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Chapter Four, The Love Challenge

A couple of days later, Henry sat glumly at the Charmings breakfast nook. "I don't know what to get her."

"Who?" asked David.

Henry sighed, looked uncomfortably at both his grandparents and said softly, "Daisy, for Valentine's Day."

Mary-Margaret smiled and looked at David who smiled back.

"How about a nice stuffed bear?" Mary-Margaret suggested.

Henry shrugged.

David leaned across the counter towards him. "Chocolate," he said. "It can't miss."

"I guess," said the boy.

"Flowers," said a voice. KIllian appeared, holding a pink rose.

Henry looked at the flower. "Thanks, but she likes purple."

Charming laughed as Killian rolled his eyes and disappeared, taking the offending pink with him.

"What do you want to give her?" Mary-Margaret asked Henry.

"I don't know," he whined with a moan. "Jewelry is too...special. Chocolate and bears are too ordinary."

"What does she like?" asked Charming.

"Yes, get her something personal," said Mary-Margaret

Henry thought. "She wears a lot of hair things. There's one she really likes, it's really old and falls out a lot. Maybe I can try to find one similar?"

"That's a nice idea, Henry," said his grandmother with a proud smile.

"Yes, it is," agreed Killian returning from upstairs. "I would think about supplementing it with a flower," he said, handing Henry a purple rose.

Henry laughed. "Where are you getting all of these from?"

Mary-Margaret smirked. "He's turned Emma's old room into a Valentine shop."

"I required a secret place to store my tokens of love far away from Emma's prying eyes."

"I think he has a miniature greenhouse up there too."

"Very droll, Dave," said the pirate. "I simply put several of those large coolers to good use."

Henry chuckled. "How many flowers are you giving her? I've seen pink and purple so far."

Killian smiled grandly. "An entire meadow in rainbow colors would not be enough to adequately express the depth of my love for your mother."

David shook his head. "Wow."

"And there shall be no pilfering from my stock," he said, glaring at Dave. Then he looked sadly at Mary-Margaret. "I regret others may be overshadowed by my excellent displays of affection. Do not take it to heart," he told her. "The man does love you, sadly he lacks my passion."

"I what?" asked David. "Hey, don't feel bad for her, she'll get plenty of 'displays."

Mary-Margaret smiled. "Will I?"

Dave frowned and glared at the pirate. "Yeah. Of course," he said with a slightly strained smile

"You have no idea, do you?"

"Shut up, Hook!"

Mary-Margaret laughed and hugged her husband. "You've given me two precious children. I don't need anything else."

She then walked out of the kitchen.

"You do realize," asked the pirate, "that she does not truly mean that?"

Charming sighed.

Henry laughed. "Chocolate and bears, Grandpa, or jewelry."

"Yes, an expensive brooch or pendant would be appropriate for an old married man to give to his lovely, suffering wife."

David glared at the captain. "I can throw all of your stuff out of here," he said, gesturing to Emma's room.

Captain Hook smiled. "By all means, try, Mate, do try. The results will not be pretty."

"Come on, Grandpa," said Henry. "Let's go shopping. You for Grandma and me for Daisy."

"I will remain here, as I have not dilly-dallied," said Killian. "My arrangements are made."

David looked to Henry. "Why do we put up with him?"

"Mom loves him."

"Right," said Dave.

Killian gave a toothy, playful grin. 'Indeed she does."

Dave sighed and followed Henry out as the pirate laughed.

A few days before Valentine's, Emma and Hook had a quiet dinner at home. Actually, silent would describe it better. Neither talked. They shared teasing looks, defiant stares, smug grins, and in Killian's case, occasional scoffs and excited laughter.

They made it through dinner without one single word, but the message was clear: neither one would be backing down from the romance challenge.

After dinner, Emma caught Killian poking around in their closet. "It's no good," she said, leaning up seductively against the closet wall. "You won't find anything."

He gave her a confident grin. "I'm an expert at raiding, pilfering, and outright thievery, Love."

She grinned back. "Maybe, but I have magic. Not only can I keep you from breaking into anything I choose, I can camouflage it so you won't even know it's there in the first place."

He grimaced, stood up and pointed a finger at her. "You are a cheat, Swan."

"Takes one to know one, Babe."

He chuckled as he played with her hair. "Indeed." He sighed. "I shall just have to wait until the day, I suppose. As will you."

