The waves thrashed mercilessly against the pirates as they hurried around the deck of The Jolly Roger trying to tie down everything while hanging onto the rigging themselves to prevent being thrown into the swirling black water below. Each time the captain shouted out an order his words seemed to be engulfed by the howling wind or drowned by another wall of water crashing down on them. As he clung to the ships helm trying desperately to keep their course straight he saw a crew member waving his hands frantically by the steps leading below deck. Captain Hook narrowed his blood shot, salt water soaked, eyes trying to make out the man's signals through the rain plummeting down from the heavens. Something was wrong. More men were gathering around the sailor; it was then the captain saw what distracted his men; his heart dropped to his stomach at the sight of the billowing black smoke rising from below deck. Throwing caution to the raging wind he tied the helm with rope, keeping the wheel from spinning out of control and ran to the smoke, dodging waves and loose barrels rolling in every direction he sprinted, his pounding heart deafened the sound of the storm. A distance that on any ordinary day would take him just seconds to walk now seemed like an eternity to travel. Eventually he reached the steps, covering his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his soaked leather duster jacket he descended down into the smoke. He couldn't see anything, his eyes stinging he felt his way along the wall until he came to the handle of his door. He threw his body against it and burst into his cabin which now resembled an inferno. Flames leapt up devouring everything in their path; there in a crumpled heap on the floor was Emma, lying unconscious. He quickly grabbed the sheets from his bed and started to smother the flames, shouting out for help from his crew mates. Within seconds there were three pirates at the door, "Captain!"

"Bring water down, we need to put out the fire before it spreads on the ship!" he shouted.

The men hurried away to follow their captain's orders while Hook lifted Emma in his arms and carried her above deck into the storm. Laying her down on her back on the drenched wooden decking he gently shook her shoulders, "Emma, Emma, can you hear me?" he shouted frantically over the thunder. Raindrops kissed her face, still unmoved and unstirred by his pleading. She wasn't breathing. He tilted her head back and held her nose as his lips covered her open mouth breathing into her; he watched her chest rise filling with the air from his own lungs. Still not breathing he quickly unscrewed his hook from his wrist brace and formed his good hand into a fist placing it just under her breastbone and leaning on it with his stumped wrist he pressed firmly down thirty times the repeated his breaths into her mouth, the rain still pelting her skin. Suddenly she gasped, her eyes still closed. "Emma" he called out to her but she didn't answer. He looked down and through the chaos of the storm around them he found a sense of peace, she was breathing on her own once again. She could survive this.

The pirates who had come to his aid below deck re-emerged, carrying the singed bedsheets and empty buckets. "The fire has been put out Captain!" One of them reported.

"And the rest of the ship?" Asked Hook.

"No further damage, just your quarters, Capt'n" the other pirate replied.

The Captain dropped his shoulders with relief and once again lifted the princess and carried her back down, this time to Smee's quarters and carefully removed her soaked clothes, dressing her one of his shirts and tucked her into the bed he'd been using. He didn't light a lamp; it was too dangerous while the storm lasted. He checked once more to make sure she was breathing again and kissed her forehead before returning to help his men ride out the storm.

Emma opened her eyes; they began to dart around her unfamiliar surroundings. Light streamed through a grimy glass window, dressed with a faded red velvet curtain that had become a favourite midnight treat for moths. Across the room stood a vanity and chair, the only other furniture was a dilapidated wardrobe and a rickety bedside table with a single oil lamp sitting on it. Draped over the chair was a dress she didn't recognise. It was a green tunic dress with a golden rope belt tied in a Celtic knot. Emma clutched the sheets beneath her fingers; they were softer than she remembered the Captain's being. Just as your body jolts when you fall in your dream, Emma was jolted by the sensation of being still, there was no rocking on the waves, no tilting of the ship or creaking of the wood. A bird singing outside her window proved her suspicion; Emma was on land. Had her voyage on The Jolly Roger just been a dream? When did reality end and her dream begin? Waves of panic as threatening as the storm she thought she'd lived through prickled her skin calling the hairs on her arms to attention; she must still be in Oceania. Her head started spinning trying to recount her last few days, her time on the ship, her night spent with him, it felt so real.

