A/N: I first want to thank both of my betas. I have the greatest ones, steph-the-fangirl-925 and aimeeloren. Then I want to thank all of my readers. Thank you, every one of you. And now I wish to apologize. This little CS tale is being interrupted by a slight bit of Outlaw Queen.
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. They belong to the franchise of Once Upon A Time.
Chapter 4:
"Emma? Emma, are you okay?" Robin asked as he pounded on the window of her Bug. "Regina!"
He watched over the yellow car as Regina hurried over to him. Marion and Roland followed closely behind her. Robin tried to open the door, but it remained locked.
"What happened to her?" Regina asked.
"I don't know. I came outside and she was sitting here. She won't answer and the door will not open," he explained to her.
Regina waved her hand and the door unlocked. Robin pulled open the driver's side door and shook Emma's shoulder. Her eyes were still trained in front of her, her hands locked on the steering wheel. Emma appeared to be in shock.
"Miss Swan!"
Robin didn't know if Regina threw magic behind her reprimand, he didn't see any, however, it broke Emma out of whatever trance she found herself in. Emma blinked rapidly and looked around as if she didn't know how she found herself in her car outside of Granny's.
"Regina. Robin." Emma slowly stepped out of the Bug, her knees shaky. "What time is it?"
Regina gave Emma a strange look before she checked the watch on her wrist. "Ten after ten."
"No," slipped out of Emma's mouth so quietly that Robin wasn't quite sure he heard it. He watched as she bent over and rested her hands on her thighs, almost as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Marion came over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, telling Emma to breathe. Robin picked up Roland, whose eyes were growing heavy. It was time to put his son to bed, but right now Emma needed their help more than Roland needed his bed.
"Are you going to tell us what's going on, Miss Swan?" Regina asked derisively. She stood there with her arms crossed with her blue dress pants and red button down which seemed way too pristine for all the wear it had seen just since the four of them arrived in Storybrooke.
Robin watched as emotions fluttered over Emma's face. Confusion. Anger. Grief. He was hard pressed to say which stayed the longest. With her brow crinkled she turned her attention to Regina and replied, "I don't know. But I sure as hell am going to find out."
It was then that Robin saw a flash from the corner of his eyes. Dr. Whale's car was barreling down Main Street. With a slam of his breaks, Whale exited his silver BMW and approached them, his lab coat flapping slightly behind him in his haste. "Emma. Thank God."
"What's going on, Whale?" Regina asked before Emma could say anything.
"I had been out of the hospital the last few days, until a few hours ago, on a personal matter and it seems that Killian stopped in to see me last night. I thought nothing of it at first until the nurse directed me to head to the church this morning in order to see him. Then the nurse proceeded to tell me that she tried to get another doctor to stop in last night at the rectory, but they just didn't have a chance. She didn't come back on duty until around the time I did, so I was asked to go after rounds." Whale stood there, for once not seeming concerned for himself, but genuinely concerned about Killian.
"What happened to him?" Emma asked, worried. "Did you see him?"
"No, I didn't. He wasn't there. No one was there, which was strange because when I last spoke to Belle at Granny's she said Killian was at the church with the intention of releasing the fairies from the hat." He waved in the direction of the church. "Like I said, no one was there, though, so I returned to the hospital. When I had the chance I questioned the nurse again. She told me something that seemed odd."
"Just tell us, Whale," Regina demanded when Dr. Whale paused.
"He had two hands." He looked between everyone but held up a hand to hold off everyone's questions. "What's more is that he was wearing garments befitting the clergy."
Robin looked around, everyone was just as shocked and confused as he was. "Hook? Are you sure?"
"Yes. I just came back from visiting the church. I found his clothes hanging in one of the closets in the vestry. Including this." Whale held out Killian's necklace to Emma. The skull head almost winked in the street lamps as it laid on Whale's palm.
Robin held his slumbering son close. He watched Emma reach out with a trembling hand to take the necklace that never left the pirate's neck, even when his mode of dress became more in line with the 21st century. Robin could imagine how Emma felt. The fear that something was very wrong. The uncertainty of your loved one's future. It was those very feelings he had dealt with when he lost Marion, or thought he had.
"He left town," Robin heard Emma mumble as she held the necklace close. "I followed him. He was driving Gold's car."
