Believe it or not, I'm almost done with writing the first draft of the entire fic, in less than a month, and that's how much Captain Swan has taken over my life. Thanks for your input, I hope you enjoy another glimpse in the past.
Storybrooke, eleven months ago
Emma keeps running into Hook. She turns the corner and he's there, leaning against the wall and staring at her, as if she's the one he'd been waiting for. She tells him to go away, he tells her it's a free country and he can be anywhere he wants. She walks away feeling strangely amused, looking at him over her shoulder, the smile he's giving her making her want to return it. He's hanging around her office, Henry's school and the little house she rented out because it was getting too crowded at Mary Margaret's apartment. The only place she never sees him is around Gold's shop, but she gets the feeling he doesn't want her to caught him there, not because he's afraid she'd arrest him, but for some other, darker reason.
There's a definite feeling of calm before the storm in the air, as if the entire Storybrooke is holding its breath for what's to come. Cora and Regina are weirdly withdrawn, doing God knows what, and Gold seems to be strangely docile, spending time with Belle at the library or taking her out to lunch at Granny's. It's making Emma nervous, but she doesn't want to disrupt the peace and go poking around, because she's too busy spending time with Henry and her parents, and pretending it annoys her to no end when Hook keeps showing up.
Everything blows up on a gloomy October morning. Gold storms into her office and tells her that Belle's been abducted. Emma is still a little sleepy; she didn't get much sleep because of a certain handsome pirate parading through her dreams and doing unspeakable, albeit very pleasurable things. Things she enjoyed way too much.
"Are you sure? Maybe she just went to work without saying goodbye."
"I suggest you drink that coffee, miss Swan, and come to the library with me at once."
Emma lifts her eyebrow at him, but follows nonetheless, sipping said coffee as they walk.
The library is a mess, with a few shelves overturned, and books strewn everywhere. Gold looks strangely fragile, picking up a book and smoothing its dog-eared pages before he sets it on the counter.
"Are you ready to take my word for it now, miss Swan? Or do you need more proof?"
"Can you think of anybody who would-" Emma trails off, finishing the coffee in one gulp. Gold gives her a pointed look and starts toward the door and Emma follows. His limp is more pronounced than usual, but she still has to lengthen her steps to catch up.
"This won't be over until one of us is dead", Gold says, and Emma looks over at him, startled at the sudden change in him; it's as if an invisible dark cloud is looming over him, making him all shadow.
"He told me you took someone from him", Emma says, and Gold laughs bitterly.
"Milah was my wife first. He took her from me, I took her from him. And if he takes Belle from me, I will wait until he falls in love and-"
"He won't harm Belle", Emma says, cutting him off before that dark cloud grows and covers them both. "If he meant to do that, he would've already done it. It's you he wants."
"And so he shall receive", Gold says darkly and picks up the pace as the Jolly Roger comes into sight. Storybrooke's harbor is too shallow for it to be docked with other boats, and even though it's moored further away from the shore, it still seems immense.
"How do we get there?" Emma asks, and Gold gets into the closest boat without looking over his shoulder to see if she'll follow. She jumps in and then they're off, the boat moving without a sound, the line snapping and trailing after it like a tail.
"Why did you even come to me if you knew all along Belle would be here?"
"Because I need a little leverage", Gold says and suddenly there are ropes around Emma's ankles and wrists.
Emma struggles for a moment, then sits down and looks up at Gold with her head cocked to the side. "I don't think you understand how leverage works. You need something Hook cares about, and that's not me."
"For someone so smart and resourceful, you can be really daft, miss Swan", Gold tells her as the boat gently kisses Hook's ship. It's even bigger than it seemed from a distance, raising menacingly above their heads, creaking as it sways with the waves.
Gold pulls her on her feet and before she can say "magic", they are standing on the deck across from Hook. The look of surprise on his face lasts less than a second, and then he schools his expression, leaning on his sword and attempting to look bored.
Neither Emma nor Gold are fooled.
"Didn't expect me to bring a friend?" Gold chuckles, and Emma feels a cold shiver running down her spine.
"You might want to untie her if you want her to help you", Hook says, his eyes never leaving Gold.
"You're not as good an actor as you think", Gold says, and there's suddenly a noose tightening around Emma's neck, making her rise on her tiptoes to keep breathing. Hook's eyes flicker toward her and a muscle in his jaw works, and she only notices because of Gold's remark.
"I don't know what are you talking about", Hook says, edging closer to Emma.
"Stay where you are Captain", Gold snaps, and to Emma's surprise, Hook obeys. She forces herself to breathe in slow shallow breaths and concentrate only on her feet, but there are a million thoughts running through her brain and she can't focus on any of them without acknowledging the fact that Hook is worried for her well being.
