!" she repeats. "How old are you?"

He gives her a look. "I just said. Three hundred."

"Give or take", she adds and he nods.

"No, but really, how old are you? Not counting those years where you… didn't age?"

"When I was in Neverland?"

She makes a look that says, 'Neverland, of course. Why didn't I see it before?'

He smiles at her and pulls her hair behind her ear before saying, "Around thirty, I guess. I lost count over the years."

His hand is still at her ear. She could barely hear her own breath because of her heartbeat. What the hell is happening?

Why is she leaning closer?

Why is he okay with that?

Their lips are inches apart when she pulls back. "We should sleep."

It's the wine, she tells herself, as he nods and stands up. It's the damn wine, she repeats, as he takes his vest off – with one hand! – and lays down on the floor, next to her. It's the damn wine and no one can tell her otherwise.

Still, when she lays down and looks at him, she sees him staring right up at her, and it's definitely not the wine.

"So why did you come back?" she asks.

He looks up at the ceiling and smiles. "You said I could be a part of something, and I guess I wanted to take the chance."

She smiles. "Well, the offer still lives."

Emma's slowly falling asleep, but she can still hear him say "Thank you, Emma."

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And well, next chapter will be up at another 5 reviews, because I am just like that.