Thank you once again for all the incredible reviews. I'm still in awe of all the follows this fic has now!
I've had a couple questions regarding whether I'm going to tackle to WWoW arc and the answer to that is: yes, I plan to do my best with it, though it's gonna stray a little from whatever canon ends up giving us!
Hannah and I have been discussing plotlines for it that are going to be pretty juicy though!
Stay tuned :D Here's a new update!


One For The Road


Chapter Seven – Ties That Bind


As consciousness slowly returned to Emma, she yawned and shifted slightly, before realizing she was very comfortably tangled with limbs that certainly weren't her own. As her eyes snapped open, she found herself with an arm draped over Killian's chest, head resting against his shoulder with his good arm resting across her shoulders, keeping her snugly against his side. One of her legs was across his, tangled under a leather-covered calf and she held her breath trying to remember the night before.

Had they…? No, she was entirely sure she'd remember if she'd slept with Hook.

'Well, you forgot once before and ended up with a baby you couldn't explain…'

Her sarcastic inner voice commented unhelpfully and she scowled in response, silencing the voice. But not only that, their daughter was fast asleep in her crib just meters away and she and Killian were still both semi-clothed, so she was sure they definitely hadn't slept together.

Memories of the night before drifted back to her as she became more alert and she sighed softly, not wanting to move. She'd argue that it was for fear of waking him and having to awkwardly disentangle herself…but she knew it was also partly because the gentle, even rise and fall of his chest was more comforting than she'd ever admit, even to herself.

In a way, letting him hold her like this, and falling asleep wrapped up in him, was more intimate than any moment they'd shared previously. Emma Swan wasn't a cuddler. She never had been. The idea of being so close to someone in such a vulnerable state was terrifying to her…but with him, somehow it didn't seem like such a big deal. It felt natural, as though they'd fallen asleep together like that a thousand times. She felt more relaxed in his embrace than she dared to think about.

Straining to see over his head at the alarm clock on the bedside table, she winced when she caught sight of the yellow numbers silently announcing 5:41am. She'd guessed it was later than that, but perhaps that was because she felt more rested from the four hours she'd slept wrapped in Hook's embrace than she'd ever felt in the last year. That thought tugged at the edge of mind and she swallowed thickly, choosing not to dwell too much on a deeper meaning.

She heard movement in the living room and frowned, wondering what on earth Henry could be doing awake before 6am on a Sunday. It was enough of a struggle to get him out of bed by seven thirty on a school day. Disentangling herself as carefully and smoothly as possible from Killian, she made for the door on tip-toe. Glancing back to check she hadn't roused him from sleep, she slid out of room and pulled the door closed behind her.

"What's going on, kid? You know it's not even six yet, right?"

Henry was sat on the sofa atop the makeshift bed they'd put together for Killian the night before, playing his video game without even glancing over at her as she spoke.

Emma's eyes widened as she suddenly caught sight of the arm brace and prosthetic gloved hand he'd left on the floor and subtly kicked it under the sofa, hoping to God that Henry hadn't noticed it. She'd read Killian the riot act later about that.

"Yeah, I know what time it is. And Hook was already gone when I woke up."

"Oh, erm, yeah he's….wait…you just called him-"

Emma stopped abruptly, ice cold dread running through her veins and the color draining from her face as she stood rooted to the spot. She stared silently at Henry's profile for endless moments, unable to find the right words and he paused his game, slowly turning to face her.

"I had a weird dream about being adopted and living in this little town with a bunch of fairytale characters, and falling down a portal to Neverland…and then when I woke up. And when I woke up, I realized it wasn't a dream. All the memories I had with you, Regina gave us. My mom gave us."

Emma felt her stomach drop and the all-too familiar stabbing pain in her chest as his words resounded in her head. Blinking back tears, she moved to sit next to him but he wouldn't look at her, which only drove the knife deeper into her heart.

"Henry…I know this is a lot to take in-"

"You gave me up. We could have really had this life, but you gave me up. I have all these different memories in my head, and I don't even know which ones are real."

Hot tears escaped Emma's eyes and streaked down her cheeks, wrecked by the sadness and frustration and disappointment in her son's voice. She knew what that felt like, could remember well the way the conflicting memories tore at her heart and rattled around in her head.

"I'm sorry, Henry. I wish more than anything that we'd had this life. I didn't think I could give you this. I only gave you up to-"

"Give me my best chance," Henry cut in, finally turning his head to look at her, "I know. I'm not mad at you. And if you hadn't given me up, you might never have found out who you are, or saved Storybrooke."

