Hey everyone, thanks for reading. I'd like to say three things before we dive into the chapter: first and foremost, I'd like to give a big shout out to the wonderful everythingbothgoodandevil for Betaing this chapter. Secondly, I don't own Once Upon A Time or any of its characters (Regina just owns my heart). And thirdly/most importantly, I hope you enjoy the story.
Emma landed with a knee jarring thud onto the pavement. Her meeting with the stranger was becoming blurred in her mind. What had he said? Something about realms and happy endings. She groaned and straightened out her body. It looked like she was on Main Street in Storybrooke. She could see Granny's neon sign glowing down the road. She rolled her shoulders. She couldn't recall what exactly the stranger had said, but she remembered everything before that. She could also remember the feeling of panic she'd felt when she was talking to the stranger. She felt panicked, because… that stranger said or implied something about Hook. She shook her head and began making long strides towards the diner. She needed to get to a phone and call her husband, make sure he and the baby were okay. The Savior took in her surroundings while walking, everything seemed to be as it always was, but whatever that man had told her, despite the details getting fuzzier with every step, the fear of the encounter still lingered.
She reached the picket fence just outside Granny's and took the steps that lead inside, two at a time. She threw open the door, and stormed in, scanning the restaurant as she closed the door. Snow and David were sitting in a booth to her left, and Emma immediately stalked towards them. David saw her first and exclaimed, "Emma! We were worried about you, Regina just called and-"
Emma cut across him, "It'll have to wait." She slid in next to her mom and said, "I need your phone, it's an emergency." Snow's face registered with surprise, but she quickly pulled out her purse and handed over her flip-phone.
"What happened to yours?" David asked.
"I-" Emma paused, then reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her own phone. "I forgot I had it." She flipped it open and immediately clicked Hook's name in her contacts list. The damn thing went straight to voicemail, which was full. Emma snapped it shut and pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. She took a deep breath and then told David "I need you to give me a ride back to my house."
Her father nodded., but as he and Emma began to slide out of the booth, Snow grabbed her daughter's sleeve. "Wait, Emma. What's going on?"
"Nothing for sure yet, but I need to go find Hook."
Snow's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Why do you need to find Hook?"
"We got in a fight, and I had this weird encounter with somebody. Now I just need to make sure he's okay."
David's expression was puzzled as he enquired, "Why were you fighting with Hook?"
Emma threw her hands up, a flicker of annoyance racing through her, "Because we fight okay! It's not unheard of, and I've seen you guys fight a bunch of times." She glared at her parents.
Snow was watching Emma with concern, but it was David who responded, "Of course Snow and I fight, but what does that have to do with you and Hook?"
"Nothing, I'm just saying that it's not out of the ordinary for couples to fight."
Snow's eyes widened, "Emma, are you saying that you and Hook a-are together?"
Emma turned to look fully at her mother. "Of course, we are! You were at our-"
But before she could finish, David broke in, "Wait, you and Hook! Does Tink know?"
"What do you mean does Tink know? Everyone kn-" but this time she was interrupted by Snow's gasp. The brunette released the blonde's sleeve and grabbed her arm.
"Emma, does Regina know?" Snow's eyes grew so unbearably sad that Emma softened, slightly.
"Mom, I'm pretty sure she does. It's not exactly hard to miss."
"Emma, you haven't told her?"
The blonde's temper was beginning to flare again but responded with a cool voice, "No, I haven't told her. I'm confident she's noticed by now."
Snow finally let go of her arm. "Emma, how could you be so cruel? You have to at least tell her to her face."
Emma's jaw dropped slightly "Wha-, her fa-, Regina is off ruling the realms, I don't think she has time for me to state the obvious."
Her parents glanced at each other, "Emma," David gently prodded, "what do you mean Regina is out ruling the realms? I just saw her this afternoon."
Snow nodded before adding, "and I just got off the phone with her. That's what David was trying to tell you when you came in. Regina called and said you hadn't been home for a few hours and it was getting late," Her eyes dropped slightly, "She mentioned you guys had a bit of an argument earlier, but she was getting a little worried and wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Why would Regina care how late I stay out? No, wait, I left home like 15 minutes ago." Emma placed her hands flat against the table, taking in a deep breath, "Look, I'm not exactly sure what's going on. I remember having a fight with Hook, and I stormed out of the house. Then everything past that gets kind of, fuzzy. All I really know is that I need to find him."
She rose out of the booth, and just as Snow asked, "Wait, you stormed out of the house because of a fight with Hook?" the door to the diner opened, and in stepped the black-clothed pirate himself.
"Killian," Emma breathed, relief washing through her. She ran and flung her arms around him. Hook's arms seemed to wrap around her out of reflex. She pulled back and said, "I know you might still be upset, but I'm sorry about the fight. It was stupid, and I'd really just like to put it behind us."
Killian gave her a confused smile, "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about Emma, but I assure you, I harbor no hard feelings."
Emma's brow furrowed, but she was distracted by the woman standing next to Killian. It was Tinker Bell, she must have slipped through the door behind Hook. But what really grabbed Emma's attention was Tinkerbell's fingers laced through Hook's. The ex-fairy cleared her throat, "What's going on?"
Emma tore her gaze away from the two, looking behind them, expecting to see a baby carrier. "Where's Hope?" She glanced back up in time to catch Hook and David silently conversing. The men quickly broke eye contact when they noticed Emma watching.
Snow swiftly moved to Emma's side. "Clearly, there's been some confusion, but why don't we all head down to the station, and we can talk about it." She suggested.
"The station? Why not just talk here?" Emma countered.
"Emma, there are a lot of people here, most of whom just want to have uninterrupted meals." David replied.
Emma glanced around, several people were anxiously eyeing their group. She finally nodded, "Fine, let's go to the station."
Hook looked at Tink, who shrugged, and turned to lead her out, correctly assuming that his presence would be required. Emma and David moved to follow, but Snow said, "I'll catch up to you guys, I'm just going to pay the tab." David nodded.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Snow once again pulled out her phone. She dialed quickly and anxiously held the mobile to her ear.
A low, velvety voice answered the phone, "Hello."
"Regina, hi. I need you to come down to the station. There's something wrong with Emma."