Hi you dear beautiful things,
Thanks for sticking it out with me. This is the 2nd last chapter of this little fic I started just after the finale aired! Hopefully you guys all love it! :) Thank you all for your gorgeous reviews and apologies for the delay in posting this chapter!
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Together
Part Four
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For the first time in weeks, she feels amazing when she wakes up. Her son is curled up next to her and she takes a moment to watch him sleep so peacefully before she rolls over and out of bed. Hook is usually above deck early and she'd like to speak to him before the rest of their motley crew awakens about what has been happening between them these last few days.
It hadn't taken long to find everyone else once they had Henry. Hook knows the ins and outs of Neverland exceptionally well and was able to track everyone down before nightfall, of which Emma was so grateful. As they had trekked through the forest, back towards the water, she had been able to speak with Henry about his ordeal and how he had escaped the clutches of Peter Pan. Being able to do that and not have to worry about finding everybody had been a big relief for her, but she knows that Hook may have been helping her so much due to the moment they had shared together at pixie hollow.
Whatever that moment may have been.
The sounds of the waves lapping against the side of the ship greet her as she steps onto the deck. Her eyes land immediately at the helm, expecting to see the captain pouring over some kind of map or key. But he's not there. She does a quick scan of the rest of the upper deck before surmising that he must either be below deck or he's not on the ship at all and instead on land. He has done that a few times in the last couple of days, gone searching for ways for them to get home without a bean. Nevertheless, she decides to check his cabin anyway, just in case.
The narrow hallway leads to an open door and she can see already that he's not there. But her heart beats a little faster with the anticipation of entering anyway. She closes the door behind her, not wanting anybody to see her and wonder what she's doing. She can't even explain it to herself, let alone someone else. She just wants to know more about him.
Her hands reach out to touch the rich mahogany of his desk, the wooden surface littered with papers and trinkets of all his travels. There are so many little things she recognises. A small vial of fairy dust, the way it shines so different to the fairy dust from the Enchanted Forest, a map of Neverland and, she frowns as she leans in closer to make sure, a note addressed to her.
She picks it up, opening the paper and reading his neat script.
Emma,
I had hoped you would find your way to my bed chambers under different circumstances, however as it stands, this may be the only occasion you enter this room.
I need for you to take this ship to the centre of the Neverland waters and pour the fairy dust into the wind. It will guide you and your family home, my love.
I must remain here for the rest of my days, Pan will see to it. I regret immensely that this is the way by which you got your son back, though seeing you together makes me happier than a pirate should like to express.
I promised I would always come back for you, but I fear I must break my word. It is not done lightly, princess and with a heavy heart I wish you goodbye.
Killian
She folds the paper again, a frown forming on her face. This would not stand. He saved her family, he saved her. And she would find some way to repay him. She throws the letter back down on the desk and opens the door. She knows where Pan's camp is, it'll only take her a few hours to get there. With resolve she exits the captain's quarters and makes her way towards where she knows everyone else is sleeping.
Waking them up will be the first part of the day. Saving Hook will be the second.
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"Tell me again, Miss Swan, why we must all drag our feet across this forsaken island to find the pirate?"
Emma rolls her eyes as she continues to step forward, over broken branches and through muddy slush on the ground, "Because Gold, there are people I trust and people I don't trust in this group and I would prefer to keep us all together."
She wipes sweat from her brow, knowing that the insane heat must be getting to them all. She wishes she could have just gone on this trek alone, but if she has her way she'll be opening a portal as soon as they find Hook and throwing them all in. Deals with Pan be damned. They will all make it out of here alive and together if she has anything to say about it.
Her fingers brush against the pocket of her jeans where the small vial lay in wait. She only hopes her memory of where Peter Pan's camp is located is accurate.
Henry marches by her side, never complaining, never questioning and she is grateful for that. She's not sure she's ready to answer the questions her inquisitive son is sure to have about the pirate captain. It's a complicated enough situation in her mind as it is and she's not sure she needs to be working through that as well as trying to find Hook in this muggy heat and keeping the rest of the search party from killing each other.
"It's only a little further, mom. I remember this," Henry's eyes are looking upon a large tree with distinctive yellow leaves adorning its branches. It is the only one amongst all the greenery and Emma has no doubts it acts as a guide for many trying to find Pan's camp.
She nods, "When we get there, I want you to stay out of harm's way. I'll call you when it's safe."