Her suffering was eased the moment her door opened and he appeared, closing it quietly behind him; relief and joy exploded on his face the moment he glanced her way and saw she was awake.

"Emma!" He rushed to her side.

"It wasn't a dream" she muttered, reflecting his relief, "where am I?"

"Skull Bay, love." He tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

Confusion distorted her brows, "but I thought we were days away?"

"Aye," he took her hand, "you've been unconscious for three days."

Emma gasped, "The last thing I remember was a storm"

"There was a fire in your cabin, by the time I found you you'd inhaled a lot of smoke, you weren't breathing anymore, and I had to resuscitate you. Your breathing returned but you didn't wake until now..." he looked away, "I was staring to worry you never would."

Emma lifted his hand and kissed it, "You've saved my life again; this is becoming a habit..."

"I like to think of it as a hobby." He said with a wink.

Emma chuckled, followed by a groan, "my whole body aches" she said, trying to sit up in the bed, her stomach growled loud enough for Killian to hear. He jumped up, "right, you'll be starving, I'll return with some food and water, just try to rest, we'll remain here until you're strong again." He leaned down to kiss her head and then quickly ushered himself out the door leaving Emma alone once more.

She glanced again at the dress, then down at what she was wearing. Her fingers clutched the fabric hanging from her; she was wearing his shirt and a pair of brown leather trousers. Resting on the vanity was a man's tweed cap; he'd dressed her as a man to bring her here! She shuffled out of the bed, despite being on dry land her legs wobbled beneath her; she reached out grabbing the chair to steady herself, trying to train her out of practice muscles.

Slowly she undressed herself and slipped on the new dress. There was a small looking glass resting on the vanity, lifting it above her head and stretching her arm she tried to get the right angle to see as much of herself as possible. She smoothed the material out with her hands, just then the door opened and Hook returned. He stopped in his tracts.

"I thought I told you to rest," he chuckled.

"How do I look?" She asked, ignoring his gentle reprimand.

"Beautiful as always" he answered without hesitation setting a plate of meat and potatoes on the table by her bed. "I hope it's to your taste, your clothes were infused with smoke, I had to procure you some new garments, I realise you're more used to finer dresses but for the sake of our escape its better you blend in."

"Thank you" She said.

He shrugged off her reply and lifted the chair over to the bedside table signalling for her to sit down and eat as he sat on the bed watching her like a hawk checking for any sign of weakness or ill health after her collapse. As far as he could tell she was alright, just weary, which was understandable, it would take her body a while to regain its strength. For the present time he was just happy and relieved that she was awake and eating.

"What do you remember?" He asked her.

"Just the storm, I was trying to pass the time and distract myself by reading your Captain's logs, they make for exciting reading!"

His face dropped, "Aye, well unfortunately not anymore, most of them were consumed by the fire."

"I'm so sorry"

"It's not your fault lass; it's just one of the dangers of travelling at sea. They seem a small loss considering you made it out of there alive."

Emma blushed, "I'm sorry to have lost them, I was enjoying them immensely." She chose not to tell him that she read his most recent one.

"We'll have plenty more adventures to record when we set sail from here." He said, optimistically.

"Where are your crew?" She asked between mouthfuls.

"Most of them have dispersed into the town, a few have joined other crews, some are choosing to stay here and live off their spoils, Smee and a couple others are reluctant to leave. They still think they can convince me to allow them to stay. Honestly, after this week's storm I'm almost tempted to let them, I wouldn't have liked to have faced that alone." He said.

Emma thought over his words, "They are very loyal to you, I understand why you don't want them to come, I share your concerns for their safety, but shouldn't we let them decide their own futures?"

"Aye, love, you're probably right."

She had almost finished her meal when a thought occurred to her. "Where have you been staying the past three days?"