She smiled. "I know you haven't hidden anything here," she said. "I did a pretty thorough sweep of the Jolly…"

"You did what?" he asked, his voice raising in pitch. "That is violating not only the code of the sea, but plain good manners, Emma!"

She just laughed. She put her arms around his neck and rubbed along his chin. "So, that leaves mom and dad's place." He kept a poker face. "My room is completely empty. A perfect place to hide things, eh?"

He narrowed his eyes, but kept a calm, blank stare. "Perhaps."

She laughed. "No 'perhaps,' Killian, I know that's where you've taken your stuff!"

"It will do you no good," he said, crossing his arms. "Your mother is on my side and she is quite formidable."

At this Emma shook her head and laughed. "Yeah, she is. She won't even let me in the room."

Killian laughed with her. "We are at an impasse," he said, pulling her close to him. She nodded. "Fortunately, we are nearly there."

"Yes. So who goes first?"

"Ladies usually have that priviledge, Love."

She moved deeper into his arms. "Killian, will you be a gentleman and let me choose when I go?"

He cocked his head, leaned down and gently kissed her. "I will. Which day would you like to unveil your Valentine strategy?"

She ran her hand along his chest. "Valentine's Day."

"As you wish. I shall present my lofty and heartfelt expressions of my devotion the day before."

"Thank you."

They kissed again. "Hmm, Love…" he whispered, "do not thank me for I shall thoroughly defeat you in this battle of love."

She smiled sweetly back. "No way in hell, pirate."

Killian spent most of the day before Valentine's in Emma's room at her parent's place. He wrapped gifts, arranged flowers, and went over every single item in his plan.

About an hour before Emma's work day ended, he strolled into the sheriff's station, a large box tucked under his arm.

She looked at the shiny red valentine paper. He'd forgone the bow, placing a single red rose on top of the package instead. She looked into his smug smile. "OK, so the rose is a nice touch." He smiled bigger. "But you're too early, Killian. I'm still on the clock."

"I am merely dropping this off in preparation for the evening, Love. I will not interfere with your vital and important constable work, my love. I will meet you here an hour after your shift ends. I request that when I arrive, you have opened the box and made appropriate use of the contents."

Dave, sitting nearby, laughed.

"I also expect you to cooperate with my compatriot," Hook said.

"Your what?"

Dave laughed. "I'm feeling better about my simple gift for Mary-Margaret and our plans for a quiet dinner at home."

"What the hell have you planned for me, Hook?" asked Emma. " I didn't agree to 'cooperate' with some random person."

He simply smiled, said nothing, and walked toward the door. "See you in two hours, Love."

With that, the pirate was gone, leaving a puzzled and slightly scared Emma.

She looked at Dave. He held his hands up in a 'don't shoot' gesture. "I have no idea what's going on in his head, honey. Sorry."

She looked at the box and sighed. "Compatriot?" She took the rose, sniffed it. "Well, I guess I better start with this," she said. She opened the box, removed some red tissue paper, and smiled. She sighed with relief. She lifted up a silky, tasteful red dress.

Dave whistled.

Emma held it up to her. It was a solid, fire engine red dress. The top was sleeveless with a v-neckline that dipped low, but didn't reveal too much. As Emma held it up to her, she saw how the dress moved, the uneven sides cascading down her body and legs. The longer sides dipped toward her calves, with the shorter zigzags reaching just below her knees. .

"I"m kind of surprised,' said David, "I was expecting pirate queen."

Emma laughed. "Or bar wench. Instead, it's elegant, refined, but simple and a little feminine."

David smiled and nodded. "You'll look beautiful in it, Em."

She felt that warm tingle inside of her again. "He knows me," she said, with a loving smile. "OK, I'll trust him. I won't attack his compatriot, at least not until I see what he has planned."

Dave laughed. "I'll stay for back up."

"I appreciate that, Dad."

Emma was a nervous wreck when 5 o'clock came. She eyed the door. At 5:05, Ruby walked in, carrying a large case. "Hi, Em!" she said brightly.

"You're in cahoots with the pirate, huh?"

She smiled. "Just this once." She set her case down on Emma's desk. Then she gently pushed Emma back into her chair. "Now, just sit here while I get to work."

"Doing what?"