"Bring her out", Hook bellows over his shoulder and a door opens, Belle coming out, gagged and bound, a man with a red hat pointing a mean looking sword at her back.
Gold smiles reassuringly toward her, and that cloud over his head almost disappears. Almost.
"Here's how this is gonna go", Hook says, his voice as icy as his eyes. "I let her go, you get rid of all your magical protections and we have ourselves a real duel."
"You're forgetting one teeny tiny detail", Gold says, the cloud returning full force as he points at Emma and the noose grows tighter.
Hook shrugs. "I don't know why you think I should care about her fate."
"I don't think, Captain. I know. You're even easier to read than her."
Hook opens his mouth to object, but Gold just keeps talking. "Let me tell you how this is gonna go. Belle comes with me, you get our lovely sheriff, and we let the past go. Or", he pauses for effect, "I kill her, then I kill that pathetic excuse for a pirate in a silly red hat and finally feed you to the sharks. What do you say, dearie?" Gold finishes, chuckling to himself.
Emma can almost see the cogs in Hook's head turning as he tries to find another way out of this. When he finally speaks, his eyes focus on Emma's and the look in his eyes is the same he gave her up on that beanstalk before she left him. The message is "trust me", and she receives it loud and clear.
"Take her heart. I don't care."
Gold looks puzzled for a moment, then he giggles and shakes his head.
"Emma's heart can't be taken. Cora tried and got blown back. Miss Swan told me herself", he says, and Emma curses her own stupidity.
"You're stronger than Cora", Hook says, and he sounds so convinced Emma gets a little worried. "Are you not?"
Gold considers this for a moment, then abruptly turns and buries his hand into Emma's chest. He tugs, and nothing happens. He tries again, and the noose around Emma's neck disappears as he focuses everything on her heart that just won't budge.
Emma smiles and a wave of power comes out of her blowing Gold back head over feet, and he disappears over the edge of the ship.
Hook is at her side even before they hear a splash, cutting through the remaining ropes with a knife.
"You were knocked out when that happened last time", she says, and Hook gives her one of those cocky, dazzling smiles that used to make her roll her eyes at him, but right now she can't remember why.
"Oh come on love, you didn't really believe you knocked me out that easily, right?"
"I hadn't really had time to dwell on it", Emma answers truthfully, rubbing her wrist.
"I was just-"
Emma never hears what was he just because there's a tremendous explosion and the deck beneath their feet buckles violently. They grab onto each other for balance, and Emma watches Belle disappear right before her eyes, her and Gold appearing in the small boat a second later as it races away.
The big ship is creaking so loud Emma can't hear what's Hook trying to tell her as they stumble around, trying to find something to hold onto in order to avoid a crack that begins to split the ship in two.
"We have to jump", Emma yells, but it's easier said than done. The rail is 15 feet away, but it could very well be 15 miles, and for the first time today Emma thinks she's gonna die. It doesn't scare her as it should; she feels strangely calm, as if she's watching all this from somewhere outside herself.
"This way", Hook yells and gives her a boost up to the quarterdeck, away from the crack. He scrambles after her and she grabs his collar to help him up, the muscles in her arms screaming in protest because he's heavier than she had expected.
As soon as he's up he pulls her to her feet and they start toward the rail. The deck is tilted so it's more of a downhill slide, his shoulder slamming against the bottom of the helm. Emma can barely hear his yell of pain over the ship's screaming, which is the most horrible sound she had ever heard, all that wood forcefully coming apart. After a few more bumps (most of which are in Hook's path because hers is relatively clear) they finally hit the rail and tumble over the edge. The fall lasts forever in Emma's mind, and her breath leaves her in a whoosh when she hits the water.
When she breaks the surface and coughs out all the water she had swallowed, the first thing she does isn't to get away from the sinking ship, but to look around for Hook.
"Killian", she screams, barely noticing that she's calling him by his given name, and the relief when he emerges from the blue depths a few feet away nearly makes her sink again. There's a gash on his forehead and he's barely keeping himself afloat with only one arm, but he still gives her a tired smile.
"Swim, Emma. We have to get away from her", he says, and the way his voice breaks on the last word makes her realize he cares more about his ship then he does about his injuries. "Can you see Smee?"
She glances around, but there's no red hat in sight. "I'm sorry", she says softly, but Hook seems to take it all in stride. Emma takes off her boots and pants, shrugs out of her blouse and wraps her arm around his chest, loosening her hold a little when he winces.
"I think I cracked a few ribs", he says as she starts to swim them toward shore, which seems close, but turns out to be really far away. It's not long before she starts lagging. She stops and dives under, wrestling with his boots.
"You can't get us both to shore," he tells her when she comes back up, but Emma is too stubborn to leave him here, relaying on his ability to float until she comes back with a boat.
"Shut up", she says, wraps her arm back around him and keeps swimming.
Review?