Day 3 in Storybrooke

The next morning everyone set about to pack and run errands to prepare for the trip to the Enchanted Forest. He didn't have all the details yet but apparently Regina had succeeded and they'd be leaving in the afternoon. The thought of finding Emma possibly before the day was out urged him on despite the lack of sleep the night before. Of course the dwarves would choose then to start a fight at the Rabbit Hole and David asked for his assistance.

"Killian, I didn't expect to see you here this morning. What can I do for you?" Belle asked as he entered her husband's shop. Usually he avoided the place but he saw her open up the shop and noticed the Crocodile's car wasn't around.

"I'm out gathering some last minute supplies. But I wanted to ask for some advice about Kelly." He replied and scratched behind his ear, not used to this sort of thing. Belle was a good friend but to be asking anyone about a toddler was something he never saw himself doing.

"Oh, what's that?" She asked and stepped out from behind the counter.

"I was wondering…will she know I'm gone? This morning she woke up asking for Emma. I know I've only been in her life a couple days and hopefully we won't be gone more than a week. But I don't want her to think I've disappeared and she's lost both parents." He confessed to her and felt a pull in two different directions, one to find Emma and the other to stay with Kelly.

"I think she'll know you're gone, but she'll also be easy to distract as you probably know. No matter how long you're gone though, you'll be back. And when you are she won't even remember you were away and you, Emma, Henry, and Kelly will be the family you were always meant to be." She told him with a reassuring smile and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks, love," He nodded to her. He still didn't want to leave his daughter but felt a little better.

"Well, well, well, I never thought I'd have the unfortunate luck to have you darken my door again, Captain." Gold stated as he entered the shop with a little boy who appeared to be just a bit older than Kelly.

"I can see how you feel that way after last time." He told him with a bit of a smug grin, thinking of his time as the Dark One. He regretted his actions during that time but it had been good to get a slight taste of revenge. But it came at the price of losing his life and Emma, neither of which he was willing to risk ever again. "But I'm only here to say a thank you and goodbye to your wife. Unlike you, I won't give into the darkness for my own personal gain."

"But you will be just like Milah, leaving your child to be with your lover." The Crocodile taunted him. "Yes, I know exactly what you are up to; Granny keeps saying how excited she is to have the little one. Though perhaps you should leave, she's better off without you. A one-handed pirate with a drinking problem isn't much of a father anyway."

"I may be a pirate but you, Dark One, are nothing but a bloody…" Killian began with his hook raised and steam coming out of his ears. He knew the jab at Milah was out of jealousy and bitterness Gold had yet to let go of and he ignore that. But saying he was unfit to be a father really lit his fuse because part of him feared it was true. And rather than show weakness he lashed out.

"Oh no, you two are not starting this in here! Not in front of me and Gideon. Neither of you can be good fathers if you kill each other." Belle budded in thankfully before he did something he would regret. "Now, Rumple, I believe you had some things in the back you wanted to attend to this morning. And, Killian, good luck and don't worry about a thing."

"Thanks, lass, and same to you." He nodded then quickly made his leave.

After what Belle told him, he was prepared to leave Kelly with Granny and trust that things would be alright. But then Rumpelstiltskin had to play on his fear and he didn't want him to be proven right. Emma was much more than a lover to him but he couldn't leave Kelly behind while he searched for her. He remembered what it was like for David and Snow in the Underworld, constantly worried about their son, and he didn't want to be in the same situation. And he didn't want the Crocodile to be proven right under any circumstances.

So he made the rest of his errands then went to the docks to prepare the Jolly Roger for the journey. True to his word Henry had done an impeccable job of keeping the old girl in ship shape. And as luck would have it he ran into Mr. Smee.

"Captain, it's true. You…you really are back." His first mate stammered in shock.

"Aye, Mr. Smee. And now that I am, I have the woman I love to rescue." He told him, a plan coming together in his head.

"Yes, I heard the sheriff was taken. If there's anything I can do to help you, Captain, I'd be glad to be of service." Smee dutifully offered.

"Glad to hear it, mate, because as a matter of fact I believe I have the perfect job for you. Are you ready to return to the high seas, Mr. Smee?" He asked with a raised brow then proceeded to tell him his plan.

CS

"The flowers and the feather?" Henry asked as he stood on the deck a couple hours later.

"Yes, as well as some other things from my vault just to be sure." Regina told him and he made another check on his list.

"Enough supplies for at least a week?"

"All safely stored away below deck, lad." Killian answered affirmatively and smiled thinking how much like Emma he was when it came to be a natural leader.

"Okay, I think that's everything." Henry nodded. "Now, what do you need me to do to get the Jolly Roger sailing?"

"Just check the sails for me and after we make it through the portal you can take the helm." He told him, wanting to see how much the lad had improved in the last few years.

"Really?" He asked him excited, once again a part of his boyishness shining through. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

"Hold it just a minute. Am I the only one thinking clearly?" Zelena spoke up as everyone was taking their places.

"What is it now, Zelena?" Regina asked, very much annoyed to say the least.

