I own nothing except my delusions.
Driving into Manhattan in the early twilight, Emma breathed a sigh of relief. The roads were congested with traffic, the air filled with the loud noises of people and cars, just as she knew it would be.
"Where to now?" Hook asked her quietly.
"We find another place to stay until we find something permanent," she said lowly. "It's too late to look for an apartment tonight, anyway."
"Any ideas where to start?" he asked her, looking at the city's busy streets.
"Not really," she answered. An idea struck her, but she was loathe to suggest it.
Hook of course read her. "What are you thinking, Swan?"
She exhaled a heavy breath, uneasy. "I might know a place where we can stay in the mean time." She glanced at him quickly, dropping her voice. "We could stay in Neal's apartment until we found our own place."
Hook glanced back at Henry, seeing him sleeping in the back seat. His concerned voice was quiet. "Do you think Henry is ready for that?"
"I honestly don't know," she said, unsure. "But it's our best option right now."
He nodded, his tone sure. "If you think it's what's best, then we'll do it."
She suddenly felt warm, her throat tight at his confidence, that he would follow her lead without hesitation. She shook herself. "I remember where it is. I don't think it should take too long to get there."
They remained quiet the rest of the way.
Looking up at the familiar building, Emma knew they were in the right place. Reaching into the glovebox, she withdrew the keys, knowing that they were to the apartment, and that was why they were left in her car, in case they needed to return.
Gently, she shook Henry awake.
"C'mon, kid," she said, gently rousing him. "We're at where we're staying for a little while."
Half asleep, he nodded, exiting the car and following her and Hook to the entrance. He was too tired to recognize where they were.
Emma unlocked the gate, leading them to the apartment door where she quickly unlocked it, leading them inside. The place was mostly untouched, if anything slightly tidier from what she guessed was Tamara picking it up before she left for Storybrooke.
Stepping into the apartment, Henry perked up, finally realizing where they were.
"Why are we here?" he asked angerly. "Why are we back at my dad's place?"
"It's the best place I could think of for us to stay until we find a place," Emma said soothingly, trying to calm her son. "We're leaving as soon as we find somewhere else."
"I don't want to stay here," he replied. "Not after he left us."
"Henry-" she went to reply, but was cut off when he turned and climbed out the window onto the fire escape.
She released a heavy sigh, looking at the window Henry had just went through. She swallowed, at a loss for how to talk to Henry. Her voice was small. "I don't know what to do."
"You're doing what you can," Hook responded softly as he came to stand beside her. "Swan, nothing about this was going to be easy."
"I know," she replied, not harshly. "It's just... I don't know what to do. I'm not Regina, and I'm not my mother. I don't know how to be a mother, especially when that's what Henry needs."
"You're doing what you can," Hook repeated, turning his blue eyes on her. "You're doing everything that you can so that Henry has what he needs. You're making him the priority, whether he sees it now or not."
She gave him a small nod.
"He might talk to me," he offered.
Releasing a shaky breath, Emma shook her head. "I can't keep having you be the one to go to him. I should be the one to talk to him."
"I'm not," he said. "But right now, he may be a bit more likely to talk to me."
She closed her eyes, knowing that Hook was right. She nodded as she looked back at him. "Thank you, Hook."
He gave her a small smile before turning, going to the window.
Killian found Henry sitting on the steps, his knees drawn to his chest.
He sat down beside him, waiting for Henry to say something.
"She brought us here," the boy said after a couple minutes.
"It was the only place she could think for us to stay for now," Killian responded.
"But he left," Henry said. "He did that, and Mom brought us to where he lived."
"Henry," Killian said gently. "Your mother is doing everything she can. She's trying to make sure you're safe. But she's hurting, too."
"But why here?" Henry asked. "I know something happened with her and my dad. I know cause she lied to me about it before. But then he leaves us and she brings us here?"
Killian hid his surprise at the information Henry gave him, deciding to possibly ask Emma about it later. "It was our best chance. Your mother knew that. No matter what Bae did, she knows that you're her first priority. If we stay here, it's better than finding some inn. It gives us something while we look for a place for us to live."
Henry nodded.
"You really care about her, don't you?" he asked unexpectedly. "You gave up everything to come with us."
