Part 7

The Rabbit Hole was probably the last place any upstanding citizen in Storybrooke would likely frequent. But much like everything else in town, for Emma, it was a lot tamer than some of the previous non-Storybrooke joints she'd been in. As soon as she walked in she was hit was the smell of booze and aftershave. Not to mention the loud calls of the entire pub egging on the fight that seemed to be taking centre-stage. It didn't take long for her to see the hook attached to the pirate she was after.

Hook – ever the dramatic one, had the eyes of every person in the room on him. She had a feeling he was usually in his element then. And for a pirate, brawling was definitely right up there with plundering, pillaging and womanizing.

Tilting her head to get a better look, her eyes widened when she saw who it was that he was currently wrestling it out with.

"Jefferson?"

They were throwing punches and going at it like there was no tomorrow. None of the other patrons bothered actually trying to break the two up; instead content with watching how it all played out. The only one really concerned was the barkeep – it was his bar getting trashed after all – the rest either cheering it on or placing bets.

Typical.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes she made her way towards the commotion. The barkeep flagged her down halfway there with a look of pure desperation, urging her to save his livelihood. A little dramatic really since Hook and Jefferson were doing less damage to the bar than they were each other. When she reached them Hook had Jefferson pinned to a wall, his namesake held threateningly close to the hatter's neck. Jefferson on the other hand didn't look cornered, if anything he had that same mad look in his eyes that she'd seen once before – when he'd kidnapped her. The man looked a second away from doing something regretful, and that was what had Emma moving quickly to intercept.

"Alright break it up!"

Several groans could be heard as she made her presence known, no doubt from the patrons that had been placing bets.

Bet none of them put money on the sheriff butting in.

Considering it was a small town and word got around fast, they really should have figured out those odds.

"Emma, lovely to see you as usual," Jefferson smiled charmingly. It would have seemed attractive on the man if it wasn't for the deranged look in his eyes.

"Hello love, be right with you in a second," Hook brushed her aside surprisingly gently as he made to jump back at the Hatter.

"No you can be with me right now." She grabbed him by the arm, pushing him behind and firmly planting herself in between the two idiots. She kept a hand on both their chests to push them back if necessary. Just for good measure. "Now what the hell is going on?"

"Always so demanding lass," Hook grinned at her, leaning in. "Gives me chills, really"

Rolling her eyes, she turned to Jefferson who still looked like he was just itching to punch the guy in the face. Know the feeling buddy. "Jefferson?"

"This doesn't concern you sheriff," the biting tone to his voice was not appreciated.

"It does when you're starting a brawl in a public place, Hatter." That got his attention. She could feel Hook's smug smile behind her without even looking at him. But she kept her eyes focused on Jefferson; she was more likely to get something out of him. Hook had mastered deception to an art. "Come on," she voiced more gently this time, "This isn't you Jefferson. Since when do you punch guys out in bars?" She could tell she was getting to him. "Besides, I thought kidnapping was more your thing," she added sardonically.

It did the trick. He chuckled slightly, losing the mad haze that had taken over him. "I never did apologise for that did I?" he looked at her seriously, really taking in that she was actually there. "And after everything you did for me…" The meaningful expression on his face made Emma stop short as she realised what it is he was referring to. A while back once the curse was broken, she and Henry had helped Jefferson to reunite with Grace. It had been one of the most heartwarming moments she'd ever seen, a father and child reuniting and one of the only moments in her life, besides Henry's birth, when she really felt the urge to cry. Henry had slept in her bed that night, and she'd held onto him the entire night.

Looking at him now, she didn't need the apology or the thank you.

It was right there in his eyes.

She smiled back tentatively.

It wasn't the most ideal circumstance to reach this understanding. But it was nice nonetheless.

"Well if you two are done having your moment," She heard an unmistakable sneer from behind her.

Jefferson seemed to snap back to reality too. Glaring at Hook he added "Emma I am sorry for getting you involved, but this is between me and him."

Emma looked between the pair of them and seeing that she wasn't going to get anything out of him either, there was only one thing left for her to do.

"Alright, well then I'll have to take you both into custody,"

"What?" Jefferson seemed surprised, while Hook just looked intrigued.

"Lass you can take me anywhere you'd like…once I'm finished with the Hatter here."

"She'll have to carry you out when I'm done" Jefferson snit back.