"No one said anything about going by boat." The witch stated with indignation.

"Would you prefer to travel by tornado?" Regina suggested sarcastically.

"What I mean is, if this flower-feather bouquet takes us to Emma where is the boat going to go? Are we gonna land on the lake or in the middle of the forest? Fine lot that will do us."

"Maybe if you had listened this morning instead of writing your laundry list of instructions for Ashley on taking care of Robin, which is her job by the way, you'd know that I already thought of that and found a solution. The feather will take us as close as we can get by water then I'll use magic so the flowers will guide us the rest of the way. This will give us time to figure out the best way of rescuing her instead of throwing ourselves in the midst of who knows what. Any other questions?" Regina impatiently explained to her sister who glared at her before walking to the other side of the ship.

"Well then, let's set sail." Killian announced before anything else could delay them. "Would you do the honors, Madam Mayor?"

"Just take care of your ship, Captain, and I'll take care of the rest." She told him and he nodded and made his way to the helm as she threw the feather in the air.

With baited breathe all of them watched as it slowly floated back down. Then for the second time in three days he was blinded by a white light that engulfed the ship the moment the feather touched the boards of the deck. And when he opened his eyes, they were most definitely in the Enchanted Forest, and he knew he'd be with Emma again just as he had hoped to be in Storybrooke.

"It worked!" Snow exclaimed and gave David a tight hug.

"Yes, it did." David nodded with a wide smile. "Now, let's go find Emma."

"I second that. Ready to take the helm, lad?" Killian asked, making his way to him and put a hand on his shoulder and pointed with his hook. "We should be able to sail a little farther down the coast and weigh anchor at the inlet."

"Sounds good." Henry stated and gave him a 'thumbs up' then headed toward the helm. "Wait, do you hear that?"

"Hear what, lad?" He asked as if he didn't hear it nor had a pretty good idea what it was.

"I hear it, sounds like crying." David stated with a puzzled expression.

"Whatever it is it's coming from my cabin. You all stay here and I'll check it out." He suggested hoping he could keep the cat in the bag for just a bit longer.

"Let me go with you." Snow volunteered. "Someone could be hurt or scared and a woman around might help."

He couldn't think of a way to dissuade her without raising suspicion so he allowed her to follow him below. The others would probably give their unwanted opinions about him being foolish and careless but at least he'd made it this far so it was too late to do anything.

"Kelly!?" Snow gasped as soon as she made it down the ladder and saw Mr. Smee trying and failing to hide the lass under the bed.

"Mr. Smee! What the bloody hell is the meaning of this?" He demanded of him, trying to sound outraged when he was really grateful that he'd followed his orders so well.

"I'm sorry, Captain, but I…I…"

"Forget your excuses, Smee; I don't have time for them." He stated harshly and scooped Kelly up in his arms, thankful that it was just the shock of the jumping through realms and she wasn't actually harmed. "We'll deal with the consequences of your actions later. Now, make yourself useful up on deck while I get her settled."

"What was he thinking?" Snow asked as she stared after Smee as if he was out of his mind.

"That's an easy one, he wasn't." He told her and was glad she was easier to lie to than Emma.

"We need to tell the others, let them know everything's okay. Then we can figure out what's safest for her while we search for Emma." She said then headed back up but he lingered with his daughter for a bit.

"There's probably going to be a lot of yelling in a bit, lass." He said quietly to her as he sat down with her in his lap. "Your grandpa or Regina will probably figure out this isn't coincidence and question my sanity. Hell if…I mean, now if anyone else was trying to pull this I'd be right with them. But it's true that people do crazy things when they're in love and that doesn't apply just romantically. I love you my little rose of the sea and I want our family together as soon as possible. I might be crazy for this but I'll keep you safe, lass."

He placed a kiss on her chubby cheek then as predicted he heard Regina and Zelena yelling up on deck. But surprisingly it sounded like they were reprimanding Smee which meant they hadn't quite figured it out yet. He needed to come clean to them though, it would be easy but it would also be bad form to let his first mate take the whole fall.

"That's enough." Killian stated a bit harshly when he reached the deck and set Kelly down since the bulwarks were high enough that she couldn't possibly fall overboard. "I'm the captain of this ship and Mr. Smee is still part of my crew so I'm the only one that gets to order him around and deal with his insubordination."

"Since he's part of your crew, care to explain how this happened?" Regina asked, though demand was probably a better word.

"I told you, I thought I saw somebody trying to kidnap her from the dinner. I knew I couldn't let something like that happen to the captain's daughter so I fought the guy off and went to the safest place I know, the Jolly Roger." Mr. Smee explained to them. He had to give him credit for his loyalty but not even the most gullible person could possibly believe it.

"I appreciate the effort, Mr. Smee, but I believe the jig is up." He broke it to him then turned to the group. "I never took Kelly to Granny's earlier. I had Smee gather what would be needed for her during our trip then hid her below with him shortly before the rest of you arrived. I know what you're probably thinking but you're all parents so can you really blame me? I just couldn't leave her behind."