He offered her a small smile and she wondered how on earth a thirteen year old could be so wise beyond his years. At thirteen, she'd been raging against the world, angry at everything and bitter that her parents had abandoned her. Regina really had done a good job raising him; she couldn't deny that. He was battling with two sets of memories and finding out for the second time in his life that his birth mother gave him up, yet he was understanding and optimistic about it all. He never ceased to amaze Emma.

She pulled him to her then, kissing his head and wrapping her arms around him.

"I love you, Henry. The memories from Regina might not have been real for us, but this past year was. And it's been the best year of my life."

A sob choked her and more tears slid down her cheeks, her heart aching as the emotions tore her apart. Henry held her tightly and she wished so hard that their lives weren't quite so fucked up.

But she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, whose firstborn was adopted by the Evil Queen, and who then went on to have a baby with Captain Hook, the man who could possibly be her True Love. It couldn't really get any more fucked up, surely? Then again, they had no idea what was awaiting them back in Storybrooke this time.

After talking it all through a little more, Emma explained to him that they'd be going back to Storybrooke that day, telling him everything she knew about the situation – which really wasn't all that much – and tried not to feel a twinge of sadness at the smile on his face. He assured her that he loved New York, and the life they'd had together in the city for the past year, but he was also happy to be going back to Storybrooke.

He left her sitting on the sofa then, thinking about all the memories they'd made together in the last bittersweet year, while he went to pack up his suitcase.


Killian felt consciousness seeping back into him, at odds with the comfortable heaviness of his entire body relaxed in soft sheets. He hadn't had a night's sleep so restful in…well, he couldn't even remember the last time. Shifting slightly, he expected to find the warm press of Emma's body close to his, but when he didn't, he squinted his eyes open in confusion. He was alone.

Pushing himself up onto his good arm, disappointment settling into his bones, he blinked the last remnants of sleep away and looked toward the door. He could hear Emma and Henry speaking quietly, and that was somewhat of a comfort. Perhaps she hadn't woken up and instantly needed to put distance between them.

As he sat up properly, the sheets falling to his waist, he heard Hope's soft cooing begin to turn into a cry. Glancing over at his daughter's crib, he moved quickly, intent on being able to soothe her, intent of learning to be her father. As he stood over the crib, looking down at the tiny human he and Emma had created, he felt a surge of love and the instinctive need to keep her safe. She was waving her tiny arms, a soft cry struggling from her as her face pinched together and warned of the impending wailing to come.

Carefully, he leaned down and scooped her up into the crook of his bad arm, supporting her with his good arm and holding her gently but tightly against his chest. Hope whimpered, her cries suddenly forgotten, and grasped against the bare skin of his chest. He smiled down at her, dropping a feather-light kiss to her head and slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed, unable to take his eyes off her. She cooed up at him, her eyes wide and roaming over his face.

"Shush now, little one. Daddy's got you."

His voice was low and soft, a lullaby that seemed to soothe her effortlessly. He simply cradled her for long minutes, staring down at her in wonder as she gurgled sweet sounds and wrapped her tiny hand around the finger he offered her.

He was so entirely caught up in adoring his daughter that he didn't hear Emma's light footsteps or the slight click of the door opening. She stopped abruptly in the doorway, hand still on the doorknob, and took in the sight of him, his back to her, rocking Hope ever so carefully in his arms. Her heart stumbled and emotion coiled up into a ball that lodged itself in her throat while she stood there dumbly, a tiny smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

"You wanna feed her?"

Killian's head snapped around, startled by her sudden presence and equally confused by the question.

"But I thought you…" his eyes flickered down to her chest for a second, and he would admit with just an ounce of shame that he'd noticed a somewhat substantial increase in their size since he'd last had the pleasure of admiring them somewhere between Neverland and Storybrooke.

"I do," she smiled, amusement in her voice, "but I can express. Gimme a couple minutes."

And with that she disappeared out of the room, leaving Killian staring after her and wondering what on earth 'expressing' could possibly mean. He didn't have to wait for long though, because she returned shortly after with a bottle of milk, screwing the cap on tightly as she made her way over and sat down next to him in the bed.

Trying to ignore the fluttering of emotion she felt watching Killian gazing lovingly at their daughter, she helped him move back on the bed to lean against the headboard, shifting pillows to provide the assistance he'd usually get from the prosthetic hand of his that she'd unceremoniously kicked under the sofa an hour earlier.