The pout she receives reminds her so much of Neal that she loses her breath for a moment. But this isn't the time to be thinking about her ex. Thoughts of Henry's father lead her to those complicated thoughts of Hook and she needs to be focussed. She needs to get everyone out of this alive.
Her feet make a crunching noise on fallen leaves as she steps under a branch and into a clearing, knowing immediately that this is the place they need to be. She turns around quickly, ushering Henry back a few paces until Regina has her arm securely around him. Their eyes meet for a second and she knows that despite their differences, they have very similar interests when it concerns the boy they both call their son.
She knows he's in safe hands.
Casting her eyes over the group once more, she nods at her parents, letting them know that she wants to be here, she needs to be doing this. They return the nod and she turns her body back towards the clearing, taking a couple of cautious steps.
The weather is still extremely hot, but there's something else in the air here that gives her shivers. It's like shade has descended over her but it's doing nothing to dull the harshness of the heat. And then she looks up and she sees them, the multitudes of shadows swimming in the air, clawing at each other, trying to get closer to the ground, but never being able to. They circle above her head, a testimony to Peter Pan's choice of punishment.
Her hand raises almost involuntarily, trying to touch the sky of shadows, trying to bring one down to her, to see if she can help. But as a smoky tendril of cool touches her fingertips, she hears a raspy voice and is snapped back to reality, Peter Pan himself approaching her, his shadowy form bringing with it his own feel of darkness.
"Uh uh, dear. I wouldn't touch." Pan swoops towards her, his voice making her want to cover her ears, "They're not particularly…kind."
She raises her eyebrows at that, "And you are?"
Though there's no expression on his face, she can hear the smile in his voice, "I'm going to let you leave here with your family right now. I think that is very kind."
"Not without Killian."
He laughs, a cutting sound that makes her soul ache, "Oh no. No, no, no. We have a deal, Emma. One he must honour." His cool touch threatens her personal space as he whispers in her ear, "Unless you would prefer I take your son?"
And it's an impossible choice, because she wants none of this. She wants for no one to die under her care, she wants out.
Then through the murky heat and the cool shadows, she notices the distinctive appendage of the very man she is looking for. "Hook," she says quietly, taking in his wounded appearance.
"Emma, I told you to go."
She shakes her head, ignoring the way her skin brushes against Pan's form in the process, "Not without you. There's no deal."
"Unfortunately there is, lass. I cannot leave this land."
She edges closer. If she can just grab him and get him into the forest, they have a chance of out running Pan long enough to get through the portal, "There has to be another way."
"There is. But it is not a fate I wish for you to endure. Go now, be safe with your family."
Her fingers run over the vial of fairy dust she knows she has hidden in her pocket, "But…"
"Swan. Go."
His eyes are fierce, he knows that she only has a small amount of time to get out of there before Pan just takes them all hostage. He needs her to listen to him, to leave.
This is it then, this is where it all has to happen, she decides. It's not ideal, but it's her only option to get everyone out alive.
She turns, slipping her hand into her pocket and uncapping the vial. She pulls it free of her jeans and throws it into the breeze, letting it cascade around her in a golden whirl. Her eyes meet Henry's through the branches of the trees keeping them hidden and he knows now is the time she's calling him forward. Now is when they have to jump.
He rushes towards the circle of light that is forming in the ground, ushering everyone forward with him.
"Hook, come on!" Emma calls over the sounds of the portal opening. But Pan has his shadowy grip around the pirate's arms, tugging him backward.
"Emma, you need to follow your boy."
And it hits Emma all at once the position she's in, "Hook, I'm choosing you. You have to try here. I've come back for you!"
Mary Margaret and David have made sure Henry jumped first, followed by Regina and Gold, and now they stand at the portal's edge, hands outstretched to their daughter, "Emma, sweetheart. We need to go."
The sound of her mother's voice beckons her, but she can't take her eyes off Killian Jones. The look in his eyes expressing the true fear he is feeling, "Listen to her, Emma. Don't leave your son for me."
She feels tears in her eyes threatening to fall, "But-"
"No. You must leave."
Pan's grip seems to tighten on Hook, pulling him further away. Emma knows she has no chance of getting to him and then getting them back to the portal before it closes now. Her mind flicks to Henry and she knows that it's the right thing to do. She could never leave her son without her.
Mary Margaret's small hand closes around hers and they make their way back to the portal.
Emma spares a look over her shoulder just before she jumps and sees what she had hoped she wouldn't. Peter Pan's hands drag Hook tortuously away from the portal and into darkness before she takes that final step over the edge and into her own world of darkness.
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Please don't hate me! Thoughts?