"Seriously, can you guys just give the testosterone a break?" She really wasn't in the mood to stand around listening to trash talk all night. Though to be fair, when it's the Mad Hatter and Captain Hook involved, the threats are more likely to be real. That didn't make it any less annoying to have to hear. She was the one that had come here to get a perfectly good punch in at Hook, and instead she had to wind down the violence.

Being the law really sucked sometimes.

"The what?" Hooks brow furrowed at the unfamiliar term.

"Testosterone. You know, the hormone inside you – that makes you a man" She really ought to get Hook a dictionary one of these days.

His eyebrow rose as he leered back at her. "Love if you want to see what really makes me a man you only have to ask" he trailed off, gesturing to his lower half, encased in those tight tight leather trousers.

Jefferson snorted, shaking his head. "Does he always talk to you like that?"

"Who Captain Innuendo? Pretty much," Emma stated ignoring Hooks indignant "Oi!" behind her. "Look Jefferson, I don't know what the problem is here, but I'm ending it. So you've got a choice, you can either go now quietly, or try for him again in which case I'll have to take you in. Choose wisely."

Taking in the situation and realising that he wasn't going to get anywhere with Emma there, he made a choice. He had to pick up Grace from school later anyway, and he couldn't do that from a jail cell. There would be plenty of time to get the captain back for his misdeeds later. Nodding slightly at Emma he strolled right out of the pub without a care in the world, like he hadn't just been punching it out with the resident pirate. Emma watched him go resolving to make some time later to talk to him properly. Clearly there was some bad blood between him and Hook, and she really didn't need to have another feud to monitor in this town.

"It's about time he finally left," Emma turned to the pirate that was currently grating on her last nerve.

"Now where were we…" his lip curled up as he eyed her down in a suggestive manner.

She smirked, throwing him off a little. Shifting closer until there was less than an inch between them, her lips hovered over his. Killian had no idea what she was doing, but he would be lying if he claimed to be immune to it. He found himself drawn in. Her lips looked so inviting…

"Right…around…here."

Click.

"What the bloody hell?"

The handcuffs that suddenly found themselves around his hand and hook, were not appreciated.

"Well what were you expecting Captain?" Eyebrow raised and a smug look on her face, she dragged him out by his restraints.

She could feel him watching her. As soon as they got in the car he'd sat there, hands tied, watching her from the passenger seat. She knew he couldn't say silent for long so she just waited for it. Though she wouldn't admit it, she found it more than a little unnerving when he stared at her like that, but it was better than him talking. She was literally hanging on by a thread at this point, and if he made one wrong move, she was prone to shoving him out onto the sidewalk from a moving vehicle.

Fuck being the law.

"You know Swan, this is getting a tad repetitive"

There it is.

"Shut up Hook."

For your own good.

"I'm just saying you seem to have a restless fetish for restraining men. Namely me,"

"Do you not understand english? I said shut up"

She was this close...

He chuckled, "My my don't we have a sharp tongue. Personally I can think of a few better uses for it."

The salacious grin was not well received.

In fact Emma had just about had it.

Ramming on the breaks, she pulled the car up to a stop in the middle of the street. The resultant force had the pirate flying forward, his hook propelling outwards to stop his head hitting the dashboard.

"Bloody fuck Swan!"

Ignoring the none-too-delicate cursing in the background, Emma shot out the car and presumed to vent out her frustration on any rock and pebble that she came across on the sidewalk. Annoyingly, there weren't many at her disposal. And the only other thing she could really put a dent in (besides the infuriating pirate) was her beloved bug, and there was no way she was going there…certainly not all because of the blasted scumbag ass who was currently restrained inside.

Huffing and puffing, she paced angrily, kicking at none existent dirt in her path, muttering nonsensical and illogical ways in which she could severe the current bane of her existence from her life completely.

Just why did he have to come in her life anyway?

Hadn't karma dealt a nice hefty blow on her pathetic excuse of an existence already?

Was being cursed and orphaned and betrayed and being a pregnant teen jailbird not enough? She had to now endure an innuendo-laden, swaggering peacock of a captain who clearly had no clue when to keep his goddamn mouth shut!

"Are you quite done princess?" She turned to find that he had unsurprisingly managed to get himself out of his restraints and was leaning oh-so-casually against her bug whilst inspecting his hook as though looking for specks of dust. Did he just call me princess? Jerk. "Or did you want to continue your assault against the rubble? Though I can't tell what it must've done to insult you so. You certainly do seem rather frustrated"

He peered up her through his lashes, looking for all the world as though he were assessing her sanity.

Yet she saw the hidden message in those bright blue orbs of his.