Once he was in a comfortable position, Hope cradled in his bad arm and the pillows, she handed the bottle to him and wordlessly adjusted his good arm with a small movement so that he was tipping the bottle just so, Hope latching onto the bottle and gurgling contentedly as her father fed her.

He smiled down at her lovingly, mesmerized by everything she did, and Emma couldn't hold back the smile tugging on her own lips. He lifted his gaze then and met hers, but she didn't try to look away. Instead, she let him see the smile reaching her eyes and the softness of his features warmed her heart once more.

They sat silently, words redundant as they both watched their daughter. Once her suckling slowed and she pulled away from the bottle, Killian looked to Emma for guidance. This was all completely new to him, having gone over three hundred years with minimal exposure to babies or what was required in caring for them. But he wanted to learn and he was determined that he would be the best father he could possibly be.

Emma smiled grabbed a towel hanging over Hope's crib and tossed it onto her shoulder, gently taking Hope from Killian's arms and settling the baby against her shoulder. Alternating between gently patting and rubbing circles against her back, she met Killian's gaze.

"This is how you burp her. Gotta do this after she feeds otherwise she'll spit up."

After a few moments, she moved to settle Hope against Killian's shoulder, guiding his good arm in the right motions as his bad arm instinctively lifted to support her. If she was being honest, she barely even registered his lack of hook or prosthetic now. It didn't have any bearing on the feelings she was slowly starting to admit she had for him, and he had his own ways of doing things to make up for his disability, which she had to admit added to his charm.

"Just pat a little bit harder," she smiled at the worried expression on his face when Hope squirmed on his shoulder, "Don't worry, you're not going to hurt her."

The tension in him eased fractionally as he settled into a comfortable pattern of patting and rubbing, and a short time later Hope burped impressively loudly for the size of her. Killian snickered and Emma rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her smile as he turned his head to kiss Hope's cheeks.

"That's my girl."


"Henry has his memories back, just so you know. We can stop tiptoeing around him now."

Emma was zipping up her suitcase and speaking over her shoulder to Killian. He'd barely put Hope down since feeding her a few hours earlier, and she couldn't even pretend like the sight of them together didn't send a warm flood of happiness surging right through her.

He watched Emma carefully, trying to gauge her feelings regarding Henry now having his memories back. She didn't seem upset, so perhaps when he'd heard them talking early that morning they'd been taking the chance to smooth things over and untangle the messy knot of memories Regina had seamlessly interwoven into their lives.

"And I take it I was right, he doesn't hate you?"

Emma threw him a careful sidelong glance and swept her hair off her face before sighing and shaking her head. She straightened up and turned to look at him.

"He should, but he doesn't. When I was his age, I hated everything and everyone. But he understood. He reeled off the reasons why I'd had to give him up and why that had ultimately led me to be a hero. My kid just found out for the second time in his life that I gave him up, and he still thinks I'm a fucking hero."

Killian opened his mouth to respond, when Henry came barreling in through the door and Emma threw him a look that said 'we'll discuss this later' before plastering a smile on her face for her son.

"Avery said I can keep the game, mom. He has two of the same one. Oh, hi, Hook."

Killian offered him a warm smile and a succinct nod, the use of 'Hook' somehow sounding foreign to him now. Emma had sent her son to return a video game he'd borrowed from his friend a few floors below and it had given her time to put the last few things in order before they left.

"Okay, well, grab your suitcase from your room and start taking your stuff down to the car."

Henry nodded and disappeared into his room, returning moments later dragging a suitcase and a large duffle bag that Killian was entirely sure Henry himself could fit inside relatively comfortably.

"Hey, Hook. Wanna lend me a hand?"

Henry smirked and Emma spun round to shoot him a pointed glare, shaking her head and rolling her eyes when she heard Killian chuckling. Henry dropped the duffle and held up his hands in mock surrender, the smirk still playing on his lips.

"Oh, mom, don't forget Hook's arm that you kicked under the sofa this morning. Don't think the hook should make a return til we get back to Storybrooke."

Killian was somewhat impressed with the kid's sass but he could see the color rising on Emma's cheeks as she dropped to her knees and reached under the sofa to retrieve his gloved prosthesis and brace. He'd wondered where that had disappeared to, but had simply assumed she'd stowed it away in her case.

"Lucky the lad mentioned that, love. I know you're more partial to the hook and all, but-"

"Shut up."