He knew that he shouldn't be surprised that the boy had read him just as well as his mother did. Deciding to be completely honest, Killian nodded. "Aye, I do. I care very deeply for her."
"That's good," Henry responded happily.
Killian couldn't help but give a small smile.
"What do you say we go back in?" he suggested.
Henry broke into a wide grin that instantly reminded Killian of Emma.
"Yeah," the boy responded, jumping up and going to the window.
Shaking his head fondly, Killian rose to enter back into the apartment, seeing Henry talking to Emma when he crawled through the window. He smiled when he saw Emma smiling at her son.
"Thank you," she mouthed when she saw he had reentered, watching as Henry hugged her.
He nodded in return.
"So where are we gonna start looking?" Henry asked as he pulled away from her. "Will we stay in Manhattan?"
"I don't know, kid," she responded. "It depends on if we can find a place big enough for all of us."
"We'll find something," Henry said, sure of himself.
"We'll start looking tomorrow," Emma promised. "For now, we're gonna stay here. I'll go out and look for something for us for dinner, okay?"
When Henry nodded, she turned her attention to Killian. "Can you stay with Henry while I go get us dinner?"
He immediately nodded. "Of course."
Giving him a small smile, she left, leaving him alone with Henry.
He looked around the small apartment, seeing that the space was cramped, but they could make it work for the time being.
"This might not be very comfortable," Henry's voice came from behind him. "This place is a lot smaller than Grandma and Grandpa's."
"Yeah, but we'll manage," Killian responded, turning to look at him. "Besides, it's only for a couple days."
Killian couldn't help but be nervous when Emma returned, their dinner in tow. He'd had very little luck with finding sustenance that he could eat, most of the food in Emma and Henry's world too sweet or rich for his taste, while other things were just revolting.
He looked at the food Emma set out on the table, eyeing the boxes suspiciously.
"What exactly is this?" he asked, looking at a box filled with what looked like abnormally long grains of soft rice with strange vegetables.
"It's Chinese," Emma told him. "Well, the food is all Chinese. But there's other stuff in here. I tried to get a little variety of it, so hopefully there's something in here you like."
He nodded, looking at the different boxes, seeing what looked like meats in some of them, as well as rice.
"Here," she said, grabbing a plate and putting some of the food from every container into it before handing it to him. "Just try it at least?"
He nodded, taking the plate from her. "Of course."
He sat at the small couch, setting the plate on his lap as Emma filled her own plate, sitting beside him. He hid his surprise at her close proximity, that she chose to settle so close to him.
Watching her as she happily began to eat her food, he gingerly picked at his own, eating a piece of what he quickly concluded was beef, finding that he enjoyed the taste, along with the green vegetables that went with it. He was pleasantly surprised at the chicken with a strong citrus flavor, finding he liked it, as well as the strange long rice. Some of the tastes were faintly familiar, similar to some of the foods he'd had in the various lands he'd been to.
"Doing okay there?" Emma asked him curiously.
He nodded. "Actually, yes. Some of this is actually quiet good."
She smiled. "Good."
Discussing where to begin looking for an apartment, they finished their meal, leaving little left over between the three of them. They quickly agreed with Emma to first check the area around them, knowing that it would at least be a start.
"You and Henry take the bed and couch," Killian told Emma as he helped her clean up.
"Henry and I can share," she immediately protested. "It's not fair to have you sleeping on the floor again."
"I've slept on much worse before," he responded, not daring to drop an innuendo at her. "It's no problem, Swan."
"No," she said firmly. "You're taking the couch at least. Henry and I will take the bed."
Before he could argue, she gave him a look that let him know not to cross her. He released a heavy sigh, deciding to concede.
"Alright, Swan," he said, defeated.
"Good," she replied. She glanced at the clock before looking back at him. "It's getting late anyway. I know Henry's probably asleep now, but I think I'm gonna turn in, too. Night, Hook."
"Good night, Swan," he replied as she left the main room, going to the bedroom.
Quickly changing, Killian looked once at the couch before laying across it, pulling the thick blanket draped on it over himself, quickly falling asleep.
Teaser: "You don't want to try it, kid," Emma replied. "Trust me."
"It really is quiet vile," Hook added.
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