"The royalty around here might be forgiving but I'm not and I bloody well can blame you. Don't you think I want to be with my Robin every second? Not only would that be putting her in danger, it also holds us up and I don't want to be here any longer than I have to, and above all it's just selfish. But you are pirate so that's not surprising." Zelena ranted against.

"That may be so but at least I am honest, which is something I suspect you haven't been. What is the reason you are here, Zelena? I know it's been three years and that people change but you are not here for Emma." He called her out.

"You're right I'm not. I'm here because I want to see Rothbart pay for what he's done to me in the past. And that's all you need to know." She stated and if looks could kill he'd be back in the Underworld. "Now, what are we going to do with your little munchkin?"

'More like little monkey' Killian thought to himself seeing as Kelly had made her way over to Henry and she was sitting atop his shoulders with one hand grasping his hair. It didn't look very comfortable for him but he didn't seem to mind as Kelly was clearly happy with the view.

"Well, Henry could watch her but I suspect he won't be happy sitting on the sidelines even if he loves his little sister." David suggested speaking normally so Henry, who was still manning the helm couldn't hear. "And Snow can't stay; we may need her tracking skills."

"Zelena and I will both stay with her." Regina announced her solution which was a surprised to him and apparently her sister as well.

"What?" The witch demanded loud enough for him to agree that she should stay behind. If she kept having outbursts like this she'd give them away in a second. And he wouldn't have anything or anyone ruin his chance of finding Emma. "Didn't you hear what I just said about him?"

"Yes, and you will see him pay, after the other have found Emma which you said you don't care about." Regina told her with no room for argument. "None of us trust you enough to leave you by yourself with her so I'll stay with you and we can have some sisterly bonding."

"And by that you mean you're going to badger me until I tell you about what I want with Rothbart and why. You're so predictable. But fine, I need a break from Mr. and Mrs. Happily Ever After and the lovesick pirate. Let me know when they've left." Zelena gave in thankfully and went below deck.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Snow asked hesitantly and he felt some reservations as well. But as much as he disliked Zelena she was clearly capable of taking care of a child and he trusted Regina not to let anything a happen to his little lass.

"I believe it's the only one. But I can leave Mr. Smee behind to man the ship while we're away." He suggested with a heavy sigh, the reality of his sudden decision about Kelly hitting him. Things would be less than ideal but he still didn't regret it and knew it would be worth it when they found Emma and they were all together.

"No offense but he's not gonna do much against our magic. You've said so yourself that your ship can take care of itself practically. So take Smee with you, you'll need all you can get against Rothbart. I think my sister and I could use some time alone to get to the bottom of this." Regina told them, and they all came to agreement that this was how it would be done.


What is Zelena up to? You'll have to wait and see. But don't worry, Kelly won't be in any danger with her and Regina. Next chapter we'll see from Emma again but it will be a couple more until they find her. I can't make it too easy. Also I won't be able to update Friday, really sorry about that. But I'll give a sneak peek to hold you over. You guys are so great with the reviews (thank you so much for that) so and keeping up on the story that I try my best to keep the updates regular. Anyway hope yoy enjoy this extra reading and see you next week.

Chapter 8

"Maybe it won't last much longer." Henry suggested hopefully. "We can get some rest now so we don't have to stop later again once the rain let's up."

"If the rest of you are in agreement with the lad, I'd be happy to take the first watch." Smee volunteered and no one seemed opposed to it. But as captain, and the reason he was here, Killian felt he should take it. He wouldn't be sleeping much anyway.

"I appreciate that, Smee. But you can go ahead and rest with the others. You've done more than enough today." He told him as he helped lay out some of the sleeping bags. Something from the modern world that he was very grateful to have, even if he wouldn't sleep he'd at least be comfortable.

"Oh, it's no trouble, Captain. I won't be sleeping much. I'm used to working overnight at the shop." Smee informed him and handed him a small card.

"You reopened the Snow Queen's ice cream parlor?" He asked, quite surprised to see the address written on the card. The place had a new name though, 'The Treasure Cone' and a picture of a chest filled with ice cream and jewels as toppings.

"Well, you know how much I enjoy frozen yogurt. And after the Snow Queen sacrificed herself the shop just sat there vacant, taunting me whenever I walked by because all the equipment was there just asking for more frozen yogurt to be made. So I took some of the gold I had saved away from our pirating days and bought the place. It's not living forever in a castle on an island like I always dreamed of but I'm happy with it."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Smee." He told him and was proud of what his first mate, and friend, had made of himself. "And business is well?"

"Oh yes, especially since I decided to make the place open twenty four hours." Smee nodded and Killian could see the passion in his eyes as he talked about his business. "Some people thought it was a crazy thing to do in a small town but it was Emma and Henry that convinced me it would be good and the decision has definitely paid off."

"It was the only thing that made sense. Mom couldn't get enough of your hot chocolate ice cream when she was pregnant and she was always running in just as you were closing up or sending me there first thing in the morning before you even unlocked the door." Henry spoke up and they all had a laugh thinking of Emma demanding ice cream at all hours. He wished he could have been there for that.