The underlying tease in his gaze.

As though he knew.

That she was beyond frustrated with everything. With her family. With her friends. With him. With herself. And this undeniable fission of something or other that seemed to ignite whenever she was around him.

Pure and utter frustration.

Meeting him eye for eye, she saw him shift his stance slightly. His gaze remained unwavering. Teasing. Testing.

Daring.

He was daring her?

Well he was playing a dangerous game. Inviting her in to the latest round...taunting her to try and beat him. Convinced she couldn't. Of course, she knew she could. He wasn't god's gift to women, and she'd had more than enough arrogant pricks in her life - managing to resist half of them.

She'd also bedded the other half.

Her fingers tightened into fists by her side, something he had no doubt picked up on, yet his eyes didn't move from hers.

It was her move.

Pawn or checkmate?

There was no telling yet. Not at this point. She imagined that was a thought for a later date.

"You know nothing about I feel"

And she moved.

One second she was glaring at him a few paces away. The next, she was grabbing his face in her hands, her mouth crashing against his.

He hadn't been expecting that.

He was still for a moment.

Only a moment.

Then he managed to catch up pretty quick.

His arms shot around her waist, his own mouth reciprocating her sudden attack. The feel of her lips was simply divine. He felt like he was sinking and soaring all at once. Expertly thrusting his tongue into her mouth, it was immediately entangled with hers. She moaned against his mouth…which was a fucking turn on in itself. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, nipping lightly, loving the small soft whimpers that would drop from her throat. Her hands drifted down his neck to his chest as she pressed even closer, pushing him back into the car. They continued to move all over him, touching, feeling – urging him on. He groaned at the feel of them drifting lower and lower.

Enticingly close to where he wanted them…and yet still so far.

He groaned as they had to pull away for air. His hook arm still at her waist while his hand held her face, keeping her close. Not wanting to let her move away, lest she decide to not come back.

Good gods, this woman!

He'd never reacted so strongly to one before. He already needed to feel her on him again.

A feeling that was mutual; it was only seconds after parting that they were right back on each other. Lips meshing, hands touching, all over. Like two teenagers who couldn't get enough of each other. Her hands were running through his hair, driving him wild to an almost unbearable point.

"Emma," he pushed her off, startling her. Only then to turn her around, shoving her almost forcefully against the car behind. Before she could react his mouth latched onto her neck, dropping feather-light kisses on a path down to her pulse point, wasting no time in branding her - causing her body to weaken in its sudden state of arousal. The ease with which he found one of her most sensitive spots was something she was both irritated and exceedingly grateful for.

"Oh…oh god"

He was relentless. Sucking and biting away at the soft skin of her neck, chipping away at every inch of desire running through her, leaving her wanting…yielding under him. Thank god for the car, or she'd be a limp mess on the floor by now.

His hand in turn was ghosting over every part of her he could reach.

She was breathless. Exhilarated.

It had been so long since she had been touched like this.

So damn long.

And for an overly arrogant pirate that talked a big game, he really knew what he was doing. Like right now…she bit back another moan as he licked over the spot he'd marked. His tongue working soothing patterns over the puckered area. Goddamn it. She grabbed his hair roughly, pulling his face from her neck.

"Swan!" growling, disgruntled from being interrupted in lathering his attentions to her neck, he was quickly stifled by her mouth moving insistently back over his, before she pulled away again.

"Shut up Hook"

And then she continued to devour his lips in the most delicious way. He smirked slightly at the thought of her missing his mouth on hers. Good.

They were so caught up in each other that they didn't notice a second vehicle coming up the road, stopping right beside them.

They definitely didn't hear the car door slamming only feet away.

Or the footsteps that had stopped suddenly right by the bug.

"Emma?"

The voice was clear.

Confused.

Appalled.

And very very loud.

They pulled away suddenly, Hook's face clearly pissed at the intrusion. Emma startled like a kid who'd been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Which was a very apt way of looking at the situation, considering the person who'd come across them.

"Hey…" she caught her breath slightly, already sensing the proud smirk emanating from the pirate next to her. Who had yet to get his hand and hook off of her. When he made no move to back off any time soon, she pushed him off, ignoring the put out look he sent her way and smiled nervously at the intruder.

"What's up…dad"

She was so screwed.

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, real life always seems to be round the corner and keeping me away from the computer. This is a slightly shorter chapter but with more CS - and its only going to get longer and better from the next chapter.

Let me know what you guys think. More reviews = more CS! ;)

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