Killian and the children landed square in the middle of the deck, and it only took him a moment to get his bearings before he let out an expletive.
"Papa!" Meriel admonished.
"Sorry, little love," he apologized. "You're all right?"
"Fine."
"Finn?"
"I'm all right, Papa," Finn answered. "Where's Mama?"
"Being a hero," he spat out. "We'll just have to wait for her." He turned in a circle making sure they were in fact, alone on the deck, and then he reached out to pull his children into his embrace.
"Listen to me, both of you. I want you to sit here under the wheel while I go below."
"Why?" Meriel asked.
"Because this ship shouldn't be here," he said. "And I need to know why it is." He gave one more look around. "Go on now, stay down."
He didn't tell them that their grandparents should have been on the ship, sailing toward their kingdom. The fact that they'd never left was not a good sign. He pulled his cutlass and carefully made his way down the stairs to the crew cabin. He let out the breath he'd been holding when he realized it was empty, and a search of the hold below showed nothing out of place. He went back up to the deck and repeated his surveillance in the Captain's Cabin. Snow and David had never reached the ship.
He came back up the ladder and the children stood up unsteadily as he came toward them.
"Look at you, you're swaying on your feet," he said. "When was the last time the two of you slept?"
"We slept a lot when we were in the pit," Finn said. "There wasn't anything else to do."
"You were in a pit?" Killian thundered.
"Before we were in the cottage," Finn explained.
"It was a dry pit," Meriel shrugged. "But he's right - there wasn't much to do there. Aibelle helped to pass the time."
"The banshee?"
"She's really quite nice," Meriel said. "And very sad. She doesn't like working for the witch."
"I hate that witch!" Finn declared. "I'm going to get my vengeance on her!"
Killian ruffled the boy's hair. "Don't be so quick to rush to vengeance, lad. And leave the witch to your mother and me, if you please. Now get below, you two. If the witch follows your mother here, I want you out of harm's way."
"But Papa..." Finn started to protest.
"I mean it, Finn." Killian's tone brooked no argument.
Meriel suddenly grabbed her brother, with her eyes firmly on a spot just behind her father's left shoulder. "He's right, Finn," she said. "We haven't slept in two days. Let's get below."
She all but shoved her brother down the stairs, urging him to hurry up over his protests, and Killian watched them go, shaking his head. The sun was climbing in the sky, so he put his hand up to shade anxious eyes as they scanned the shoreline.
Did the witch get to Snow and David? Or did some other evil befall them? He lowered his hand and decided to give the ship a thorough going-over, bow to stern, feeling more than a little unhinged at the thought of Emma battling the with alone - damn her. He turned in frustration to head toward the bow when she suddenly appeared, whole and unharmed, in middle of the deck.
"Swan!"
He ran over to her. "You're all right?"
She waved a dismissive hand. "The witch wasn't as powerful as she thought she was," she said with a sneer. "Are the children safe?"
He nodded. "They're below."
"Let's shove off then."
"Wait - Emma." He took her arm, leading her away from the entrance to the crew cabin so the children wouldn't overhear. "Your parents - they never made it here."
"It's all right," she said. "They showed up as I was battling the witch. They distracted her long enough for me to get the upper hand."
"They returned?" Killian looked confused. "Why?"
"Red got some new information - Henry sent a contingent over to their castle, and they took care of the threat to the village."
"And what of the witch?"
"Her powers were drained completely when we battled," she explained "My parents sent for an escort from Camelot - they'll take her to the dungeons there."
A frown creased Killian's brow. "You're sure you don't wish to wait for them?"
"They told us to head back to Camelot and they'll meet us at the castle."
"Very well," Killian said uneasily. "But I'm not sure I trust that a witch that powerful has been incapacitated."
"It wasn't easy," Emma replied. "My parents have it under control. Now let's get back to Camelot."
"I'll have us underway shortly," he said. "The children are below - go on down and see them while I fetch the sextant -and some rum - from the cabin." He gave her a lopsided grin and she watched him go, with a calculating look on her face.
Killian had just shoved the bottle of rum under his arm when he heard her coming down the stairs. He spun around to face her.
"Did you need something?"
"I'll say," she replied, sashaying closer. She placed a hand on his chest, sliding it into the vee of his shirt and stroking lightly. "I need a man, and you are entirely too delicious to postpone."
He gave a short laugh, and his brows came up. "Much as I am stirred by that invitation, love, the children are worried about you and they're likely to show up at any moment."
"They can wait," she said, rolling her eyes. Her fingers curled around his vest and pulled him closer. She'd just set her lips against his when a hand gripped her shoulder.
"Hey!"
Killian's eyes widened as Emma yanked herself off of him, then punched herself square in the face. The Emma he'd been kissing hit the floor, then rolled to her feet in a cloud of smoke, revealing herself to be the witch.
"How?" she demanded.
Emma held up her left hand with a smug smile. "It turns out that sea diamonds cut through enchanted prisms. Now get the hell away from my husband!" She brought her other hand up, preparing to hit the witch with everything she had.
"This isn't over!" Morgan promised, and then she vanished in another cloud of smoke.
Killian's eyebrows couldn't get any higher without becoming a permanent part of his hairline. "Well," he said. "That was bizarre - to say the least."
"Tell me about it," Emma smirked. "I've experienced this scenario, remember?"