"That pirate is up to something. We need to talk to Belle." Regina pulled out her cell phone and placed a call. "Of course, she's not answering. Anything else want to go wrong?"
"I need to find him." After a moment's hesitation, Emma was pure adrenaline. She hurried and pulled her phone from the Bug. "I need to call Mary-Margaret."
Regina reached out to Emma. "I'll take care of Henry. There's no need to worry about that."
Emma nodded and moved off to have her conversation with her mother. But, it was in that small moment that Robin noticed some element of the relationship between the two women had changed since he had left Storybrooke. Regina approached him, determination glinting in her eyes, as Marion moved off to speak to Whale. If he had to guess Regina was hatching some sort of plan to help Emma with her recovery of Hook.
"You should go," Regina told him.
"I wish to help. I'll bring Roland and Marion back to the camp and I'll return," he assured her.
"No, not like that," Regina said with a flick of her wrist. "You should go with Emma. We already know the compass works for you, which guarantees that you will be able to come back to Storybrooke, and as much as she may hate to admit it, she may need help. Miss Swan's ability to work on her own is fine so long as her emotions are not too deeply involved. And with that pirate, there is the distinct possibility that emotions are all she will be running on."
"I've never been separated from Roland," Robin protested, looking down at his slumberous son. His hand brushed over Roland's soft curls. "But with what you are talking about, it would be impossible for me to take him. Not with any knowledge of the danger involved in this mission."
"I understand. I felt much the same about Henry when Emma showed up in town. He will be fine," Regina reassured him. "Marion is here and what's more, I will make sure no harm comes to either of them. In fact," Regina seemed to consider for a second, "why don't they stay with me? There's plenty of room and when Henry comes over, I'm sure the two boys will enjoy being together."
Marion chose that moment to join them. Her hand drifting up to caress her son's back.
"Where's Whale?" Regina asked her.
"He had to head back to the hospital. He promised to call if he discovered any more information," Marion informed the two of them. "Have you discovered a plan to aid Emma yet?"
"I was just discussing that with Robin."
Robin looked between his wife and the woman he loved. Their differences were striking, not so much in looks but in demeanor. Marion had once been a proud, strong woman, but time spent in Regina's dungeon made her more meek and timid now. He missed the old Marion and in his heart he would always love her, but Regina, even in her weakest of moments refused to back down. She was a warrior who refused to give up even against the toughest of odds. He had seen the despair on her face when she realized Zelena was more powerful than her and he also saw Regina pull out of the darkness long enough to use light magic to defeat her sister. It was her strength, as much as her beauty, that had him falling in love with her, even back in the Enchanted Forest when all she wanted to do was push him away so she could forget the son she had lost.
Marion looked to Robin expectantly, so he explained. "Regina wants me to leave with Emma so she can find Killian."
"Because the compass led you back here," Marion finished the words Robin couldn't bring himself to say, instead he nodded, acknowledging her words.
"You and Roland can stay with me while Robin is gone," Regina told her. "If something happened to Hook, I suspect we may be dealing with Rumplestiltskin. He is the only one I am aware of who would be able to return the pirate's hand."
"He did it before," Emma said as she joined them. "I told my parents to be on the lookout for him, because I suspected the same thing. My question is where could Killian be going?"
Everyone looked at each other, but no one seemed to have an answer. Where would a pirate who had hardly any experience in the Land Without Magic be heading? As far as anyone knew Killian had no purpose to leave, he wasn't out there searching to kill Gold, because if their suspicions were true, he had returned to Storybrooke and now Emma was in town as well. There was absolutely no reason for him to have left and in Gold's car. And the fact that he was disguised as a member of the church, threw Robin a hell of a lot more.
"Emma," Regina addressed her. "I was telling Robin that he should go with you. Both of you are already packed. We already know the compass will lead him back here and without knowing what to suspect, it is better you don't go alone."
"David offered, but I told him that he needs to stay. Mary-Margaret needs him and he'll be the only sheriff left in town, especially if Gold has reappeared. I told him to keep an eye out for Belle. If Gold is back, that is one of the first places he'll go." Emma shoved her hands into her back pockets, a look of determination etched across her brow. "Robin, do you have a driver's license and passport? You may need both if we have to cross into Canada."
"The license, yes. It was required of me to obtain employment. I also had to steal something called a social security card as well. Will that be sufficient?"