She cut him off with a sharp glance and his smirk mirrored Henry's. She sighed in exasperation. Two sets of sass for her to contend with now. Great. Moving her suitcase down off of the table, she pointed toward the door and Henry acquiesced, dragging his bags out of the apartment. Emma took Hope from Killian's careful embrace and settled her into her travel seat, while he reattached his prosthesis and lifted up her suitcase with his good hand, following her toward the door.

She paused before they left, allowing Killian to pass her and looking back at the apartment she and Henry had called home for the past year. It hurt to be leaving it behind now, but she knew there was no other option. And deep down, she knew that even if there had been an option, she'd have chosen Storybrooke and family and him anyway.


Henry had been quiet for the majority of the journey, the sounds from his handheld computer game the only sign he was awake. Granted, they had been driving north for the best part of five hours – with one stop to feed Hope and one for a bathroom break – so Emma had assumed he was probably tired and, perhaps more importantly, he'd only had his memories returned overnight. Emma knew what that felt like.

Overwhelming. Confusing. Frankly, kind of frightening. The blinding headache that accompanied the memories made it feel like your brain was trying to escape through your temples. If there'd been any other way to bring Henry's memories back, a way other than dosing him with the blue potion Killian had given her, then Emma would have gladly chosen that alternative. She was somewhat relieved Hope was a clean slate and had no memories in need of returning.

As they pulled into the gas station, Emma addressed a "be good" warning more to Killian than Henry, but the pirate and her son both offered her deceptively innocent smiles. After checking on a Hope – who was happily cooing at the unicorn mobile attached to her car seat – Emma shot them one more careful glance and closed the door of the bug behind her. As soon as she did so, Henry leaned forward between the two front seats to eye the pirate carefully, ready to interrogate the leather-clad hero who was currently sitting in the passenger seat and still trying to get used to a seatbelt.

"So you are in love with my mom."

He stated and there was no question in his tone this time. Hook bristled a little, ready to jump to his own defence and shoot down the boy's statement that he'd managed to sidestep less than twenty-four hours previous.

But he looked out of the windshield and caught sight of the blonde savior he'd travelled across realms to find, and realized that every time he looked at her, it was becoming harder and harder to tear his eyes away. It was also becoming more obvious that he'd completely lost his heart to her somewhere along the line. He could never pinpoint the moment that had happened, and ye Gods he'd tried, but the only thing he did know was that he was hopelessly and utterly smitten.

Shoulders slumping in defeat, he could feel the triumphant smile on Henry's face burning into him and nodded succinctly.

"That I do, lad."

He murmured, not bothering to shroud it in 'I care about her very much' this time, and he felt a small hand on his shoulder. Glancing sideways, he found the boy's smile infectious.

"Good, because I'm pretty sure she loves you too."

Silence for a moment, as Killian tried to stop his heart from racing. When he found his voice, he was relieved that it didn't sound half as wrecked as he was most certainly feeling.

"Oh. And what, pray tell, makes you believe such a thing?"

"Well, for one, I know my mom and the way she looks at you is...different. When she smiles at you, it goes right to her eyes. She sometimes doesn't even realize she's looking at you and she's got this kind of light in her. I haven't seen her look at anyone like that in...well, ever. And also, she lets you be around me. That means she trusts you a lot."

Silence settled between them for long moments as Henry's words sank in. He'd dared to hope, but when True Love's Kiss hadn't worked the first time he'd tried it – albeit after warnings from Charming that it didn't work without memories regardless – it had weakened his conviction. He knew, without a doubt, that she was it for him. She was his True Love. There was no question in his mind or his heart about that. But believing he could possibly be her True Love was where his uncertainties lay.

"Why did it take you nearly a year to come find us, Hook?"

Henry suddenly asked, his voice quiet. He glanced at his baby sister in her car seat beside him and Killian twisted around to face the boy.

"I received a message that your family was in trouble…is in trouble, back in Storybrooke. I had to make a good lot of deals and sacrifices just to get to this world, lad. But had I known about Hope…I never would have stayed behind and let that curse rip me away from your mother's side."

Henry nodded slowly, as though mulling the words over in his head.

"My dad left her with a lot of trust issues. I know that Mary Margaret really wanted them to try getting back together when we got back from Neverland, and I thought I wanted that too…but she trusts you. In a way she never could trust my dad again…"

"I won't ever hurt her, you have my word on that, Henry. I treasure her trust and I plan to make up for every second I've missed with her and that baby next to you, and with you, this past year. If you and your mother will allow me to."

Henry nodded again, leaning back in his seat and turning to his video game again as he saw Emma returning. Before she reached the car, Henry offered Killian final, quiet words.

"Just make her happy. She deserves to be happy."