Two more months to go. We'll make it right?
"A little birdie told me you went out with Hook last night," Ruby prodded the sheriff when she arrived in the morning for her usual coffee as she met up to take Henry to school.
"You have eyes everywhere, Red," Emma shook her head in amusement, "I should hire you at the station. No crimes would ever get past you and your super werewolf hearing."
"So anything yet?" Ruby nosed into Emma's personal life.
"He's still being the perfect gentleman," Emma smiled coyly as she took a sip of coffee, "And I'm kind of digging it."
"What are you waiting for?" Ruby asked impatiently.
"We almost have…a couple of times, but things just happen that slam on the breaks," Emma explained. Her mind flashed to the previous evening when they'd returned to the Jolly Roger after their date. Killian still felt raw, still felt his hookness trying to escape. They'd tumbled into the bed with minimal clothes on, but Killian pulled away again. He didn't want his hookness to be a part of their coupling. They'd spent the rest of the night in each other's arms, talking about simple things. As silly as it sounded even in her own mind, it felt more intimate than any physical act ever could. "But it's better this way. Sex confuses things, and I'm confused enough."
"I honestly don't know what you're so confused about," Ruby stated, "I get that Neal is Henry's father and all, but is that really enough?"
"Henry would love the two of us to get back together," Emma sighed.
"Kids always want their parents to get back together, but that's not always for the best," Ruby replied as she nodded towards the door where Henry had just walked in.
"Hey, Kid," Emma greeted him with a smile as he hugged her around the waist, "How was your night at Neal's?"
"Are you talking to your mom yet?" he asked, "I want to go back to their place. That feels like home. Gold's place smells weird."
"You know you can stay at Regina's if you want," Emma suggested as she and Ruby traded amused smiles.
"You're not answering my question," Henry responded.
"It's complicated," Emma replied.
"Do you think they would mind if I stay with them without you?" he asked.
"I'll ask David at the station," Emma vowed.
"Why are you and Grandma fighting anyways?" he asked as Ruby put his usual breakfast order in front of him. The kid was a creature of habit. She didn't even bother taking his order anymore as it was always the same.
"She doesn't agree with some decisions that I have made lately," Emma tried to keep the response vague, but Henry wasn't having any of it as he made her explain fully. "Mary Margaret saw me kissing Killian when we got back to Storybrooke, and she doesn't approve of me spending time with him."
"What!" Henry explained, "You can't do that to my dad!"
"Henry, I'm not doing anything to your dad," Emma responded calmly, "Neal and I will always have something special because of you, but there is a lot that we went through together before we even knew about you that isn't that easy to overlook."
"But we're supposed to be a family," Henry responded as he tore out of the diner without taking a bite of his breakfast.
"Go," Ruby told her, "I'll keep his breakfast warm."
"Thank you," Emma responded as she went after Henry. She wasn't too worried having to keep up. She knew exactly where he was going to end up, and she was right when she found him on the playground. "I know you're upset, Henry."
"How could you do this?" Henry asked as he tried to hide the tears.
"This thing between me and Killian is not something that I planned," Emma told him gently as she climbed up to sit next to him.
"Don't you want to be a family?" he asked.
"I very much want to be a family with you," Emma put an arm around his shoulder.
"Does Dad know about you and Hook?" Henry asked.
"He does," Emma nodded, "He's not happy about it, but he knows."
"That's why he didn't want me to go sailing with Hook," Henry realized, "Dad said he's dangerous."
"Killian won't hurt you, Henry," Emma assured him, "I would never associate with someone that I thought could hurt you. He does have a dangerous past, and his intentions when he first came to Storybrooke were less honorable, but those plans have changed."
"Are you going to make me spend time with him?" Henry asked.
"Only if you want to," Emma smirked, "Killian said he'd take you sailing anytime you want to go. If you don't want that, I'll understand and so will he."
"Can I think about it?" he asked.
"Take all the time you need," Emma nodded, "Killian's not going anywhere for the foreseeable future…Come on, let's get back to the diner so you can finish your breakfast. You don't want to be late for school."
Henry reluctantly agreed.
"Do you really like him?" Henry asked on the short walk back to Granny's, "Like a whole lot?"
"I do," Emma nodded, "A lot, a lot."
Henry huffed in annoyance.
"You liked him too until a few minutes ago," Emma reminded him.
Henry didn't respond with anything more than a second huff of annoyance. Emma endured the silent treatment for the rest of the time she was with him until she dropped him off at the bus stop.
Killian felt like a caged animal on his ship that day. The hook in him wanted to feel the rush of the wind through the sails, but the weather had decided to be uncooperative for his daily fishing excursion. He'd tried to keep busy aboard the ship, but there was only so much maintenance that could be done to the Jolly Roger. He decided to venture into town to exchange his most recent book for another one. His record of reading one book a day was still very much intact.