Ruby smiled and opened the case. She had rollers, a curling iron, sprays and gels, brushes, and makeup containers. "Getting you ready for your date, obviously," she said.

Emma sighed and looked the stuff over. "Do I have a say in what you do to me?"

"None at all," Ruby replied cheerfully..

Dave laughed. "Maybe you were wrong to trust the pirate, Em."

"Don't be that way," said Ruby, taking Emma's hair gently into her hands. "Anyway, you can trust me. Yes, it's Hook's vision, but I wouldn't let him do anything too radical to you."

Emma sighed. "Fine, I guess, but only because I'm going to stick it to him tomorrow."

"Ooh, are you making him up, Emma?"

"No, Ruby, but let's just say, I'll have him at my mercy," she said with a laugh.

David frowned. "Do I want to ask?"

"Not unless you like strip music, Dad."

Ruby howled with delight as Dave turned bright red. "Yeah, I'm very sorry I asked if should ask. I think I'll go home now. You're in good hands."

"Maybe," said Emma.

Ruby laughed. "You are." Dave went home, and Ruby began her Hook instructed makerover. "Now, dish. Are you really stripping, how raunchy is it, and can I see your act?"

Emma blushed but laughed. "Yes, I am; it's a tease, not too down and dirty; and no you can't."

Ruby laughed. "You should have told me you were planning one. It sounds fun."

Emma blushed. "It's going to be more than fun, but sorry, no one but Killian is ever seeing me strip."

"Aw, that's so sweet, and a little sinful."

Emma smirked. "I know."

About 40 minutes later, Emma stood in front of the small mirror in the station's bathroom. She had to admit, she looked good. Ruby had curled her hair in long ringlets, then pinned it to one side, in a kind of thirties inspired do. "I'll have to ask him if he's been watching old movies," Emma said to her mirror likeness.

She had smoky eyes, with a touch of mascara. Her cheeks wore subtle peach blush. It was her lips though that commanded attention. They were bright red, matching the dress she wore. She wiggled slightly, watching the dress move along.

Finishing the look were black high heeled shoes, which thankfully Emma could wear without breaking her neck, and a red rose pinned to the up side of her hair.

Ruby stood in the doorway. "What do you think?"

Emma smiled. "I think I look pretty good, actually. Thank you."

Ruby nodded with a grin. "Does the pirate get to live?"

Emma laughed. "Yes. He didn't do too bad. I have just enough sexiness but I don't feel like I'm an embarrassment to this office."

"Well, that's a good thing!" Ruby smiled. "I'll be going now. Have fun," she said with a wink.

Emma thanked her again, took one last look at herself, and headed out. Sitting on her desk, one leg dangling over the side, sat her pirate.

One arm was tucked behind his back while the other propped up his chin. He leaned forward slightly. That lusty, sassy grin danced across his face. He wore his tight black, leather pants, but not his usual jacket. Instead he wore a sharp, black suit coat.

She had to stop herself from pouncing on him

"What?" he asked, then laughed at her shocked face. "My date is a total knockout, so I had to dress accordingly."

"Yeah, but you ditched your leather jacket."

He walked toward her. "My lady is a vision of charm and sophistication, so I decided to dress a bit more formally."

Emma laid a hand on his new red shirt, which matched her dress. It was soft to the touch. "You look...well, you know," she said with a smirk.

He smiled. "I do indeed, but my love, you outshine me."

She blushed. "Thank you. You did well."

"Of course."

She laughed, shook her head, but kissed him. "So...what do you have planned?"

He smiled. "You shall see, but first," he pulled a small box out of his pocket. "Your neck is a bit bare, Love."

She smiled and opened it. Confusion filled her face. "Are you trying to turn me into a sailor?"

He smiled as he took the small silver anchor necklace from the box. "No, Love, you are perfect the way you are. This small trinket symbolizes what you are to me, Emma. You have fixed my path back into the light and kept me on it. You are my anchor."

She felt a tear run down her cheek. "Killian...I don't know what to say."

He grinned wider and moved behind her to fix it around her neck. "Say nothing, Love."

"It's beautiful," she said. "It's a lovely, sweet thought."

"Hmm, it isn't bad." He then stepped back in front of her, looking at . "Now, however, it is beautiful." He smiled.

She smiled back and kissed him. "I love you."

"And I you. Now, we are ready," he said, offering her his arm.

End of Chapter Four