Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or its characters; I only borrow.
A/N: First off, thank you to everyone who has left a review; it really does make my day to read them.
I meant for this to be posted yesterday, but my responsible side won the argument of writing fanfic vs. studying for finals. I hope to have the next chapter by tomorrow, but my quasi-muse is being uncooperative. I intend to beat it into submission tonight before work.
They'd been in New York for just two weeks, but they'd already settled into a routine. Emma woke first (though Hook was never far behind) and made breakfast before waking Henry up. Maybe an hour later, after everyone was ready for the day, Emma would stuff the list and appropriate map for that day into her purse along with a book or two for Henry (mostly comics now, sorry, graphic novels), and they would head out. They visited psychics (so far all frauds, though some were more amusingly/frustratingly moronic than others), occult shops, herbalists (they still needed ingredients), alternative medicine specialists, and a few people that Emma had been referred to by the others (usually the clerk or owner at one of the shops). They'd stop at one of the food carts for lunch; Emma and Henry had enjoyed exposing Hook to Chinese, Thai, and various other varieties of cuisine (including hotdogs and roadside pizza).
They'd get back to the apartment eight or ten hours after they left (sometimes longer), they would have dinner (usually something frozen; lasagna and pizza were common) and then they'd get back to work. Hook and Emma would select more people and places from the list; Emma had noted which people required appointments and had made them all their fourth day there, so they built their daily lists around those. They'd mark the map, and then Henry would plot out the order (and sometimes subway course) in which they'd go to each one while Emma did more research online. After Henry was asleep Hook and Emma would talk, sometimes about their mission (Operation Seahorse), and sometimes about anything else.
The two week mark was a particularly bad day. They visited five psychics, three shops, and someone who claimed to be a druid; none had panned out, and Emma had nearly gone off on the 'druid' when he turned out to be versed in herb lore but absolutely nothing else that he had claimed. Henry had just fallen asleep and Hook had stretched out on the couch watching TV (he had taken a liking to the Animal Planet, Discovery, and History channels) when she finally let it out. He turned off the TV (some documentary on how much of the Robin Hood story was based in truth, heh) and turned to listen when she started pacing.
She really did let it all out; the frustration at their utter lack of progress other than locating one of the ingredients, her anger that she had to do this (volunteer or not be damned), her worry for both Henry's safety and her relationship with him (he often got frustrated that he wasn't allowed to do more, though he rarely said anything about it), and more than a few other things.
"I mean, why do people enable these charlatans (she now both loved and loathed that word, it was so applicable) to stay in business at all?! And the shop owners! Sometimes they're even worse! They'll point to a book or two and ask if perhaps we'd like to buy some crystals or incense or herbal tea and can't give us any real information at all!" She finally took a breath. "Why did I volunteer for this?"
"Because you're the only one who can," Hook reminded her.
"No I'm not! Regina or Gold could've crossed the town lines without losing their memories. Okay, Regina had to stay to put up the barrier, if that even worked, but Gold could've gone! But no, I had to volunteer, and drag you into it, and agree to bring Henry along even though I knew it probably wouldn't be anything but boring for him…"
"Come here love." Hook beckoned her over and gestured for her to sit by him (on his lap, basically). She gave him a look that obviously said yeah, right. "I'll be a perfect gentleman," he promised while he grabbing her hand and dragging her on to the couch, pulling her to lean against his chest.
"You volunteered for this because you're this only one that could be trusted to get it done, and you know it. You know this world, and you want to save Storybrooke rather than just yourself. You have many useful skills, and I'm not just talking about your 'creative knocking,' as you call it."
He wrapped his left arm around her stomach and she relaxed into him.
"You didn't drag me into this. If I didn't want to be here I would've declined your invitation. You brought Henry because every other option was even more dangerous for him. No one objected to you going because they knew you were their best chance."
"Or they just weren't crazy enough to want to do it."
"Let me finish." He began to stroke her hair. "You will do this. We will do this. Henry will be safe, the town will be saved; you'll save them once again."
"I don't care about any prophecies. I'm not a savior, I don't want to be." Great, now I'm whining like a five year old.
"I don't believe in you because you're the savior. You're Emma Swan. You're an incredibly frustrating, sometimes infuriating, stubborn, marvelous woman who will do whatever it takes to succeed. And I've yet to see you fail." His voice was soft. Yes, they had been quiet (even during her rant) to keep from waking Henry, but his voice was soft, and sincere.
She craned her neck to look him in the eye, ready to protest that she'd hadn't been able to stop Henry from ripping out his own heart and that Regina was the one who had gotten Pandora's Box (with Gold still inside) back from Pan. She couldn't get the words out. When she looked in his eyes she saw something she could hardly identify. An unshakable belief in her. Her parents believed in her because she was their daughter and their savior. Henry believed in her because she was his mom. The townspeople believed in her because, well, they didn't really have another option if they wanted to keep hope. But here was Hook, believing in her despite the fact that she had trapped him with a giant up a beanstalk (okay, I guess even I haven't really let that go), knocked him out with a compass, and walked away from him more times than she wanted to count.
"Hook," Emma whispered. She didn't even know what she could say to him aside from 'thank you', only that she needed to say something.
He gave her an almost sad smile at that. "I thought you were supposed to call me Killian, darling," he reminded her before she could go on. Good, because I still don't know what I can say to him.
"We're not in public," she pointed out. He still had that sad smile, like he thought that… Well, she wasn't sure what he thought. "Does it really matter, though? A name is just a name."
"To start, the moniker doesn't very well fit now, does it?" He forced the joke, waving the arm with the prosthetic hand around to make his point. He was quiet for a minute before he continued. "Hook is a pirate obsessed with his revenge, not caring how he gets it or who it hurts, willing to go through anyone who gets in his way. I can't be that pirate anymore." He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "You know, I think you might have like Killian Jones, he-"
Emma cut him off. She was even more at a loss for words than before, so she kissed him. And he responded, wrapping his hand in her hair, pulling her close to him and shifting their bodies so that there was hardly room for air between them.
Unlike their kiss in Neverland, which she had started in response to his challenge (not expecting it to turn into more for either of them, though it had), this was slow and tender and sweet. It was full of gratitude; that he was there, that he believed in her, that he was good to Henry, that he was good to her, and most of all that he had proven that she could trust him. And also that he didn't push her for more. Not that she didn't want more (because man, he's a great kisser), but she wasn't ready. Because Henry might still be in danger, and the town wasn't safe, and this damn pirate had wiggled his way into her life and her heart when she wasn't ready to risk that hurt again.
He only pulled away when she did. (what was that? Minutes? Hours? She couldn't even tell.) And when she rested her forehead against his and murmured "Killian," he smiled. Then she yawned right in his face and he laughed. She had to laugh a little herself before she apologized.
Emma laid down, on top of him now on the couch, and rested her chin on his chest as she looked at him. "I haven't thought of you as that pirate in a while. The description you give 'Hook', I mean," she told him as she reached for his hand and laced her fingers in his.
"I'm glad," Hook (no, Killian) replied. "You should get some rest, love."
She hmm'd in agreement but didn't move other than to lay her head down on his chest. "Can I stay here for just another minute?"
"Of course, love. For as long as you'd like."
-.*.-.*.-.*.-
Henry woke up before either of them in the morning. He let them sleep and made their breakfast (oatmeal and Captain Crunch) himself. If he thought anything wrong or strange about finding his mom and Killian snuggled together on the couch fast asleep, still holding hands, he didn't mention it when he prodded them awake.
Reviews are breakfast cereal and constructive criticism is Peanut Butter Captain Crunch!