"I never thought I'd meet anyone that reads as much as I do," Belle noted as he began combing through the bookshelves for his next selection, "Growing up my head was always buried in a book. The townspeople in the village I lived in thought I was very odd."
"Does that mean that I am odd?" Killian smirked slightly in amusement as he pulled a book off the shelf.
"I think an oddity in this town would be considered normal in any other, and vice versa," Belle responded.
"So true," Killian chuckled as he return the book he'd been looking at and swapped it with another. The door chimed the arrival of another patron. Killian didn't look up until he heard the voice.
"Hi, Belle, I was hoping to check out that book we spoke about at Granny's the other day," Mary Margaret spoke to Belle.
"Sure," Belle rose from her desk.
It was then that Mary Margaret noticed Killian.
"Hello, Hook," Mary Margaret stepped towards him to offer him a polite greeting.
"Your majesty," he bowed slightly.
"I thought you'd be sailing the seas today," Mary Margaret decided to make an effort to get to know the man that her daughter was rumored to be dating.
"No wind," Killian explained, "My ship won't go far without it. I don't have one of those motor devices like other fishermen in the area do."
"Isn't the Jolly Roger enchanted?" Mary Margaret asked.
"In other realms," he nodded, "In this realm, it works just like every other ship."
"I see you've discovered modern clothes," Mary Margaret made note of the jeans he was wearing.
"More breathable than the leather," he nodded. He couldn't make himself shed his coat, but the jeans had grown on him. He'd even purchased several more pairs that day and thought he might find himself wearing them more than his leather pants. He was certain that Emma would be most appreciative.
"How's Emma?" Mary Margaret asked, the edge in her voice coming through.
Killian's eyes searched hers. He could see the pain in them. It was the same pain he saw in Emma's when they talked about things that brought about thoughts of her mother. He could see how much it was bothering Emma to have such a rift with her mother, and the feeling was apparently mutual.
"She's well," Killian stated.
"Is she comfortable at Granny's bed and breakfast?" Mary Margaret asked.
"She hasn't said anything to the contrary," Killian shrugged. He didn't feel the need to add that she didn't spend a lot of time there as they were usually on his ship where there was more room and less prying eyes.
"Hook, will you tell her that I'm sorry for how our last conversation went?" Mary Margaret's eyes welled with tears, "I was just so surprised by what I saw on the ship. I had just assumed that with Neal back that anything that had been happening between the two of you on the island was over."
"I started with those same assumptions," Killian admitted.
"My concerns were for my daughter's well being," Mary Margaret continued her explanation, "And you do have a certain reputation."
"I know," Killian nodded.
"I have my prince back, so I can't help being a hopeless romantic. I guess I thought Neal was Emma's prince and that they should have a happy ending as well," she continued.
"And I am no prince," Killian added.
"Treat her right," Mary Margaret asked, "She's lost a lot in her life."
"As have I," he added.
Mary Margaret took pause to let his words sink in. "You're right. Perhaps you do know more about how she feels than I've given you credit for. She seems to trust you, Hook."
"Killian," he corrected her.
"What?" Mary Margaret looked at him in confusion.
"My name is Killian," he explained, "If you don't mind, I'm trying to be more than the villain."
She hesitated. "Could we start with Captain Jones?"
Killian nodded in agreement.
"Don't abuse Emma's trust, Captain Jones," Mary Margaret demanded.
"I won't," he assured her.
Feeling that the conversation was coming to an end, Belle stepped in to offer Mary Margaret the book she had come in for.
With Mary Margaret gone, Killian made his selection and then ambled around town, ending up running into Mary Margaret's other half.
"There's some sort of conspiracy today," Killian nodded as David called out to him.
"You've been in town for a couple of weeks, there's been no uptick in crime as a result," David made note, "Though the Sheriff has been quite busy."
Killian didn't try to hide the smile that surfaced.
"I'm all for Emma being happy, and she's been happier than I've seen her this past few weeks than I've seen her in a long while," David began.
"I'm getting an impression that there is something you're about to say that I'm not going to like," Killian frowned.
"Emma has responsibilities in this town. She's the sheriff. She has a son that she's not spending that much time with, and a mother that she's not speaking with," David explained.
"What are you trying to say?" Killian asked.
"Emma is using your relationship as an excuse for avoiding her other problems," David replied.
"I can't force Emma to speak with Mary Margaret," Killian replied.
"I'm not suggesting we stage an intervention," David stated, "I'm just hoping that you might talk with her. She refuses to discuss anything with me. As much as I'd like us to have that type of parental relationship, we aren't there yet. The longer this goes on, the worse the rift will get."
"I'll talk to her," Killian sighed, "But I make no promises."
"Thank you," David tapped his shoulder, "And I'm hearing good things about you around town."
"I'm writing a new chapter in my story," Killian replied.
"Emma's happy," David told him, "Thank you for that."
"Purely selfish motives, Mate," Killian smirked.
TBC…