He scratched behind his ear, "Erm, I've been here with you…I hope you don't mind…I would have given you your own space but in this town I didn't want you out of my sight, any woman, especially one as beautiful as you, isn't safe in these parts."

"Is that why I was dressed as a man?"

"Just a precaution." He said.

Feeling tiredness come over her she moved beside him on the bed, "I feel very safe with you." She admitted, yawning and resting her head on his shoulder. "I think a walk would be good for me, I could use the fresh air."

"Not here Emma, I need to keep you safe, we're all moving in the shadows and staying behind closed doors, if the news hasn't reached here yet that I took The Enchanted Forest's princess then it will certainly get here soon. We can't draw attention to ourselves. I have some business to attend to, I need to glean some information that will assist us and I need to restock the Jolly and pay for some repairs after the storm, the quicker we can leave here the better and you cannot under any circumstance be recognised, do you understand?" His tone was serious and Emma nodded her head in reply.

The days dragged slowly in Skull Bay as Emma remained in her one room sanctuary. Trying to regain her strength and for a lack of anything else to do she had taken to pacing around the room, reciting her Greek verb endings over and over just to keep her mind engaged. At night Hook slept on the chair, positioned blocking their door, paranoid that at any moment they would be discovered. During the day he spent long periods of time away conducting hid business that Emma knew little about, during those hours one of his most trusted crew members would stay with her so she was never alone.

The sights, sounds, and smells from her window tortured her senses, enticing her out into the exciting pirate port. The evening breeze carried with it the promise of exotic foods, lively music, and drink fuelled merriment. Nothing struck her as dangerous and as the days stretched on and Hook became no less lenient with her confinement she found herself feeling restless. Her wild spirit willed her to the window each night to watch the world below. After days of waiting and no word from Hook as to whether or not a bounty had been placed on her head she decided that as sweet as it was he cared so much for her safety, his rigid boundaries and rules we probably overkill, after all he told her himself that this voyage was to be about her finding her freedom and making her own choices.

Emma waited until her current bodyguard had drifted off to sleep on the chair, propped in front of her door waiting for his Captain to return. As his soft snores sang out she crept over to the window, she'd looked out many times before trying to judge the drop to the street below, she'd learned that the stables were next door and the owned left his cart full of hay parked directly below her window at night. It was just enough to break her fall. Dusting off the loose pieces of hay Emma made her way quickly to the nearest tavern.

Pushing open the doors she found herself in a familiar environment. No matter where in the world you found yourself a tavern was always a tavern. Music playing, laughter echoing, men cheering watching games played before them, women of the night giggling eyeing up their next pay check. Emma was just happy to be out of her room and back in a world she loved, a world that excited her. She didn't completely ignore the Captain's warnings and chose a secluded seat at the corner of the bar out of the way and in restricted view to most of the punters using a pillar rising from the bar to the ceiling to hide her partially while she quietly drank her rum and watched the clientele engage in their evening activities.

As her eyes drifted across the crowded alehouse she released an audible gasp when they fell on Captain Hook, she hadn't expected to stumble into him and not wanting to be noticed by him and undoubtedly escorted home with a long lecture about safety in a pirate port she ducked further behind the pillar and watched the pirate in his natural environment.

He was talking to an attractive red haired woman. She was standing close enough to Hook to stir feeling in Emma's chest. The woman's silky auburn hair was tied into a long braid, slung over her shoulder. Her hand rested on Hook's arm, her body leaning into him as they spoke in hushed voices. Emma couldn't look away, annoyed at herself for how perturbed she felt about the situation. She watched him laugh at something the woman said, he knew her, his body was relaxed and it was clear to see he was putting on the charm as he spoke. Suddenly the woman rose up onto her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek, Emma had seen enough, and she jumped down from her barstool and rushed out the door unnoticed by the Captain. She walked angrily down the cobbled street, oblivious which direction she was headed, her fists were clenched and her vision clouded by tears as she stomped away. Turning down a side street she collided with what felt like a brick wall but turned out to be a large man.

"Well, well, who do we have here" he sneered.