"No, unfortunately not," Emma told him. "Looks like I'll be doing this one on my own."
"Wait," Regina said and waved her hands. A manila envelope appeared clenched in her fingers. "This should work."
Regina handed the envelope to Emma who shook out the contents. It contained a small blue book with some sort of seal on the front and a plastic card with numbers stamped on the front. Emma opened the book and smiled. "Perfect. I wish when I had to get my passport it was this easy."
"The two of you should be all set," Regina announced. "There is no reason you shouldn't be able to leave now. You'll want to be able to catch up with Hook as soon as possible."
"I'll take him," Marion told Robin as she reached out to take Roland. Reluctantly, with a kiss placed on his young son's brow, Robin handed his son over.
Emma and Regina moved off to give the two of them some privacy, which Robin appreciated. This was difficult enough without an audience. "You'll stay with Regina?"
"I'd rather stay with the others, but for Roland's sake, and yours, I will," she said with an almost imperceptible nod, her body rocking slightly to lull their son back into his deep slumber.
"Thank you. I'll feel much better leaving if I know both of you are safe." Robin reached out and gently hugged his wife careful not to disturb Roland.
"I wish for you to be safe as well. As much as there are dangers here, I worry about what you may come across out there. From our past experience, it seems fraught with more peril than what we've dealt with before in our own lands. Evil queens and their soldiers excluded," she said in a sad mocking tone.
"Don't worry, Marion. I'll come back. If Emma didn't need me…"
"I know. But I am also well aware of the fact that we came back for Regina. I was fine in Boston. I wasn't sick. We returned to Storybrooke so you could have a chance to be happy, to find the love that you need to be happy."
Robin swiped the tear from Marion's eye. He could find no argument to counter what she said, instead he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Robin refused to say goodbye to his wife one more time, but they both knew that was exactly what the kiss meant. Turning, he walked over to Regina and Emma. "Regina, a word."
He was surprised she complied without pause. When they were out of view from the small group, Robin did the one thing he had wanted to do since reentering Storybrooke, he reached out and took Regina into his arms. His eyes slid closed enjoying the feel he had missed for weeks. When he looked down she was staring at him with a small smile tugging at her red lips. Their lips met. It was meant to be a simple goodbye kiss, but Regina had other plans. It seemed she missed him as much as he had her.
After several moments, Robin pulled back, releasing her. "Take care of them and yourself."
"I will. Bring Miss Swan and her pirate back safe or I'll never hear the end of it from the Un-Charmings."
Robin nodded and turned. While he had left Boston today thinking his adventures were soon to be over, it seemed that they were only just beginning.
CSCSCSCSCSCS
Killian laid his small suitcase on the bed of the hotel that the Monsignor had arranged. The car the Monsignor let him borrow, Killian left with the valet outside with the reassurance that it would be parked securely in his absence.
He wasn't sure why the valet struck him as familiar, as he couldn't recall ever being in Boston before. The female valet had been older than himself, but by how much he would be hard pressed to answer. Her dark skin shined in the moonlight, almost as if it was wet, which was odd enough on its own on such a dry, cool night. She had kept her hat pulled low so he couldn't see her eyes, but the large mole on her chin had pulled in his attention. Shaking his head, Killian pushed off the knowledge that the valet had known his name, assuring himself that it was because the hotel had been informed of his arrival.
From his pockets, Killian pulled out a passport that he hadn't remembered applying for and his newly acquired cell phone. From looking at it, the passport was a couple of years old. Maybe, he had just forgotten and stored it. That had to have been the answer, as he could not come up with another. The cell phone, the Monsignor had assured him, would come in handy. Killian had been informed that most of the classes at the NAU, the North American University, were taught in Italian, and while no translator was provided, the phone had the capabilities of translating for him.
Killian was frankly too tired to question all that had happened. Everything from the moment he woke up on the church floor had come off as a blur. One minute he was quite content in his position as the local priest in Storybrooke and now he was off on a grand adventure to Rome to study exorcism.
Maybe come morning it would all make more sense. Stripping down to his t-shirt and boxers, Killian crawled under the covers of the hotel's bed. With a large yawn, he closed his eyes and dreamed of an angel with blonde hair and moss green eyes who smiled at him. It made him feel content. Being with her felt like home.