"Yes, but at least you were kissing me," he reminded her, wiping his hand across his mouth before bringing the bottle of rum to his lips and drinking deeply. "I feel as though I'll need the whole bottle to kill the taste."
"That bad, huh?"
"Let's just say hygiene wasn't her strong suite." He wrinkled his nose.
"The kids!" she exclaimed. She turned and ran for the stairs with Killian right behind her, but before she could get to the crew hatch, they were up the stairs and through it.
"Mama! Mama!"
"Come here, you two," she said, hugging them tight. "You're both okay?"
"Did you kill her?" Finn asked.
"No, but I punched her in the face," Emma replied, shaking her hand for emphasis.
"Wicked!"
"That's enough, my bloodthirsty lad," Killian said, ruffling his hair. "Now how about climbing the riggings and getting the mainsail unfurled?"
"All right!" Finn didn't have to be asked twice. He was in motion and scurrying up the lines like he was lighter than air.
"Meriel? Can you chart our course?"
She gave him a look. "You know I can. I'd rather bring the ship about."
He tapped her nose. "Not yet, little love. Give it a few more years. I promise."
She made a face but headed up toward the wheel deck to do as her father asked. Killian turned back to Emma.
"There's been no sign of your parents. I fear the witch may have found them."
"She did," Emma said darkly. "She's imprisoned them in some kind of magical tapestry. She said she's draining their life force."
Killian made a grim face. "I've never heard of anything like that."
"Neither have I," she said. "We need to get back to Camelot. I'll feel a lot safer if the kids were under Regina and Rumple's watchful eyes. And I'm betting Rumple has a better idea of what we're dealing with."
"Aye," Killian agreed. "He was a spinner before he became The Dark One. It's possible he knows something we can use."
"Let's get out of here. How fast can we make it back?"
Killian wet a finger to test the breeze. "We've got the wind at our backs," he said. "We should be there in the wee hours of the morning."
Emma sighed heavily. "Another day closer to the full moon, and we're still not sure who she's marked for death."
"I should think that would be obvious," Killian said. "She went after you."
"But she didn't kill me," Emma pointed out. "She imprisoned me instead. Why?"
"Maybe she's not powerful enough to kill you yet."
"Maybe. She's pretty powerful, Killian. If she gets stronger..."
"We'll have to stop her before she does," he said. "And to do that, we need to get back to Camelot. Finn!" He cast his eyes up as his son shimmied down the riggings and dropped to the deck.
"Yes?"
"Weigh the anchor." He turned to Emma. "You'll have to help him...discreetly, of course."
She smiled. "Of course." Her hand came up in a slight motion, helping Finn wind the heavy winch with a touch of magic. In minutes they were underway, speeding down the coast. Emma ordered both children to bed, and after tucking them in, she headed back toward the wheel.
"You want to sleep first?" she asked. "You look dead on your feet."
"I can lash the wheel," he suggested. "We've got a straight course from here and calm seas. The Jolly has sailed herself on many an occasion."
"Enchanted wood is practically autopilot," she quipped. "Come on. We can take an hour or two and then we'll trade off."
She headed down the stairs as he tied the wheel off, and gave him a puzzled look as he slid the hatch closed.
"You can leave it open," she said. "It's nice out and I like the fresh air."
"Ah," he said, walking over to the table and reaching for a bottle of rum. "But if I leave it open, the children will hear our argument."
She sat down slowly on the edge of the bed. "Our...argument?"
"Precisely." He set the rum down with enough force to nearly crack the bottle. "What the devil do you think you were doing?" he demanded. "Sending me away like that?"
"I was thinking of the children!"
"You could have sent them here - Meriel would have known to get below and wait for us. For that matter, you could have sent the children up a tree or back to the cottage until we could get there. Don't ever whisk me away like that again!"
"I had it handled -"
"Trapped in a prison of enchanted glass? With a usurper putting us all in danger?"
She pushed to her feet. "Now, just a minute -"
"We're in this together!" he shouted. "You can't put yourself at risk like that!"
"I can't put you at risk, either!"
He crossed to her in two strides, and pulled her in with an arm around her waist. "You damnable stubborn woman!"
Before she could form another retort, his mouth came crashing down on hers and his arm pulled her in even more tightly. She stiffened at first, but he gave no quarter, kissing her until her hands moved up to slide into his hair, and her body molded itself into him. It was a long. long while before he lifted his lips from hers.
"Are we done arguing now, love?"
"Uh-huh," she said a little breathlessly.
"Good." He stepped forward, pushing her backwards until she fell on the bed. In the next heartbeat, he had her pants and boots stripped off of her and he was peeling off his own, before he pulled her legs up around his waist and plunged in deep. He gripped her hip, working her hard against him as her back arched on the bed and her hands tangled in the covers. In no time at all, he had her rocketing toward completion, calling out his name as her thighs tightened around him and pulled him even deeper, sending him over the edge as well. He fell against her heavily, and for a time the only sound in the cabin was their harsh breathing, mingled together.
"You really know how to assert yourself," Emma gasped.
"You got my blood up," he said, turning his head to look at her. "Don't frighten me like that again."
She reached out, stroking the hair off his forehead. "Sorry. Guess I owe you an apology."
He pulled her hand down, kissing her fingers. "Why don't we get the rest of these clothes off and we'll spend another hour or two apologizing to each other?"
Emma smiled a satisfied smile.
"Deal."
